Forty years have passed since a fatal shot froze time around the world. Forty years and John F. Kennedy remains the subject of prime-time television specials that lure another generation into obsession with his life and his death.
And to many people who never saw the assassinated president alive, Kennedy is a pop-culture icon.
Experts say his popularity increases as his powerful speeches echo through time and as the media's coverage of possible conspiracy theories surges.
The political leader famed for taking risks, fighting for civil rights and starting the Peace Corps is known to younger generations as a celebrity, said Gary Hoppenstand, MSU professor of American thought and language.
"Judgments are made based on his media personality, and without that person here to make contradictions, we only have that to go on," Hoppenstand said.
Aaron Dean, a 22-year-old theater junior, only has history books and television specials to judge the success of the 35th president.
"His greatest legacy was his impact on American culture," Dean said. "People look at him as someone who did a lot more than he actually did. But he died before he could do anything."
And the conspiracy theories attached to Kennedy's death add some of the most important details to the Kennedy family saga, Hoppenstand said.
"It's Shakespeare, almost," he said. "It's our Macbeth."
Unlike the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when the nation went after the Taliban and terrorist networks, the assassination of Kennedy left America in tremendous confusion about what to do, Hoppenstand said.
Kennedy's personal life often has been the subject of controversy. He will be remembered forever for being serenaded by blond beauty Marilyn Monroe as the world took notice of her white dress and her famous "Happy Birthday" song, said Frank Farley, a psychologist and professor at Temple University in Philadelphia.
But Monroe's song, coupled with speculation about his relationships with other women, doesn't hurt his status with younger people, especially those who remember the President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky news events, Farley said.
"Younger people relate to that; they don't see it as a big deal," said Farley, a former president of the American Psychological Association.
Farley, who researches American heroes, said Kennedy is ranked as one of the top American heroes and almost always joins Martin Luther King Jr. in the top 10.
But to another group of people - those who remember Kennedy and that sunny November day in 1963 - the assassination is more than a film or a reference in a history book.
Janice Labon, a 68-year-old grandmother from Romeo, was in a doctor's office when she heard the news.
"I was shocked; I think everyone everywhere was," she said.
Labon says Kennedy was popular, but many people didn't think of the president as great at the time. Labon said she didn't learn of many of Kennedy's accomplishments until years later.
In fact, Kennedy isn't remembered for the nuts and bolts of passing important legislation but for the inspiration he gave to future generations, Farley said.
"The controversy surrounding his death is one of the most mysterious of modern time," he said. "Forty years, and there is still a great level of interest. Most people love a mystery, and the key ingredient is uncertainty. In 100 years, this may even grow."
Farley labels Kennedy as a T-type, a term he coined to describe risk-takers and thrill-seekers. He's known as one who stood up for young people, got the space program going and led the country during the Cold War, he said.
"It's hard to imagine any generation that doesn't have a place for John F. Kennedy," he said.
Brian Charlton can be reached at charlt10@msu.edu.
