Lennon
Christina Johnston – Lennon
When looking at the interaction between music and political influence, it becomes imperative to realize the power that a popular artist has when composing the sound, lyrics, and tone of a song. Lennon’s association with Ono, and disgust for the violent actions in Vietnam set him up to be viewed by the government to be a political ‘other,’ as well as a considerable threat. This poses the question, that if the statement made by Gloria Emerson on the New York Times was indeed true, and Lennon made no difference in American lives; then why was he viewed as such a threat by the US government?
He was such a threat because of the influence which he earned through his early years of success and fame. If Lennon was just an average Joe protesting, he wouldn’t receive nearly the level of national attention that he did. Musical artist have proven Emerson’s accusation of the nullity of popular culture on American lives wrong countless times. For example, Bono is raising millions of dollars in the fight against AIDS through his music and his stance on the issue, and is directly affecting thousands of lives, while raising awareness for the cause. Lennon accomplished a similar feat in that; he provided a look into an alternative to the war and loss that Americans were experiencing. If nothing else, he got people thinking about why we occupied Vietnam, and as a result, people developed their own opinions about the ideals he was promoting in his music. We are by no means out of control of our own thoughts as an American culture, but the simple song about change and peace has the power to expose us to a new way of thinking, from which we can develop a stance. It’s very ironic how the film shows the hypocrisy of Nixon, being that he was thrown out of office for activities which were clearly “un-American,� when he so adamantly pointed the finger of blame towards Lennon.