The Creativity and Humanity of John Lennon

Peter Jackson’s excellent new documentary Get Back provides an inside view of one of legendary rock band The Beatles' last recording sessions and their final public performance. Inspired by our viewing of the three-part documentary, today on MindMatters we discuss our thoughts about not only the Beatles and the nature of creativity, but also musical giant John Lennon’s incredible artistry, the role he chose for himself post-Beatles, and how he chose to make constructive use of his considerable fame and talent to raise political awareness. Few artists in history are gifted with such creativity and influence so as to make them the enemy of presidents and intelligence agencies, and yet that was exactly what John Lennon was before his life was cut tragically short by so-called ‘lone nutter’ Mark David Chapman. What Lennon might have done with a full life one can only, sadly, speculate. But we can look back at his all-too-brief life, celebrate his accomplishments, acknowledge his flaws, and recognize the power he had to move millions with his heart and with his message.