Assassination of John F. Kennedy Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Cultural impact and depictions=== {{See also|Assassination of John F. Kennedy in popular culture}} {{quote box |bgcolor = powderblue | width =28em |align = right | quote = {{indented plainlist| * They say they can't believe it; It's a sacrilegious shame. * Now, who would want to hurt such a hero of the game? * But you know I predicted it; I knew he had to fall. * How did it happen? Hope his suffering was small. * Tell me every detail, for I've got to know it all, * And do you have a picture of the pain? }} | source = — [[Phil Ochs]]' song "[[Crucifixion (song)|Crucifixion]]" (1966)<ref>[[#Trask|Trask (1994)]], pp. iix.</ref> | style = padding:1.5em | fontsize=85% }} John F. Kennedy's assassination was the first of four major assassinations during the 1960s, coming two years before the [[assassination of Malcolm X]] in 1965, and five years before the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and [[assassination of Robert F. Kennedy|Robert F. Kennedy]] in 1968.<ref>[[#Shahidullah|Shahidullah (2015)]], p. 94.</ref> For the public, Kennedy's assassination mythologized him into a heroic figure.<ref>[[#Ball|Ball (1982)]], p. 105.</ref> Although scholars typically regard Kennedy as a good but not great president,<ref name="brinkley"/> public opinion polls consistently find him the most popular post-WWII president.<ref name="brinkley">[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (2013)]]</ref><ref>[[#Dugan|Dugan (2013)]]</ref> Kennedy's murder left a [[Flashbulb memory|lasting impression]] on many worldwide. As with the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] of December 7, 1941, and, much later, the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001, asking "Where were you when you heard about President Kennedy's assassination?" became a common topic of discussion.<ref>{{cite book|title=Brinkley's Beat|first=David|last=Brinkley|location=New York|publisher=Knopf|year=2003|author-link=David Brinkley|isbn=0-375-40644-1|url=https://archive.org/details/brinkleysbeatpeo00brin}}</ref><ref>[[#White|White (1965)]], p. 6.</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=A Shock Like Pearl Harbor|first=Joseph F.|last=Dinneen|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=November 24, 1963|page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.people-press.org/2011/09/01/united-in-remembrance-divided-over-policies/|title=United in Remembrance, Divided over Policies|date=1 September 2011|publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Mudd|2008|p=126}}</ref> Journalist [[Dan Rather]] opined that the Kennedy assassination will be discussed "a hundred years from now, a thousand years from now, in somewhat the same way as people discuss the ''[[Iliad]]''. Different people read [[Homer]]'s description of the war and come to different conclusions, and so it shall be for Kennedy's death."<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. xliii–xliv.</ref> Along with Oliver Stone's ''JFK'', the assassination has been portrayed in several films: the pro-conspiracy, [[Dalton Trumbo]]-written ''[[Executive Action (film)|Executive Action]]'' (1973) was the first feature film to depict the assassination.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 996.</ref> Besides explicit portrayals, some critics have argued that the Zapruder film—which itself has been featured in many films and television episodes—advanced [[cinéma vérité]] or inspired more [[Violence in art#In films|graphic depictions of violence]] in [[American cinema]].<ref name="frenchies">[[#Hollywood|"How the JFK Zapruder film 'revolutionised' Hollywood". France24.]]</ref><ref>[[#Wrone|Wrone (2003)]], p. 47.</ref><ref>[[#Scott|Scott (2013)]]</ref><ref>[[#Cilento|Cilento (2018)]] pp. 149—178.</ref> Many works of literature have also explored the killing, such as [[Don DeLillo]]'s 1988 novel ''[[Libra (novel)|Libra]]'' in which Oswald is a CIA agent,<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. 1356–1357; [[#Lawson|Lawson (2017)]]; [[#Thomas1|Thomas (1997)]]</ref> [[James Ellroy]]'s 1995 work ''[[American Tabloid]]'',<ref>[[#Goldstein|Goldstein (1995)]]; [[#Vollman|Vollman (1995)]]; [[#Jordison|Jordison (2019)]]</ref> and [[Stephen King]]'s 2011 time travel novel ''[[11/22/63]]''.<ref>[[#Lawson2011|Lawson (2011)]]; [[#Maslin|Maslin (2011)]]; [[#Morris|Morris (2011)]]</ref> The assassination has also been featured in several musical compositions, such as [[Igor Stravinsky]]'s 1964 piece ''[[Elegy for J.F.K.]]'' and [[Phil Ochs]]' 1966 song "[[Crucifixion (song)|Crucifixion]]",<ref>[[#Stravinsky|"Music: Stravinsky Leads; Composer Conducts at Philharmonic Hall". ''The New York Times''.]]; [[#Lengel|Lengel]]; [[#Payne|Payne (1965)]]</ref><ref name="gates"/> which reportedly brought Robert Kennedy to tears.<ref name="gates">[[#Gates1|Gates (1998)]]</ref><ref>[[#Newfield|Newfield (2002)]], pp. 176–178.</ref> Other songs include "[[Abraham, Martin and John]]" (1968) and [[Bob Dylan]]'s "[[Murder Most Foul (song)|Murder Most Foul]]" (2020).<ref>[[#AJC|D'Angelo (2018)]]; [[#Margolick|Margolick (2018)]]; [[#Paulson|Paulson (2020)]]</ref><ref>[[#Dettmar|Dettmar (2020)]]; [[#Hogan|Hogan (2020)]]; [[#Petridis|Petridis (2020)]]</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page