In the 1950s and 1960s I grew from a boy of 5 to a young man of 25. These two decades were, indeed, formative ones. I often reflect on these years as we all do on our childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. These reflections are often more acute as we head into late adulthood and old age. The Kennedys on ABC1(1) television had a mnemonic and nostalgic effect on me as I gazed at a replay of some of the major events of the presidency of JFK, Jack Kennedy, in the years 1960 to 1963. These events have been endlessly repeated anecdotes in the last half century, anecdotes about Kennedy, his women and his administration’s crises dominate this series.

The background of the period, the wider society and the major aspects of its contemporaneity took a back seat in this telemovie. The focus in this episodic four part series was squarely on The Kennedys and the more than five hours of visual stimulus took me back to my mid-to-late teens. I was a hippy back then, 15 in 1960 and 25 years of age by 1970, part of that sixties generation. -Ron Price with thanks to (1)ABC1, 22 and 29 May as well as 5 and 12 June, Sundays, 8:30 to 10:00 p.m.

Thanks, Bruce, for your illuminating(1)
analysis, for that background, to this
telemovie which I’ve enjoyed these
last several weeks…You say that the
period was dominated by a reform-
minded, bipartisan, consensus liberalism,
classical liberalism’s last hurrah, as you(1)
put it. And there was all that talk about a
new world order, sex and the single girl,(2)
Betty Friedan’s Feminine Mystique(3) &
more talk of oneness. Did anyone know about
the election of the Universal House of Justice?

1 Bruce Bawer, “The Other Sixties,” The Wilson Quarterly: Surveying the World of Ideas, Spring 2004.
2 Helen Gurley Brown wrote this book in 1962 the year my travelling-pioneering life began in and for the Canadian Baha’i community.
3 Betty Friedan’s Feminine Mystique was published in 1963.

Ron Price
4 June 2011

G'day Ron, I'm just half a decade behind you. The day Kennedy died I was in schooll and we were all trooped out of class to watch the news. One can only conjecture what sort of President Bobby would've made. Personally I think that was the greater tragedy.

I watched the first of the series and resolved not to watch the rest. The acting, script and casting were all excellent, I just know the story too well to find it interesting. Nice to have you on board.

Thanks, Grey for your speedy response. Yes, the day Kennedy was assassinated I reenrolled in a first year arts degree in Ontario.  I remember the event and the weekend which followed as if it was yesterday even though it was nearly 50 years ago. I, too, know the script well.  I'm no authority on the history of the sixties, but there are now many takes on what it all means. I am watching the series, as I watch most TV, to rest my brain, as a sort of soporific, to get the old alpha waves going, to be with my wife, inter alia. Again, thanks Grey, for your reply.-Ron

Grey wrote on Jun 5^th, 2011 at 1:11pm:

G'day Ron, I'm just half a decade behind you. The day Kennedy died I was in schooll and we were all trooped out of class to watch the news. One can only conjecture what sort of President Bobby would've made. Personally I think that was the greater tragedy. I watched the first of the series and resolved not to watch the rest. The acting, script and casting were all excellent, I just know the story too well to find it interesting.

Agreed. Everythings done okay in this series, but it lacks something. It's a bit stilted. I think the script needed a bit more time. It doesn't really have a through-line - it just presents a lot of minor facts.