The Quest for Truth: Deconstructing JFK

JFK, 1991

Directed By: Oliver Stone


JFK, The film, is a fictional version of the assassination on John F. Kennedy. It shows several related conspiracies by combining set up scenes with actual historical facts. The movie's portrayal of the events are a combination of historical truth and speculation. Jim Garrison, the district attorney of New Orleans develops doubts about the official story of President Kennedy's killing. On November 22, 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald is soon arrested and charged with the crime after Kennedy is shot in Dallas, Texas. Garrison begins to suspect that there was a bigger conspiracy behind the assassination because several elements of the case do not make sense to him. Garrison starts investigating and finds inconsistencies in the official account of what happened.

He starts to believe that Kennedy was killed as the result of a high-level conspiracy and that there was a second shooter in the assassination. He comes across several potential witnesses as he continues his investigation, many who are afraid to speak up since their lives are in danger. Garrison faces both personal and professional obstacles throughout the investigation. His relationship with his family is tense, and he encounters criticism from federal organizations that want to put doubt on him. Despite these challenges, Garrison is persistent in his search to learn the truth and hold those responsible for the murder accountable. At the trial of Clay Shaw, a New Orleans businessman and suspected assassination organizer , Garrison makes his case to the jury at the end of the movie. Even though Shaw is finally found not guilty by the jury, the movie gives viewers the impression that the real truth of the Kennedy assassination might never be revealed.

There is no traditional plot device in the film. Instead, the movie looks into numerous conspiracy theories surrounding the killing of President John F. Kennedy and focuses on the investigation into the crime. Even while the assassination has an element of mystery and intrigue, the plot device isn't a single thing or objective.

The 3 main acts begin with, Jim Garrison, the district attorney of New Orleans, having doubts about the official account of President John F. Kennedy's assassination in the first act. After Kennedy is shot on November 22, 1963, Garrison begins to doubt the lone shooter scenario and the prosecution of Lee Harvey Oswald. Garrison begins his investigation into the assassination, assembling a team to examine the evidence and interview witnesses. He encounters different accounts and inconsistencies that lead him to believe that there was more to the assassination than it seems on the surface. This act sets up the main plot of the film, as Garrison becomes increasingly convinced that there was a conspiracy to assassinate Kennedy. As he goes further into the details of the assassination in the second act, Garrison's investigation becomes more intense. He comes across a number of promising leads, witnesses are nervous, and he is opposed by government agencies and high-ranking authorities who want to discredit him. The movie explores different assassination conspiracy theories through a series of dramatic flashbacks and reenactments. These theories include individuals from the military, intelligence services, and organized crime. Garrison believes that numerous parties were engaged in the assassination as he puts the puzzle together. Garrison prosecutes Clay Shaw, a well-known New Orleans businessman who is alleged to have been a part of the assassination plot. Garrison uses the courtroom as a stage to explain his research and beliefs to the jury and the public.

Jim Garrison is introduced as a dedicated but doubtful district attorney at the start of the movie. He first shows little interest in Kennedy assassination conspiracies and then begins to accept the Warren Commission's official account of a lone gunman.
Garrison begins to have doubts about the official account of the events as he does his own investigation and finds contradictions and contradicting accounts. He grows more and more certain that there was a bigger conspiracy behind the assassination as he studies the evidence and runs into witnesses. His skepticism turns into a deep belief that the truth has been hidden and that he needs to seek retribution for the president who was assassinated.

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