The JFK Image: Profiles in Docudrama makes an important contribution to the theoretical analysis of docudrama as a new and independent genre as well as to the study of John F. Kennedy’s image in American popular culture.
Manfred Berg, Curt Engelhorn Professor of American History, Heidelberg University Cimpean attempts to deconstruct how John F. Kennedy's mythologized image has been ... Read moreused in docudramas (and in various forms of print media) since his assassination on November 22, 1963. In part 1, she proposes that Kennedy's image is composed of his professional actions during his presidency and his legacy soon after his murder, perpetuated by Jacqueline Kennedy, close friends, and journalists (what Cimpean calls The New Frontier and Camelot), along with the sordid and 'unflattering' details of his personal life that have surfaced in the years since (which Cimpean terms 'Camelot-Inside-Out'). In part 2, she frames these time periods by discussing them under three headings—'The Kennedy Leadership,' 'The Kennedy Assassination,' and 'Kennedy Nostalgia'—providing a firm foundation for her argument. Summing Up: Recommended. . . .Upper-division undergraduates.
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Much of the historical context the author surveys in the opening chapters may be familiar...but the author’s focus on how contemporary journalists and historians discussed Kennedy’s presidential leadership and postassassination legacy proves enlightening.... As some universities have offered courses examining the depiction of the presidency in film, television, and new media, especially during election years, a focused study like The JFK Image can supplement preexisting, broader texts.... This book is also recommended for Oliver Stone scholars, as the author’s criticisms of Stone are rarely seen in other Stone scholarship. Courses on the Kennedy administration and the Cold War may also benefit from adopting this text, not only in its examination of the construction of Kennedy’s image while in office...to how he was remembered after the assassination, but also in its incredible detail on Kennedy historiography and Cimpean’s simple, yet clear taxonomy.
Journal of American Culture
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