“Who is Greg Stillson?” He’s a fictional character created by Stephen King in his Novel The Dead Zone and admirably played by Martin Sheen in the film of the same name.
With the release of the recent open letter by Republican Security Experts who state they will not vote for Donald Trump, I am once again reminded of Greg Stillson. Having read the book and watched the movie years ago, I don’t know why, but I can never shake the image of Stillson from my mind after I have read something or watched something on TV that Donald Trump has said or committed to on his campaign trail.
The story outline for The Dead Zone is about a teacher who enters a coma after a car accident and on waking, years later, finds he has the gift of knowing the inner thoughts of those he touches and can tell what the future holds for them. The teacher, played by the great Christopher Walken in the film, attends a political rally for Stillson who is running for President and the pair briefly shake hands. In that moment, the teacher sees Stillson’s future and the nuclear holocaust he will unleash on the world if he becomes the US President.
The book and film are quite old but nonetheless still gripping. I just hope there is no real parallel with Mr. Trump.
Tom Kane (c) 2016
