Off The Shelf: The U.S. Versus John Lennon

John Lennon's anti-war community building activities make him an "enemy of the state" from 1968-1975.

David Leaf and John Scheinfeld, two directors who've made their careers by presenting the lives of entertainers like Elvis, Bette Midler, Sinatra and the Beach Boys, made a definitive documentary on the former Beatle that premiered at the Toronto Film Fest in 2006. This A+ documentary features interviews with those closest to Lennon and exhaustive research including reviewing John Lennon's F.B.I. file prepared by J. Edgar Hoover and sent to the Office Of The President Of The United States Richard "Tricky Dick" Nixson during the height of the Viet Nam War.

The U.S. vs John Lennon searches Lennon's sphere of influence by interviewing a startling amount of legendary and historical figures, lawyers, musicians and activists. This list features: Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, Black Panther Party co-founder Bobby Seale, anchorman Walter Cronkite, John Lennon's immigration lawyer Leon Wildes, reporter Geraldo Rivera, Watergate burglar G. Gordon Liddy, excerpts from benefit concerts with activists Jerry Rubin and Abby Hoffman, with surprisingly warm-hearted narration from Yoko Ono and many more.

This out-standing documentary takes the many political struggles that Lennon chose to fight and follows the Nixon administration's covert efforts to silence the anti-war community that he and his followers had helped create and foster into political reality (26th Amendment, Freeing John Sinclair). Leaf and Scheinfeld present the whole of Lennon's trumped up deportation battle based on a marijuana conviction in England during his time as a Beatle.

Bob Dylan's letter sent during in 1972 to The U.S. Immigration And Naturalization Service stated: "John and Yoko add a great voice and drive to the country’s so-called art institution. They inspire and transcend and stimulate and by doing so, only help others to see pure light and in doing that, put an end to this dull taste of petty commercialism which is being passed off as Artist Art by the overpowering mass media. Hurray for John and Yoko. Let them stay and live here and breathe. The country’s got plenty of room and space."

After three years of hearings, Lennon won his American citizenship by saying "Time wounds all heels". The documentary ends with his assassination in front of his building, The Dakota, at One West 72nd Street in New York City on December 10th of 1980.

References:

• Wikipedia, The U.S. vs. John Lennon
• Wikipedia, Lennon Deportation Attempt
• IMDB, The U.S. vs John Lennon (2006)
• IMDB, David Leaf
• Lennon FBI Files, Bob Dylan's Letter
• Slide Share, Appeal Of Conviction November 1968

Off The Shelf: There Is No Authority But Yourself

Dutch film maker Alexander Oey examines the history of punk rock social phenomenon Crass.

Punk rock. The unflinching unofficial religion of a sea of disenfranchised, socially and geographically isolated kids and cranks in Western culture.

Made in England by bands like the Sex Pistols and The Exploited then commercially perfected in America, Punk rock is a lot like that Angry Kid From high school. The odd one in the corner. That Kid who, each day, scribbled lyrics into his beat up binder. The one who consistently got D's and worked a night job. The same one who secretly carried a red-flecked pipe wrench in his back pocket like some kind of hidden talisman to ward off gangs of crack fiends and packs of ultra macho jocks who dictated what was Right and Wrong behavior.

Yet, instead of resigning himself to a meaningless life he picked up his beat up binder and screamed out to the world, waving a guitar instead of pipe wrench, that The Kid wasn't taking it anymore and that his audience didn't have to either.

This is a good introduction to Crass. An English punk rock act who railed against corrupt authority figures, institutionalized racism, mindless violence, out-of-touch splinter cells w/in government, smothering social anxiety and the ever present pressure to conform to an impossible ideal - an ideal that only existed on celluloid or in the dancing scanlines of television.


Core Crass members performing live in the early 80's Pete Wright, Steve Ignorant and Andy "N.A" Palmer.

Crass, formed in 1977 from of a group of edgy artists and actors, promoted Anarchism as a political ideology to combat corruption. Crass went on to form the base of a resistance movement against exploitative English policies and popularized the Anarcho-Punk movement of punk subculture by advocating real and direct action in social arenas as varied as political protest, animal rights, personal accountability and environmentalism.

Crass utilized and advocated a DIY punk ethic approach by producing sound collages, graphics, anti-Nuke pamphlets, solid albums and films that remain nearly unique in Western culture outside of Medieval monasteries and the utmost levels of Higher Education.


Promotional material typical of Crass who advocated positive and lasting social change.

Alexander Oey's rockumentary of Crass, There is No Authority But Yourself, was premiered at the Raindance Film Festival at the Piccadilly Circus, London Trocadero in October 2006 and part of the Official Selection film program at the Flipside Film Festival in May 2008.


References:

• Wikipedia, Crass
• Wikipedia, There Is No Authority But Yourself
• Wikipedia, Steve Ignorant
• Amazon, There Is No Authority But Yourself (2006)
• Punk Rocker UK, Crass Profile
• Southen Records, Crass Merch!