The U.S. vs. John Lennon - Amanda Palazzo
In “The U.S. vs. John Lennon,� Gloria Emerson, a reporter for the New York Times, asks John Lennon, in reference to his songs about peace, “you don’t actually think you’ve saved a single life?� Her statement, insinuating that music/musicians do not have the ability to affect change and save lives, is ludicrous. There are many examples of how music has made an impact, on both a global and individual scale.
Some artists, like John Lennon, Bob Dylan, and U2 (to name a few), have focused much of their careers on bringing social, economical, and political issues (on personal, national, and global level), to the attention of the masses. As we saw in the film, John Lennon channeled much of his political feelings into songs, penning “Give Peace a Chance,� “Imagine,� and “John Sinclair.�
Bob Dylan, as well, used music as an avenue for political expression, with songs like “The Times They Are a-Changin,’� North Country Blues,� and “Hurricane.� Like Lennon’s concert for John Sinclair (which got him released from prison), Dylan held a benefit for Rubin “Hurricane� Carter (Dylan song’s namesake), a boxer accused of murder. Though he won the right to a new trial, he was once again convicted.
For many years, U2 have been active in raising awareness for a litany of causes. They have participated in benefits like Band Aid (a benefit concert for Ethiopian famine relief), written songs such as, “Sunday Bloody Sunday,� “Walk On,� and “Peace on Earth,� and most recently, played a pivotal part in the “Product Red� and “ONE� campaigns, which aim to combat global disease and poverty, amongst other issues. U2 drummer, Larry Mullen Jr., states it best, “Politics and music I find very hard to distinguish, where do you draw the line?�
Countless artists, whether they are actively political in their music, have participated in benefit concerts, which raise money and awareness for many different issues. Though many of the songs performed at these events are not political themselves, it is used instead as a catalyst to unify people around a common cause. One such event, Live 8, which took place in 2005 in concurrence with the G8 Summit, aimed to “pressure world leaders to drop the debt of the world’s poorest nations, increase and improve aid, and negotiate fair trade rules.� It was successful in that “G8 leaders pledged to double the amount of aid to poor nations.�
Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_8
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_Bloody_Sunday_%28song%29