Upon its release in 1991, director Oliver Stone's controversial film JFK elicited cries from citizens who insisted that the U.S. government make public confidential Warren Commission files pertaining to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. That the government made public some (but not all) of the files following the film's popular success not only reflects the power of Stone's film but also the overall power of film as a pop culture medium.

With JFK, Stone challenged the government by providing an alternative theory to the one reached by the Warren Commission. Stone not only consulted texts by popular historians (Jim Garrison and Jim Marrs) and historical records, but he also posited his own interpretation of events concerning JFK's assassination. Furthermore, although many individuals and groups have challenged the Warren Commission Report since its release, for the most part the mass public had not...