Thoughts on The U.S. Vs. John Lennon

I watched The U.S. Vs. John Lennon last night, and (shocker) it made me think.

The film focuses on the period when Lennon transitioned from pop star to political activist, using his worldwide fame to make himself a sort of bullhorn for the anti-war movement. Lennon realized that when he played "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", the whole world heard it, and so if he played something with the message of peace, the whole world would hear that, too. And so he and Yoko began saying it, "Peace", as loudly as possible, whenever possible, galvanizing millions of fans with the message that violence isn't the answer, and giving them a singular, condensed message to sing to their foes - "All we are saying is give peace a chance".

The U.S., led by Nixon's administration of deceipt and illegality, wasn't too keen on Lennon's simple, concise demand that they "Declare peace." It was idealistic, uncomplicated, and a powerful response to the fearmongering of the Vietnam era that rings frighteningly familiar today. Conservatives organized bonfire burnings of Beatles albums, and immigration tried over and over to send Lennon "back to Liverpool". In fact, Lennon's FBI file shows that the correspondence to deport him went as high as the oval office. Once Lennon started singing about revolution and peace, Nixon wanted him out!

Lennon was so effective as a political activist because he was already famous. There are SO many parallels between that era and our current situation, and many are saying "where is the outrage?" "where are the protesting students?" "Where are the protests songs on the radio?" Well, in the 60's and 70's, Lennon was a familiar celebrity that young people were willing to be led by. He wasn't just more popular than Jesus - he was fiercely intelligent and fiercely skeptical of the system, and people listened to him.

Today the political climate again cries out for protest, but who will lead in Lennon's style? Our biggest celebrities aren't serious artists, but reality television personalities, child stars grown into substance abusers, and hotel heiresses who can barely speak. Sure, we have celebs like George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio, but they aren't as compelling, and their celebrity is nowhere near that of Lennon's, or of Britney Spears' for that matter. We've abandoned real artists for corporate-manufactured idols, and now we are a generation desperately in need of an eloquent, popular voice. We are outraged, but there is nobody in sight to tell the world about it.

[The photo up there is of Lennon and Yoko Ono's "bed-in", during their honeymoon in 1969. They knew the media would follow them wherever they spent their honeymoon, so the couple decided to spend it in bed, surrounded by signs for peace, and invite the media in to talk about their message. Journalists expecting saucy "John and Yoko's honeymoon frolic" photos were disappointed. The couple, surrounded by guests, recorded "Give Peace a Chance" during the bed-in.]