The U.S. vs. John Lennon - by Jon Marshalla
In the film when Gloria Emerson asked Lennon whether or not he actually believed he's saved lives with his music about peace, her tone is attacking and condescending. She is implying how naive he is to think that by singing songs with lines like "All we are saying, is give peace a chance," which became somewhat of the anthem to the peace movement, actually changed anything.
I would disagree with her on this point. While his music obviously did not directly lead to an end of the war or directly save lives, it most definitely had an effect on the mentality of society as a whole. In his article titled Music and Radical Politics, Perone quotes political leader Jerry Rubin saying "I thought maybe the real battle of America is not politics, it's lifestyle." (102) This influence on the lifestyle primarily was the "sex, drugs & rock 'n roll" stigma that many artists, including Lennon portrayed in their lyrics and actions. By focusing on lifestyle changes, it allowed artists to indirectly cause political change by changing society's mentalities about what is important in life. It extended beyond their lyrics and allowed them to make "the musical style and performance practice...the message." (103) In addition to the affects that Lennon and others had on lifestyle, they obviously scared politicians who were in favor of the war. Perone also states in his article that "it has been established that the primary reason for [Lennon's] difficulty in obtaining the green card was because of his involvement in the anti-war movement and in the New York radical political scene." (108) So whether or not critics believe that Lennon influenced lifestyle, which he most obviously did, he definitely placed pressure on government officials to change, which is evidenced in them trying to deport him. So, without question, music truly does have the ability to make significant changes in the "real world."