04: John F Kennedy | Walden on Heroes

Duration: 28'11''

Synopsis

Young and talented, JFK embodied a new spirit of optimism in postwar America and his assassination in 1963 immortalised him as a political hero. However, Brian Walden examines if Kennedy's image-first methodology has proved detrimental to democracy.

Further Information

More clips from Walden on Heroes

01: Winston Churchill | Walden on Heroes

01: Winston Churchill | Walden on Heroes

BBC Two | 1998 | 29'08''

The man credited with leading the nation to victory in the Second World War was, according to Walden, arrogant, callous and a milita...

02: Abraham Lincoln | Walden on Heroes

02: Abraham Lincoln | Walden on Heroes

BBC Two | 1998 | 28'21''

Brian Walden contends that the civil-war president did not, as is popularly believed, devote his life to a fight to abolish slavery. B...

03: Alexander the Great | Walden on Heroes

03: Alexander the Great | Walden on Heroes

BBC Two | 1998 | 28'15''

Brian Walden examines Alexander the Great's reputation as the hero's hero and claims that it doesn't stand up to close scrutiny. H...

05: Nelson Mandela | Walden on Heroes

05: Nelson Mandela | Walden on Heroes

BBC Two | 1998 | 28'11''

The series ends controversially as Brian Walden claims that Nelson Mandela does not deserve to be regarded as a hero. While admiring Ma...

06: Mahatma Gandhi | Walden on Heroes

06: Mahatma Gandhi | Walden on Heroes

BBC Two | 1998 | 28'51''

Gandhi did more than drive the British out of India using "passive resistance". He also fought for better conditions for workers, persu...

More resources about Modern USA

S01E10: The Assassination of JFK | Days That Shook the World

S01E10: The Assassination of JFK | Days That Shook the World

BBC Two | 2003 | 29'42''

The stories of a day that rocked the American presidency: the assassination of its youngest leader, John F. Kenn...

Till (2022)

Till (2022)

BBC Two | 2024 | 2'00'23''

After black 14-year-old Emmett Till is lynched in Mississippi for offending a white woman, his grieving mother goes public in her fight for justice. Activist org...

03: Globalisation | World 2000

03: Globalisation | World 2000

BBC Two | 2000 | 29'17''

What is globalisation and how does it affect us?

S01E03: The Assassination of MLK | Days That Shook the World

S01E03: The Assassination of MLK | Days That Shook the World

BBC Two | 2003 | 28'53''

This program follows the day Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

Surviving 9/11

Surviving 9/11

BBC Two | 2021 | 1'29'48''

A deeply personal film that moves between accounts of the two-hour period when terrorists attacked the Twin Towers and the Pentagon and hijacked Flight 93 and...

KKK: The Fight for White Supremacy

KKK: The Fight for White Supremacy

BBC Three | 2015 | 57'30''

Documentary investigating the Ku Klux Klan. Film-maker Dan Murdoch witnesses first-hand their secretive rituals and hears why their member...

Black Peoples of the Americas: 05: Civil Rights in the US | History File

Black Peoples of the Americas: 05: Civil Rights in the US | History File

BBC Two | 1997 | 19'07''

Drama documentary covering the history of civil rights in the USA in the 50's and 60's. Today's stor...

Trump's First 100 Days | Panorama

Trump's First 100 Days | Panorama

BBC One | 2017 | 58'34''

A Panorama special looking at the first 100 days of President Trump. Jeremy Paxman crosses the US for a wry and searching examination of th...

S01E00: Apollo 11 Moon Landing | Days That Shook the World

S01E00: Apollo 11 Moon Landing | Days That Shook the World

BBC Two | 2003 | 29'45''

20/07/1969 - The day Apollo 11 landed on the Moon.

03: Martin Luther King | Secrets of Leadership

03: Martin Luther King | Secrets of Leadership

BBC Two | 2003 | 47'39''

Martin Luther King is seen as an inspiration for peaceful protest campaigns. Andrew Roberts challenges this perception in a pr...

04: Trade, Debt and Aid | World 2000

04: Trade, Debt and Aid | World 2000

BBC Two | 2000 | 29'14''

Global creation and distribution of wealth, effect of fair trade and international debt.

9/11: Inside the President's War Room

9/11: Inside the President's War Room

BBC One | 2021 | 1'28'58''

Twelve hours with the president on 9/11 - with direct testimony from President Bush, Vice-President Cheney and senior staff - as it cha...

George Floyd: A Killing That Shook the World | Panorama

George Floyd: A Killing That Shook the World | Panorama

BBC One | 2020 | 28'51''

Thousands of people have joined marches against racism after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Clive Myrie ...

The Kennedy Assassination: Beyond Conspiracy

The Kennedy Assassination: Beyond Conspiracy

BBC Two | 2003 | 1'29'04''

For forty years, conspiracy theories have raged over the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Now, 3D computer animation of the cri...

The Black American Fight for Freedom

The Black American Fight for Freedom

BBC Two | 2021 | 58'47''

Fifty years on from the promise of equality and the Civil Rights Act, this documentary reveals the moments where America had the chance ...

02: The Road to Repeal | Prohibition: 13 Years That Changed America

02: The Road to Repeal | Prohibition: 13 Years That Changed America

BBC Two | 1997 | 50'11''

It took the rise of Al Capone and a crime wave that swept the nation to convince America that prohibition...

Stories of immigration to America | American Voices: A History of America 1917-1941

Stories of immigration to America | American Voices: A History of America 1917-1941

BBC Two | 2008 | 5'28''

The experiences of people who immigrated to America in the early 20th century.

The Cold War | American History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley

The Cold War | American History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley

BBC Four | 2019 | 6'44''

Lucy explains the post-war tensions between the US and Russia and the reasons why atomic bomb testing became...

22: Star Wars: 1981-1988 | Cold War

22: Star Wars: 1981-1988 | Cold War

BBC Two | 1998 | 46'23''

Reagan's 1983 ''Evil Empire'' speech sets the tone for a more aggressive US posture against the Soviet Union, and the costly arms race is...

S02E08: Terrorism: Assassination of Abraham Lincoln | Days That Shook the World

S02E08: Terrorism: Assassination of Abraham Lincoln | Days That Shook the World

BBC Two | 2004 | 29'31''

How the commercial airplane has been used as a terrorist weapon: the Black September hijackin...

More from Brian Walden

02: Saddam Hussein | Walden on Villains

02: Saddam Hussein | Walden on Villains

BBC Two | 1999 | 29'01''

Walden argues that the west's demonisation of Saddam Hussein has only helped strengthen his position in Iraq.

06: Mahatma Gandhi | Walden on Heroes

06: Mahatma Gandhi | Walden on Heroes

BBC Two | 1998 | 28'51''

Gandhi did more than drive the British out of India using "passive resistance". He also fought for better conditions for workers, persu...

03: Nero | Walden on Villains

03: Nero | Walden on Villains

BBC Two | 1999 | 28'56''

Nero can be seen as the archetypal villain. He murdered his two wives and mother, subjected the Christians to gruesome persecution and burned d...

04: Machiavelli | Walden on Villains

04: Machiavelli | Walden on Villains

BBC Two | 1999 | 29'03''

Today, the name of Niccolo Machiavelli is usually invoked to condemn cynical and ruthless acts of self-interest, especially in politics....

05: Stalin | Walden on Villains

05: Stalin | Walden on Villains

BBC Two | 1999 | 28'55''

A look at Joseph Stalin , leader of Soviet Russia and the biggest mass murderer in history, who ordered the deaths of 22 million people but w...