Just Gimme Some Truth

I just finished watching "The U.S. vs. John Lennon," part of VH1's Rockdocs series. I thought it was a very good documentary, with all sorts of background information about the politics and radicalism of the 1960s and 70s and how John Lennon was involved in it all.

The interview clips, both with people who were there (Yoko Ono, G. Gordon Libby, etc.) and with John himself, are very insightful. The former FBI men are very candid about just what they were doing in regards to John Lennon's political activities.

The clips of John are just amazing. You really see his passion, his wit, and his charisma. He didn't play along with the press, nor did he shun it. Rather, he used his intelligence to give them the sort of answer HE wanted them to have. I particularly enjoyed the segment about the famous bed-in.

The end of the documentary is bittersweet. John won his immigration case on the same day his son Sean was born, making it one of the happiest days of his life. But, as we all know, John didn't live into the 1980s. But there is a glimmer of hope because, as Yoko Ono says, they tried to kill John, but they failed because his message still lives.

This is a good view for anyone interested in Vietnam war-era history, anyone who likes The Beatles, or at least John, or anyone interested in the conflicts between celebrity, press, and politics.