Aspects of Human Culture

John Lennon was born in Liverpool in 1940. He was one of the most famous artistic
works artists. He was a member of the Beatles band, an influential group of their time to date.
The band created hits that resonated with youths and their parents alike. John Lennon created
meaningful lyrics that allowed listeners to resonate with the song personally. In 1971, he released
his first successful album, ‘Imagine.’ The song became an influential cultural work in history,
mainly because it captured the spirit of the counter-culture movement.
One of John Lennon’s artistic works was called ‘imagine,’ whose medium was music.
The historical significance of this work was that it was released in 1968 after the peak of the
Vietnam War. During this time, there was a struggle between the USA and USSR, and most
countries were in tension due to the cold war. Therefore, the song was released when the world
was experiencing a never-ending series of self-importance wars. The artistic works by John
Lennon were a call for peace and were considered a universal anthem for peace (Garofalo,
2018). Producing this song was inspired by the artist’s desire to see a world without conflicts. He
speaks of how a world founded on no religion and countries would create a planet of peace.
The message in this song aligns with the ideals of the counter-cultural movement, whose
establishment was causing more harm than good. The medium used in this artistic work is music.
The musical elements affect the listening experience and how people perceive the message and
content of the song. The artistic works apply elements that allow the listener to imagine a world
of peace and no conflicts (Garofalo, 2018). Using musical instruments like piano timbre shows
that the artist wants people to listen and imagine, not act. Also, the song lyrics use a soft and
calming chord progression that helps reinforce his message and takes the listener to an
imaginative and dream state. The musical instrument adds meaning to the song.

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The artistic works seek to answer various prompts about culture. One of these prompts is
the significance of culture and its mediums in the process of activism. John Lennon uses his
artistic works to advocate the need for peace and eradicate conflicts in society. Establishing
movements, according to him, would cause more harm than good. The song encompassed the
concepts in the counter-culture movement and rejected all the ideals representing the movement’s
establishment, such as possessions, religion, and country (Dahal, 2021). Music, the medium of
his cultural works, makes the audience feel engaged and inclusive. Through the song, Lennon
paints a picture of a world without reason to think of how people will lead a life of tension and
fight for material attachments. Therefore, cultural works played a significant role in activism
during the counter-culture movement.
One of the big questions that could have influenced the creation of these artistic works
was, “How can we eradicate conflicts and create peace in a world where people have
experienced a series of wars?” John Lennon’s idea for creating this song was the desire to see a
world without conflicts, which could be achieved by eradicating cultures and ideas that breed
conflicts worldwide. The songs get people to imagine a world without religions, countries, or
possessions, factors that result in conflicts.

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References

Dahal, A. (2021). Anti-war messages in the songs of John Lennon. JODEM: Journal of
Language and Literature, 12(1), 1-16.
Garofalo, I. (2018). “Imagine”: An anthem for peace and solidarity, 1971-2018