Douglas Caddy Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Review: PBS' 'American Experience: JFK' is the Kennedy special to see By Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times Television Critic November 11, 2013, 5:00 a.m. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-jfk-20131111,0,1140649.story?track=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=89281#axzz2kLIAhDuk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted November 12, 2013 Author Share Posted November 12, 2013 The first installment of The American Experience shown last night was breathtaking. It took the viewer from his earliest childhood up to his being elected president in 1960. What a remarkable man JFK was. The whole Kennedy family was remarkable. The second installment covering his presidency and the assassination will be shown tonight (Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013). There is no way that I shall miss seeing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted November 12, 2013 Author Share Posted November 12, 2013 Part one can be viewed here: http://video.pbs.org/video/2365114972/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=pbsofficial&utm_campaign=americanexperience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Speer Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 I thought it was pretty good. It was refreshing to see JFK depicted not as a playboy standard cold warrior using fear tactics to get elected, but as a serious student of history with a deep interest in foreign policy who saw the end of colonialism a-coming, and wanted to position the USA as the big guys on the side of the little guys, who could stop the rise of communism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Adams Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Doug, thank you for posting this! I am in complete agreement with Pat. And, that President Kennedy was looking forward to a new way forward. I think that he truly believed what he was saying in his campaign; 'out with the old, and in with the new'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodney Rivers Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 (edited) Can't wait for part 2 tonight, but agree with what everyone said about Part 1. I really liked how they focused on JFK's anti-colonialist stance throughout his life. I recall reading how when he was Senator, a lot of his anti-colonial speeches were printed throughout the world, especially in the third world. Also I liked how they brought up how he travelled the third world while senator trying to understand how the leaders in those nations viewed America, and how our policies were losing their support and the opportunity to build long lasting bridges, especially Vietnam. One of the better JFK documentary's on JFK's life that concentrates on substance rather than tabloid. JFK's indescretions were there, but seems like every other documentary blows them out of proportion like TMZ journalism. JFK was truly our last President in the mold of our founding fathers and consitutionalists who believe in a un-American Empire. Every president since (maybe not Jimmy Carter??) has cowered to the MIC and the empire that our country has become. I believe in the universe and a set way of things, and I think JFK was put on this earth to avoid us from Nuclear War. But he was taken away for his other mission which was to not invovle us in Vietnam. The powers that be got rid of him, the population was derlict and looked the other way, and the universe went 10 fold against us in the Vietnam conflict. Ok, enough of my rant, will watch part 2 tonight. Edited November 13, 2013 by Rodney Rivers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Robert Morrow Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 I have been hearing good things about this documentary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Palamara Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Both parts were excellent~! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted November 13, 2013 Author Share Posted November 13, 2013 Part 2 is now available for viewing. http://video.pbs.org/video/2365116447/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodney Rivers Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 (edited) Part 2 had a lot of generalizations but I guess they had to to keep it within 2 hrs. They put the blame of Diem's death on JFk which I think we know isn't all accurate. Also, they never mentioned Laos and that JFK wanted to pull out of Vietnam. Best part was his Niece describing the trip from Ireland and JFK wanting to show them the movies and how he loved being President. Edited November 13, 2013 by Rodney Rivers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted November 13, 2013 Author Share Posted November 13, 2013 One error in The American Experience program part one occurred when the narrator credited Ted Sorenson and Kennedy’s senatorial staff with the writing of “Profiles in Courage” for which JFK was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. In reality the book was ghost-written by Professor Jules Davids of Georgetown University. Jackie was one of his students. I attended Georgetown U. from 1956-1960 and it was common knowledge then that Davids was the ghost writer. The Kennedys lived on N Street, N.W., just a few blocks from the university’s campus. I used to walk by their house everyday on the way to class. As I have written elsewhere in the forum, Senator Kennedy stopped two female staff members of the Foreign Service Courier, the school publication of which I was editor, one day when they walked by his house as he departed. They were carrying a birthday cake for me and he stuck his finger deep into it and pronounced it delicious. It made the girls’ day as well as mine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Davids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Speer Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 (edited) One error in The American Experience program part one occurred when the narrator credited Ted Sorenson and Kennedy’s senatorial staff with the writing of “Profiles in Courage” for which JFK was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. In reality the book was ghost-written by Professor Jules Davids of Georgetown University. Jackie was one of his students. I attended Georgetown U. from 1956-1960 and it was common knowledge then that Davids was the ghost writer. The Kennedys lived on N Street, N.W., just a few blocks from the university’s campus. I used to walk by their house everyday on the way to class. As I have written elsewhere in the forum, Senator Kennedy stopped two female staff members of the Foreign Service Courier, the school publication of which I was editor, one day when they walked by his house as he departed. They were carrying a birthday cake for me and he stuck his finger deep into it and pronounced it delicious. It made the girls’ day as well as mine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Davids Sorenson discusses the writing of the book in his memoirs. As I recall, it was JFK's idea, but Sorenson and others (such as Davids) did much of the research and writing. He makes it clear, however, that JFK was intimately involved in its creation, and made all the big decisions, and that he, Sorenson, never considered it a Sorenson book with JFK's name on it, but JFK's book, created with the assistance of others. That's important. In one of the recently released interviews, Jackie complains about Sorenson, and says he likes people to think he wrote the book. Towards the end of his life, one can only assume, Sorenson felt guilty about this, and wanted to clear it up. Edited November 14, 2013 by Pat Speer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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