Yet as bleak as some may feel about the national condition in the 2020s, it’s worth remembering that there have been many other moments when the political situation seemed to be spinning out of control and felt just short of civil war.
These days, U.S. politics can feel especially bleak.
Yet as bleak as some may feel about the national condition in the 2020s, it’s worth remembering that there have been many other moments when the political situation seemed to be spinning out of control and felt just short of civil war.
A new Netflix limited series brings us back to one of those times. Death by Lightning tells the story of the assassination of President James Garfield in July 1881 by Charles Guiteau. As entertainment, the show is engagingly well crafted. What’s not to like about Matthew Macfadyen, following his superb turn as Tom Wambsgans in Succession, playing one of the least known assassins in American history? (The series begins with someone discovering Guiteau’s brain in a jar in 1969 at the Army Medical Museum, asking “Who the fuck is Charles Guiteau?”) And, of course, nothing can go wrong with a character in the hands Michael Shannon, who brings depth and dignity to Garfield.
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