David Leaf
Usa contro John Lennon

Just the other night I rewatched the DVD of the film "The U.S. vs. John Lennon," a documentary made by David Leaf dedicated to the tumultuous relationship between musician John Lennon and the U.S. government in the 1970s (and until his tragic death in December 1980). The first time I saw the film was when it premiered in Italian cinemas (in 2007), and even then it didn't completely convince me. Even after recently rewatching it, I remain of the same opinion.

In short, the film (made with great skill) starts by illustrating a rebellious John Lennon from his adolescence (with divided parents) and intolerant of any form of authority, who manages to establish himself as a musician (after a long period of apprenticeship) in the Beatles group (the story is well known). At one point, he gives an interview (around 1966) in which he incautiously claims that given the state of Beatlemania worldwide, there is a possibility that the Beatles might become more popular and enduring than Christianity itself. This will cause a lot of controversy, especially in the southern United States. He himself will attempt to partially rectify what was said (and here the suspicion already arises that he was not very aware of the scope of his statements and actions). Subsequently, the documentary shows the turning point in John’s career and life following his meeting with the Japanese artist Yoko Ono. Much has been said and written about her; to me, she has always seemed like an artist of questionable level, one among many of the situationist trend akin to the Fluxus group. This artistic alliance between John and Yoko, in addition to facilitating the inevitable and natural disbandment of the Beatles (in 1970), allowed John to start a solo career with mixed results, ranging from poor experimental music works (the various "Unfinished Music") to more solidly qualitative long plays like "John Lennon Plastic Ono Band" and "Imagine." Furthermore, the two also took a stand on the political commitment side, recording "Give Peace a Chance" (the best-achieved song in this area) and publicly manifesting against the American military involvement in the Vietnam War. All this until 1972, after which their political involvement receded. The reason is quite clear: since John and Yoko were residing in New York and John had applied for the Green Card, a document certifying the granting of U.S. citizenship. Being too politically exposed, now that President Nixon had been reelected to the White House in 1972, was very risky. In fact, Hoover's FBI was trying in every way to control that flashy and subversive pair of artists (and this demonstrates not only how the FBI was managed in a reactionary way but also how it was in the hands of paranoid individuals). On the other hand, if we consider that the Watergate scandal broke out at some point involving Nixon himself so much that it led to his resignation in 1974, we get a disturbing picture of the situation in the USA, about which John Lennon no longer expressed himself explicitly after 1972. In short, engaged John waited for the waters to calm down and finally obtained the Green Card in 1976. A few years later, as is well known, he was killed in New York by an unbalanced fan who went down in history only for attempting the life of Lennon, guilty of having betrayed, with his being a rock star, the progressive ideals represented in the eyes of the world.

All of this is history, but while watching the film, I get the feeling that with the long hand of the avid widow Yoko Ono, they are trying to create a sort of holy card of John Lennon, which he certainly was not. The man in question, as reported by many biographies, was confused, volatile, flamboyant without being a methodical musician (like Frank Zappa, Pete Townshend, Bob Dylan, etc.), unstable in character. All his experiences in a stormy career piled one upon the other, so much that one was replaced by another as if nothing had happened. After all, for him, political commitment was one way or another to try something new, as if it were a new haircut. The same goes for rock and roll, the Beatles, drugs, transcendental meditation, avant-garde music, Yoko Ono, and so on. In short, John Lennon's kaleidoscopic and chameleonic nature (a man in constant search of something that motivated his life) was such that no one, not even the friends and musicians he encountered, can sincerely claim to have really known him (least of all the various characters interviewed in the film, from Angela Davis to Mario Cuomo, from Yoko Ono herself to John McGovern and many others). What is certain, however (and emerges also in "The U.S. vs. John Lennon"), is John's vast musical repertoire, driven by spontaneity and aiming straight at the heart and mind of the listener. A great legacy for music that has few equals.