Cultural depictions of Abraham Lincoln

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This article addresses cultural depictions of Abraham Lincoln.

Contents

[edit] Statues of Abraham Lincoln and Other tributes

[edit] Outside the United States

Statues of Lincoln can be found in other countries. In Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, is a 13-foot (4 m) high bronze statue, a gift from the United States, dedicated in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The U.S. received a statue of Benito Juárez in exchange, which is in Washington, D.C. Juárez and Lincoln exchanged friendly letters during the American Civil War, Mexico remembers Lincoln's opposition to the Mexican-American War. (For his part, Juárez refused to aide the Confederacy and jailed those Confederates who sought his help.) There is also a statue in Tijuana, Mexico, showing Lincoln standing and destroying the chains of slavery. There are at least three statues of Lincoln in the United Kingdom — one in London by Augustus St. Gaudens, one in Manchester by George Grey Barnard and another in Edinburgh by George Bissell. In Havana, Cuba, there is a bust of Abraham Lincoln in the Museum of the Revolution, a small statue of him in front of the Abraham Lincoln School, and a bust of him near the Capitolio.

[edit] Known Poetry

[edit] Fictional depictions

[edit] 1900-1909

The first known motion picture based on Mr. Lincoln was 1908 film The Reprieve: An Episode in the Life of Abraham Lincoln. Directed by Van Dyke Brooke, the film shows Lincoln pardoning a sentry who fell asleep on duty, a theme that would be depicted repeatedly in other silent era shorts.

[edit] 1910-1919

As with the first picture on Lincoln, most of the films in this decade featured Lincoln pardoning sleeping sentries. Films included The Sleeping Sentinel (1910), Abraham Lincoln's Clemency (1910), When Lincoln Was President (1913), When Lincoln Paid (1913), and The Sleeping Sentinel (1914).

[edit] 1920-1929

[edit] 1930-1939

[edit] 1940-1949

[edit] 1950-1959

  • "Mr. Lincoln", a five-part TV episode appearing in 1952-53 on Omnibus, with Royal Dano as Lincoln.
  • "How Chance Made Lincoln President", a 1955 episode of TV Reader's Digest.

[edit] 1960-1969

  • "The Chase", episode 2.8 of Doctor Who, which aired in 1964, included Robert Marsden as Abe.

[edit] 1970-1979

[edit] 1980-1989

  • The 1987 American TV series Amerika displays an America occupied by Soviet troops. Lincoln's image is displayed along Marx's and Lenin's in parades, exemplifying the re-interpretation of American symbols by the new state.

Bold text

[edit] 1990-1999

  • The Speeches of Abraham Lincoln (1995)
  • An Abraham Lincoln robot acts as a defense attorney for an African-American child in Bebe's Kids (1992).
  • Lincoln appeared as an occasional guest host on Histeria!, especially in two episodes centered around the Civil War. Pepper Mills mistakes him for Lurch from The Addams Family, and one sketch shows the Civil War politics like an episode of Seinfeld, with Lincoln as Jerry and George B. McClellan as George Costanza. In another sketch, Loud Kiddington demands he explain the parts of the Gettysburg Address that he doesn't understand (such as what "four score" means). On Histeria!, Abe acts like Johnny Carson and was voiced by Maurice LaMarche.
  • In the Pinky and the Brain episode Ambulatory Abe the Brain attempts to take over the world by convincing the world that Lincoln has been reincarnated into the statue at the Lincoln Memorial by refitting it for ventriloquilism and placing it on the top of a tank. This plan is foiled when a very old person who heard Lincoln's speeches in his youth points out that the real Lincoln sounded more like Tony Danza.
  • Another cartoon prominently featuring the Lincoln Memorial, the Ren & Stimpy episode "An Abe Divided", revolved around the title characters working guard duty and then trying to fix the statue when Ren breaks the head off trying to find the treasure inside.
  • In the 1993 film Coneheads, Dan Aykroyd's character dresses as Lincoln for a costume ball, as the President's stovepipe hat effectively covers his cone-shaped head.
  • In an episode of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show, Abraham Lincoln is portrayed (in an openly historically inaccurate skit) as the man who designed the American flag. The actor playing Lincoln spoke in a thick New York accent.
  • In an episode of Cartoon Network's Dexter's Laboratory, Dexter faces his rival, Mandark, using the statue of Lincoln from Mount Rushmore that he has brought to life, and fights Mandark who is using the giant animated statue of George Washington.
  • In The DC Comics Elseworld title Superman: A Nation Divided, a reimagining of Superman's origins as coming into his powers during the Civil War, President Lincoln features heavily. He is first seen reading field reports by General Ulysses S. Grant that describe "Atticus" Kent's special abilities. Lincoln then assumes Grant has been drinking, until Kent himself shows up at the white House. After Kent helps win the war, he accompanies Lincoln to the Ford Theater, where he prevents John Wilkes Booth's assassination attempt. After this Lincoln is seen to be one of the most popular presidents in history, serving two full terms.
  • In the 1991 Red Dwarf episode "Meltdown", Lincoln is an android in the "Hero World" section of an alien android theme park.
  • In 1998, Scott McCloud wrote and drew the graphic novel The New Adventures of Abraham Lincoln, in which the president seemingly returns to life in the present day; however, it is in fact a disguised Benedict Arnold, working for aliens in a plot to conquer the world. He is unmasked by the true Lincoln, who also returns from the dead.
  • In 1999, a comic book story featuring The Phantom was made called "Lincoln's Murder", and published in Europe and Australia.

[edit] 2000-2008

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[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Michael Fleming. "Lincoln logs in at DreamWorks: Spielberg, Neeson eye Abe pic", Variety, 2005-01-11. Retrieved on 2007-01-24. 
  2. ^ Steven Awalt. "'Munich' screenwriter takes on 'Lincoln'", SpielbergFilms.com, 2007-03-28. Retrieved on 2007-04-01. 
  3. ^ Carly Mayberry. "Field is Spielberg's new first lady", The Hollywood Reporter, 2007-09-25. Retrieved on 2007-09-26. 
  4. ^ Max Evry. "Liam Neeson Talks Lincoln", Comingsoon.net, 2007-01-24. Retrieved on 2008-05-12. 
  5. ^ Sheigh Crabtree. "Steven Spielberg: He wants to shoot 'Abraham Lincoln' in 2009", Los Angeles Times, 2008-05-10. Retrieved on 2008-05-10. 
  6. ^ Ruben V. Nepales. "Spielberg may co-direct next with Peter Jackson", Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2008-05-18. Retrieved on 2008-05-18. 

[edit] External links

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