American Experience: JFK

American Experience: JFK is a docu series that was put out by PBS in 2013. This four-part series describes itself as taking, "a fresh, objective look at President John F. Kennedy, from his strengths and weakness in office to his personal relationships"(Netflix description). The first episode, "Part 1," focuses on Kennedy's formative years and his rise to American political power up until his rise to the US Senate.

John F. Kennedy as a young boy

John F. Kennedy Senator Campaign

It was interesting to learn about JFK's past and upbringing, especially his medical history and his relationship with his father, Joe Kennedy Sr. Joe Kennedy was a prominent political figure in the US and provided his eight children and the rest of his family with a very privileged upbringing; however, Joe expected nothing but greatness from his children, especially his boys. This competitive environment created tension between the siblings to essentially one-up each other in everything that they did. There was a lot of archival footage of at home competitions, and it was evident from the film that the level of competitiveness was high, especially between JFK and his older brother Joe Jr. Their competition was most evident after JFK returned from WWII a war hero due to the sinking of his naval vessel and his heroics as he lead the survivors of the wreck on a three mile swim back to shore. There was a letter written to JFK from Joe Jr. that "subtly expressed his jealousy" of JFK's newly gained status as a war hero. It is believed that it was because of this jealousy towards his brother's achievements that Joe Jr. volunteered for a dangerous bombing mission, even though he had fulfilled his duties and was able to go home, it was on this mission that Joe Jr.'s plane exploded and his body was never recovered. 

JFK's medical history was brought to light for me in this documentary. I was unaware of the extent of his health issues. His life was threatened by illness at as young as 3 years old; these issues continued to follow him throughout the rest of his life. The documentary mentioned that he attended Choate, a boarding school in Connecticut, but failed to mention his time spent at Canterbury School, also a boarding school in Connecticut (which I attended). This was a disappointment. I was able to recover his report card from 8th grade though. He had to withdraw from the school due to health issues. It is rumored that we occupied the same dorm room.