TCTTS said:
I highly recommend this recent Rewatchables episode from the Ringer podcasts, in which Simmons & co basically have the exact same convo we're having in this thread. They're mostly revisiting Stone's JFK, but a couple of them have seen Stone's new documentary as well, and break it all down in pretty entertaining fashion...
https://www.theringer.com/2021/12/2/22812057/jfk-with-bill-simmons-chris-ryan-sean-fennessey-and-brian-koppelman
Just listened to it while doing yardwork. Very good episode.
The main thing I would quibble with him is the point that Bill goes back to over and over and over:
Who benefitted from JFK's death?
Well, sure, a ****ton of people benefitted. But that doesn't mean they did it.
Who benefitted the most from MLK's assassination?
Who benefitted the most from Garfield's assassination?
Who benefitted the most from McKinley's assassination?
Who benefitted the most from Gabby Gifford's attempted assassination?
Who benefitted the most from John Lennon's assassination?
Who benefitted the most from Reagan's assassination (had it been successful?)
A nutjob stole a forklift and was going to try to kill Trump by using the forklift on The Beast, but he got the forklift stuck. Who would have benefitted the most from that assassination?
A nutjob flew a cessna into the White House to kill Clinton (who wasn't home.) Who had the most to gain?
Did Booth have the most to gain from Lincoln's death?
Did Squeaky Fromme have the most to gain from Ford's death?
Did the Puerto Ricans have the most to gain from Truman's death?
It's just a dumb point, but Simmons (and Oliver Stone) thinks it is brilliant.
You look at the people that committed these assassinations and attempted assassinations, and most of them have pretty much nothing to lose. They are pretty much all mentally ill, idiots, or losers down on their luck. A few (like the PR activists or Booth) wanted to send a message. But most aren't like that and I can't think of any major assassination where the person that stands to benefit the most is the one that commits the act.