 |
| A Modern Camelot: The Kennedy Brothers
When I hear or think about the word "Camelot" I immediately think "Kennedy." The Kennedy family has often been associated with the legendary Camelot. The men were attractive, young, influential, and charismatic. The women and children were beautiful. President Kennedy and the first family were certainly photogenic. Did the Kennedy's hold the keys to the kingdom for a while--a modern Camelot? Some people would say "yes." Others might call the Kennedy Camelot a piece of Madison Avenue myth making. Christopher Snyder's statement "Like all myths it contains truths, though not usually literal ones" (The World of King Arthur) might be applied to Kennedy's Camelot, the presidency and the political activism of his brothers.
|
"Creating Camelot," is an exhibit at the Newseum, on display until March 16, 2014. The show features the photography of Jacques Lowe, personal photographer of President John F. Kennedy. How are legends made? Photographs are one way to create visual narratives and lasting impressions that shape history.
Jacques Lowe's photographs helped construct a romanticized portrait of a president and his family. In contemporary society there are many ways to create, reproduce, and spread stories, images, and impressions. Archiving information, documenting history or creating myths, has never been easier with modern technology. When people hear the phrase "going viral," they do not associate it with influenza epidemics. In King Arthur's day, it was the bard or storyteller that carried news or fashioned a captivating tale. Stories traveled by foot, horse, and ships--a slower pace then today's news.
Where is the truth in a story if it is not literal? Whether it is a 20th century president or a 6th century king, the pictures, emotions, and embellishments of the storyteller might actually be closer to the truth then a dry listing of facts. Here is an example of literal truth and truth. Looking at the itemized, paper receipt of groceries bought with food stamps is a true record of poverty. However, the grocery receipt is not as powerful a picture as my friend Gary's story. He once told me he didn't like coffee because "As a kid I was left alone for the weekend. The only thing in the house to eat was a jar of instant coffee crystals." Gary's family had bouts of underemployment. It is true that instant coffee will not feed a child's hungry belly. Both the receipt and Gary's instant coffee indicate true things; but only one truth is an indelible story from over thirty years ago.
Maybe, as suggested by Christopher Snyder, the truth of the Arthur's Camelot is about what makes a virtuous king, or the beginnings of a national identity, or the romantic vision of an ideal place and time. Perhaps the same could be said for Kennedy's Camelot captured in the photographs by Jacques Lowe on display at the Newseum.
