“JFK: What the Doctors Saw” (2023) / Z-View
JFK: What the Doctors Saw (2023)
Director: Barbara Shearer
Tagline: None.
The Story:
Immediately after President Kennedy was assassinated conspiracy theories appeared. The official story is that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. Despite witnesses who swore there was another gunman, the Warren Commission determined that Oswald was the sole gunman.
JFK: What the Doctors Saw documents what the doctors at Parkland Hospital dealt with when President Kennedy was brought in mortally wounded. By using archival news footage, copies of official reports, and most importantly video interviews with these doctors, we are given first hand accounts of what these medical professionals dealt with. What they saw does not line up with the official story,
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)
I was just five years old (by a month) when President Kennedy was assassinated. Since I was young I’ve followed the news reports and conspiracy theories. When I was in high school I read the Warren Commission Report.
Over the years there have been many documentaries and specials that “investigated” the assassination of President Kennedy. What this documentary does is focus on what the doctors at Parkland Hospital saw when President Kennedy was brought in. Despite there being no doubt that the President was mortally wounded, they did their best to save him. While the official story is that the President was shot from behind, all of the doctors believed that at least one shot came from the front. This would explain the small bullet wound to President Kennedy’s neck and the blown out portion at the back of his skull.
The doctors all agree that the official autopsy report is not consistent with the President’s injuries as they saw them. The doctor’s have said this from day one and have never changed their stories. You can see this from the written reports that had to submit. It’s very powerful to see video interviews with the doctors shown to the public for the first time in this documentary.
If you’re familiar with the Kennedy assassination, there isn’t much new ground covered. Still, hearing from the doctors about their personal experiences on that terrible day is powerful.