My findings so far

So far, I can find very few individuals or opinion polls which do not support Kennedy's great reputation, although there is quite a lot of suggestion that this is not validated by the facts.  Reasons for this repuation that I have found so far seem to revolve around the glamorous lifestyle of the Kennedy family, the tragic nature of his death and the way Kennedy reached and inspired the youth to do big things.  There is suggestions that his good reputation is because of American society declining/ having fewer successes after his death, therefore glorifying him in comparison.
My next area for research comes from the lesson plans here . I want to look into if the way he has been portrayed in films has affected the way he is now perceived, and in effect sort of changed history.  I need to decide the angle of my question asap though, because even at this early stage there are SO many routes I have found that I could research in to but not all are relevant to both angles.
So far, internet sources have been far more useful to my investigation than I originally thought. Although I'm not convinced they will be that useful for in depth factual things such as Kennedy's handling of events, they are really useful at the moment for finding potential research routes, people to contact, and particularly for public opinion through message boards.
The main challenges I think I will have is trying to be balanced in my judgement and not letting my opinion become too set in stone too early. Also, I think selecting specific sources to use as case studies fir propaganda will be really hard as there is such a large variety available, and I might have the same issue with choosing event case studies too as I'm a very indecisive person at times!

Reflection on my project

A working title :   This is where I am really struggling. I need to find something that links the general idea of do his life achievements and his reputation match. I'm still unsure of if I'd rather go down a propaganda angle about how he has maintained this reputation instead. Hmm, I have a lot of thinking to do.


Areas to research: It really depends which angle I choose to which of the following I would need to research

• Public opinion of JFK now and at the time
• JFKs life- probably focussing on the way he dealt with major events and his personality/the way he interacted with people
• Propaganda methods used to maintain this public image
• The effect of his assassination on how he had been remembered
• Possibly the relative achievements and reputations of other presidents in order to have something to compare Kennedy against.

EPQ Presentation Evening review

On 17th February, I attended the Upper Sixth's Presentation Evening which was a useful learning experience, particularly with regard to the EPQ process itself.