John F Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 was a major turning point in US history. On March 30, 1981, Americans gasped again as a lone gunman attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan in Washington DC. The shooting took place outside the Hilton Hotel, where Reagan, 69 days into his first term as president of the United States, had attended a union convention. Along with Reagan, the White House Press Secretary, a Secret Service official and a policeman were also wounded by the five to six close range gunshots. Fortunately, Reagan’s injuries were not as serious as they initially appeared. He underwent emergency surgery, but recovered quickly.
The attacker, 25-year old John Hinckley, was pinned to the ground and arrested, but he was deemed mentally deranged and sent to a psychiatric institute. Hinckley attributed the assassination attempt to his obsession to actress Jodie Foster. He was also a big fan of the 1976 movie “Taxi Driver”, whose main character, Travis Bickle (played by Robert De Niro), he was trying to emulate. In the movie, Bickle, a misanthropic Vietnam veteran, tries to assassinate a Senator at a public rally.
With all these details in mind, one could easily argue that art had an important impact on the shooting of Ronald Reagan (a former actor himself). Conversely, this event had its impact on the artistic world; it may be worth mentioning that the Academy Awards, scheduled on that very day, were postponed for the following evening.
References:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/30/newsid_2530000/2530913.stm
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075314/
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