Andrew Marziani

Professor Dinidu Pyranimal

ENG 111

10 April 2017

Cover Letter:

Thus far, the resources have been quite accessible due to the fact that there is so much

about information available on the Internet about JFKs assassination. The assassination of

President John F. Kennedy is one of the most infamous events in United States history. The

information ranges from articles on the assassination itself and its effect on the Unites States and

overseas, to conspiracy theories as to who was behind the assassination. The main point of my

research inquiry is to provide context as to how the assassination is remembered and what it tells

us about memory and history. I researched what had happened and the various viewpoints from

which people remember the event. Different individuals had varying vantage points from which

they saw, remembered and interpreted it, each in his/her own way and perspective. I highlight

the different types of memory associated with this event. The main one is cultural memory and

another is communicative memory. Both are associated with this because they both involve a

memory being passed down from one generation to another which is exactly what is happening

with the John F. Kennedy Assassination. It was very interesting to write this paper because it is a

topic I am familiar with, but wanted to get to know better. I learned a few things I didnt know

about before and enhanced my knowledge on the things I already knew. It was a bit difficult

trying to tie different types of memories of this topic at first, but after some research and using

things that I learned in class, it was not too hard to find information on this. I thoroughly
enjoyed researching for this inquiry and I am glad that I learned more about how different types

of memories are associated with a bunch of different events.

President Kennedys Assassination Catapults Him to Cultural Memory

President Kennedys assassination was an event that caused hundreds of millions of

Americans great sorrow on the day it happened and each day after; whether they witnessed it in

person, on the news, in a documentary or movie or read about it in articles or books, or sat

through countless stories told by friends and family members. Although all commiserate on the

tragic events of that day, each person has a different perspective as to the identity of the real

shooter and motivation behind the assassination due to the intense scrutiny and conflicting

information about the assassination that has been perpetuated by the government in various

reports and investigations, the media, writers, movie directors and historians or the perspective of

friends and family whom are closest to them. It is these government reports, books, movies,

documentaries and storytelling that commemorate the events of that day and that help Americans

remember it; although each of these is told from a different perspective as to what occurred, who

did it and what happened. As a result of these government reports, books, movies,

documentaries and storytelling, Kennedys assassination is a cultural memory. Marita Sturken,

the author of Tangled Memories, says that cultural memory is memory that is shared outside the

avenues of formal historical discourse yet is entangled with cultural products and imbued with

cultural meaning. (Sturken 3). Kennedys assassination and how it is remembered is a classic

example of cultural memory. The assassination of President Kennedy devastated our country

and people mourn and remember it today as if it happened yesterday, however, everyone has a

different perspective based on the cultural memory and speculates to this day as to whether the

assassination of President Kennedy was part of a conspiracy.

 The conspiracy theory of President Kennedys assassination is well supported in the

movie JFK, which premiered in 1991 and was directed by Oliver Stone. It is the story of New

Orleans District Attorney, Jim Garrison, and his true to life conspiracy case against alleged CIA

operative Clay Shaw, as Stone also adapted the movie from the books On the Trail of the

Assassins by Jim Garrison and Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy by Jim Marrs. Stone read

these books and created a movie that reflected the authors and his own feelings about the

conspiracy involved in President Kennedys assassination. At the time the movie was released,

critics, politicians and some historians condemned the film for its portrayal of the assassination

as a plot by the American government and that it was inaccurate with actual historical events.

Yet, to this day, Stone maintains that after decades of research, he is certain that Oswald didn't

act alone and most likely didn't pull the trigger. JFK made over $205 million dollars at the box

office and was up for eight academy awards. JFK made a lot of money and a name for Stone and

many others in Hollywood. At the same time, Stone maintains that he made the movie to show

some of the shocking facts that he discovered in an effort to get to the truth and the bottom of a

conspiracy.

Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was on Air Force One at the time of President

Kennedys death and was immediately sworn in as the 36 president of the United States of
th

America. This was the most infamous assassination of a President since the assassination of

President Abraham Lincoln at the Ford Theatre in 1865. President Kennedys assassination

shocked and rocked this nation to its core and it is memorialized as one of the saddest days in

American history. In an effort to find out what really happened on that fateful day, newly

installed President Lyndon B. Johnson commissioned an investigation into President Kennedys

assassination that was chaired by Chief Justice Earl Warren and known as the Warren
Commission. In late 1963, the Warren Commission concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted

alone in the assassination of one of the most beloved Presidents of all time. During its

investigation and in making its conclusion, the Warren Commission relied heavily on this video

of the assassination https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P74Q2NUBmGk that was taken by

Abraham Zapuder, an amateur filmmaker. This short video was initially confiscated by the

Secret Service and FBI as they investigated the assassination and was later used by the Warren

Commission to support Oswald as the lone shooter before being widely circulated to the

American public. In fact, for many the film became their memory of the assassination, as it was

also immediately highlighted in the then popular Life Magazine. As reported in the 2014

Newsweek article The Truth Behind JFKs Assassination, according to critic Richard B.

Woodward the assassination, in fact, was becoming fused with one representation of

Kennedys death so much that it became virtually unimaginable without Zapaders film.

Zapaders film help create a cultural memory for the members of the Warren Commission, as

they used it to uphold their report and by the Americans who saw, as it will be for those

Americans in future generations, the it because it was real and the closest they came to viewing

the assassination.

However, the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA)

published a report in 1979 stating that President Kennedy was "probably assassinated as a result

of a conspiracy". The HSCA agreed that the three shots from Lee Harvey Oswald ultimately

caused the death of President Kennedy, but while listening to the audio of the shooting, the

HSCA heard additional gunshots in the background of the audio clip. The HSCA was unable to

determine who was ultimately behind this conspiracy, but there are still people out there today

that believe that the assassination was a conspiracy. Unfortunately, in an effort to bring
resolution to the American people and also some social justice, the U.S. government itself

created more than a singular truth. There were those who accepted Oswald as the individual who

assassinated President Kennedy and now conspiracy theorists who believed that there was more

than one shooter and a lot of unanswered questions.

This YouTube clip from the movie JFK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=Ol2sZNPqpo4 is an example of how the assassination was remembered and adds to the

cultural memory of President Kennedys assassination and the findings of the Warren

Commission and HSCA, as this movie clip contains an actual clip of the Kennedy assassination

and illustrates how it could be argued that there were three different shooters and likely the

assistance of ten to eleven other individuals. This theory is based on the premise that due to the

angle of President Kennedys car and the timing of the various shots, it was not possible for the

fatal shots to come only from the Depository. This popular movie helped to support the HFC

reports conclusion that more than one shooter was involved and embed this theory into the

minds and memories of the millions of people who viewed it.

In the end and as supported by an article by the LA Times that commemorated the 50th

anniversary of President Kennedys assassination, many readers wrote only of their memory of

what they remembered from that day. Regardless of age, gender, race, or political affiliation all

of the contributors wrote of their own or a close relatives devastation by the assassination and

loss of President Kennedy. This sharing of personal and autobiographical memories is known as

communicative memory and is done through these personal and shared stories. For those who

were not old enough or not yet living at the time, they take their perspective on what happened

on that fateful day from a close friend or relative along with documentaries, books and other

material memorializing that day and they take it as the truth making this assassination a
collective memory. A collective memory is one that a group of people remember which is

typically passed from one generation to another. This can also be viewed as a cultural memory

because a cultural memory is also referring to objectified and institutionalized memories, that

can be stored, transferred and reincorporated throughout generations (Meckien). In fact,

although he was popular among Americans, President Kennedys record was not that of a

successful president. However, the assassination overshadowed that and catapulted him to

national and international iconic status. In fact, after his death his presidency was known as

Camelot a term coined by his widow, Jackie B. Kennedy during her interview with Theodore

H. White for a piece in Life magazine. (http://time.com/4581380/jackie-movie-life-magazine/)

The term stuck and is still associated with his presidency today. Mrs. Kennedys story to Life

Magazine created a cultural memory that is still embraced by Americans today, as we still refer

to President Kennedys presidency as Camelot. In fact, it was only after his death that so much

of his ideology on Civil Rights and health care were considered and legislation passed due to the

scrutiny, conspiracy speculation and devastation of his assassination and as a tribute and cultural

symbol and memory to his now martyred presidency (Atlantic). The event was so disturbing to

many Americans who now considered him the greatest president in their minds based on the

sacrifice he gave as serving this country and paying the ultimate price of his life that they

witnessed or read about in articles and books, saw in films such as JFK and Zapruders, videos

documentaries and all recounted many times among friends, colleagues and family member

making the assassination a cultural memory that will link the past, present and future for likely a

millennia.
 Works Cited

Bacher, Danielle. "Oliver Stone Looks Back at 'JFK'." Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone, 04 Nov.

2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2017.

Zysieex. "JFK (1991) Garrison's View on the Assassination of J.F. Kennedy." YouTube.

YouTube, 25 May 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2017.

Los Angeles Times Readers. "JFK's Assassination: Readers Remember a Day That Changed

History." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2017.

Muckien, Richard. "Cultural Memory: The Link between Past, Present, and Future." Cultural

Memory. Institute of Advanced Studies of the University of Sao Paulo, 3 June 2013.

Web. 10 Apr. 2017.

Levenson, Eric. "History's Favorite Guessing Game: What If JFK Had Lived?" The Atlantic.

Atlantic Media Company, 21 Nov. 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2017.