17 July 2011

The Kennedys

In my AP US History class in high school, I remember seriously disliking two presidents: JFK and FDR. I don't recall what fostered my initial dislike, something about their policies or deportment in office I'm sure. However, since moving to Boston I have become quite fascinated with the Kennedy family. The home Ambassador Joseph Kennedy and his wife, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, first lived in is literally ten minutes from my own home, and touring it with my mother piqued an interest that has grown the last ten months.

The longer I've lived here and more I've learned about the Kennedys, the more interesting they've become. And so, when I discovered that the History Channel's canceled mini series entitled The Kennedys was available on Netflix, I immediately created an account. It certainly did not disappoint.

Image found here.
I don't know how historically accurate the mini series is since I really didn't know much about the Kennedys going into it (except the 1963 assassination, of course), but it certainly gives a good overview. Greg Kinnear, Katie Holmes, and Barry Pepper all do phenomenal (I'll say it again, phenomenal) jobs as JFK, Jackie O., and Bobby. I loved Bobby and Ethel's relationship, and I was much more emotionally distraught when he was killed than when Jack was (granted, it was the last episode of a very emotional mini series, so that may have had something to do with it).

Watch it. Please. Obviously they weren't perfect people, but I have a lot more respect for the Kennedys as a whole and John and Bobby in particular than I did before. They went through a lot, and (for the most part) they handled it well.


And if you have any reading suggestions on the Kennedys for me, I welcome them.

3 comments:

  1. why did the show get canceled?

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  2. It was a mini series, so it simply finished. It didn't get canceled. I remember there being a big todo about this series b/c the Kennedy family refuted much of what the show was pronouncing had happened. Apparently they did not want this show to air. It almost didn't. I think it was Spike TV that picked it up after getting the boot from the networks. But, I did hear it was good, so I'm glad you liked it. I have been wanting to read Ted Kennedy's biography, "True Compass". Maybe you should check it out. "Last Lion" also was quite the crowd pleaser.

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  3. K, perhaps that was phrased incorrectly. The History Channel pulled the mini series before it was going to air in the United State, and then it's true, someone else picked it up. But it caused a lot of kerfuffle, especially after they spent millions of dollars producing it.

    (See the May issue of Boston Magazine.)

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