PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: THE UNSEEN ROBERT F. KENNEDY {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented at The Paley Center for Media in New York. This evening explores the "unseen" Robert F. Kennedy, as depicted in never-before-seen outtakes from the 1963 documentary "Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment."
Host Ron Simon (curator, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and welcomes Jill Drew (general manager, Drew Associates independent documentary film company) to the stage. Drew discusses the film, which is part of the Criterion Collection, and introduces approximately 30 minutes of raw footage that was cut from the finished film. After the screening, Jeff Greenfield (author/political analyst) moderates the following panelists: Lawrence O'Donnell (author and host, MSNBC); Kerry Kennedy (author, human rights advocate and daughter of Robert Kennedy); and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (attorney, founder, American Bridge organization and daughter of Robert Kennedy). D.A. Pennebaker, one of the filmmakers on "Crisis," also offers comments from the audience.
The panelists touch on such topics as: the Kennedy household's emphasis on following politics and "knowing what's going on" in the world, namely from newspapers and television news; Robert Kennedy's occasional stern "you can do better" attitude toward his children; the outtakes' depiction of Kennedy as an engaged father, with comparisons to the more aloof 1960s archetype as demonstrated by Don Draper on "Mad Men"; the film's interesting depiction of Robert Kennedy's "multitasking" as he simultaneously attends to his children and to serious politics; why he did not "play to the camera," unlike the majority of politicians; his long-term consideration of a presidential run, including his consultation of his kids' opinions on the matter; O'Donnell's surprise at learning just how long he had been internally debating the issue; Kerry's new book "Robert F. Kennedy: Ripples of Hope: Kerry Kennedy in Conversation with Heads of State, Business Leaders, Influencers, and Activists about Her Father's Impact on Their Lives," for which she conducted many interviews with notable figures; a funny story about eight-year-old George Clooney's reaction to the assassination; why Robert Kennedy's murder, seen as "the third death" after his brother Jack's and Martin Luther King's, prompted such a sense of "the loss of hope and potential"; O'Donnell's book "Playing with Fire: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics" and why he believes 1968 to be such a culturally pivotal year; O'Donnell's confidence that Robert Kennedy would have secured the Democratic nomination had he lived; and Pennebaker's memories of the 10-day film shoot and the challenges of editing the footage; and his strong working relationship with producer and cinematographer Gregory Shuker.
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics, among others: Drew's explanation of the process of preserving the outtakes; the "kabuki theater" elements of the famous scene in "Crisis" in which Governor George Wallace attempted to physically block black students from registering at the University of Alabama; why "everyone," not just Robert Kennedy, underwent profound moral and political changes over the course of the 1960s, including rival Democratic hopeful Eugene McCarthy's shifting views on the war in Vietnam; the misconception of Robert Kennedy's strongly conservative views early in his life, with examples of his anti-bigotry efforts as a teenager; the sense of Robert Kennedy as "the last tough liberal," believed capable of leadership even by those who disagreed with his positions; how wife Ethel Kennedy "made him who he was" with her strong support; Robert Kennedy's doubts about his speechmaking abilities and decision to take acting lessons to improve; Kathleen and Kerry's memories of their father's "defiant" attitude toward the many threats posed to the famous family from long before his assassination; his unusually honest speeches to university students who disagreed with his positions on college draft deferments; his messages about "loving someone you disagree with"; his "moral imagination" and ability to diffuse tense situations with compassion, including his famous April 1968 speech in which he informed an Indianapolis crowd of Dr. King's murder; parallels to the strong political divisions in 2018; his desire to "normalize" the inclusion of African-American college students all over America; O'Donnell's explanation that one of the students featured in the film, Vivian Malone Jones, went on to be the sister-in-law of Eric Holder, the first black United States Attorney General, via her sister Sharon Malone; and how his action as seen in the film had a wider positive effect on race relations.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 30, 1999 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: N/A
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 133597
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ron Simon … Host
- Jeff Greenfield … Moderator
- Lawrence O'Donnell … Panelist
- Kerry Kennedy … Panelist
- Kathleen Kennedy Townsend … Panelist
- D.A. Pennebaker … Guest
- Jill Drew … Guest
- George Clooney
- Eric Holder
- Vivian Malone Jones
- Ethel Kennedy
- John F. Kennedy
- Robert F. Kennedy
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Sharon Malone
- Eugene McCarthy
- Gregory Shuker
- George Wallace