John Kennedy as the un-John Galt

Ayn Rand describes her god-like, super-rational hero, John Galt, as having a face “without pain or fear or guilt.” In the eight-hour cable television series, The Kennedys, which is broadcasting its last two hours tonight, President Kennedy is portrayed as having a face that only shows pain and fear and guilt. His charm, his confidence, his cockiness, his grace, none of that is in evidence. Not once do we even see him smile his famous smile.

I understand that the producers and writers of the program wanted to emphasize the private, troubled side of the Kennedys, including the terrible back pain that President Kennedy dealt with every day of his life. But without the other side of the picture, namely the amazing courage and fortitude (helped along, of course, with drugs) with which Kennedy overcame his back pain every day of his life and appeared before the world as the embodiment of a grace and confidence that the whole world admired and wanted to emulate, the view presented of him is woefully distorted. This view is in keeping with the anti-heroic, reductionist imperatives of the modern liberal culture.

Another major flaw in the program: the suits worn by actor Greg Kinnear who plays JFK. In life, Kennedy wore suits that were custom made for him by a London tailor. They were distinctive and perfect. The suits President Kennedy wears in The Kennedys look as though they came off the rack at Rogers Peat.

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LA writes:

The best thing in the program is the actor who plays Bobby Kennedy.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at April 10, 2011 05:31 PM | Send