Seeing Obama, Projecting Kennedy: The Presence of JFK in Images of Barack Obama

Frame, Gregory

Abstract

During the 2008 election campaign Obama's youth, his glamorous wife, young children, and liberal politics resuscitated the memory of Kennedy, who remains the benchmark of the presidential image. This article explores how Obama shapes himself in Kennedy's image. Employing Freud's concept of the 'ego-ideal', the article examines how Obama has sought to establish himself as Kennedy's natural successor through his presentation and performance. The article compares the representation of the two presidents in the works of Annie Leibovitz, Stanley Tretick, and Richard Avedon, as well as the documentaries Primary (1960) and By the People (2009).

Citation

Frame, G. (2012). Seeing Obama, Projecting Kennedy: The Presence of JFK in Images of Barack Obama. Comparative American Studies, 10(2-3), 163-176. https://doi.org/10.1179/1477570012Z.00000000012

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Nov 22, 2013
• Publication Date: Oct 9, 2012
• Deposit Date: May 18, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: May 25, 2023
• Journal: Comparative American Studies
• Print ISSN: 1477-5700
• Electronic ISSN: 1741-2676
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 2-3
• Pages: 163-176
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1179/1477570012Z.00000000012
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/19007962
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1179/1477570012Z.00000000012