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The Citizen
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
New film unveils the world of John Lennon and Yoko Ono
'One To One: John & Yoko' has been described as loud, honest, emotional, and unlike any documentary about Lennon and Ono made before. John Lennon remains one of the most influential musicians and social activists of all time. Not only did he, together with Paul McCartney and the Beatles, seed much of rock and roll as well know it today, but Lennon's activism showed the impact that celebrity can have on highlighting issues and agitating for change. With wife and muse Yoko Ono, the often controversial pair dented social constructs and made history, and helped turn the tide of their time. One To One: John & Yoko is a new film that tells this story. It has been described as loud, honest, emotional, and unlike any documentary about Lennon and Ono made before. It's not a biography. Not a timeline. The movie is more akin to a human story seen through the fuzz of a television set. In 1972, John Lennon was no longer a Beatle. He was a husband, a performer, an activist, and more than ever, a man trying to make sense of a world in chaos around him. Yoko Ono was by his side, not just as an inspirer, but as a creator, an artist, and equal in every way. Together they moved to Greenwich Village in New York, watched far too much American television, and tried to change the world. Not rock & roll nostalgia Directed by Kevin Macdonald and Sam Rice-Edwards, the documentary is not your standard trumpeting of rock & roll nostalgia. Instead, it is an immersive, sometimes jarring, often beautiful, cinematic experience that takes its audience inside the world as John and Yoko saw it. Literally. 'Kevin came up with the idea,' Rice-Edwards said. 'Why don't we show the world the way John and Yoko would have experienced it through their television in 1972? That became the lens through which the story unfolds.' John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Picture: Supplied John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Picture: Supplied It is an experimental route for a documentary, but it works. With thousands of hours of archive American television footage used, mixed with intimate and in many cases never-before-seen material from the Lennon estate, the film delivers fresh perspectives and insight. It is not just another portrait of fame or popcorn ego-trip in fandom. It is an honest endeavour to see and feel what John and Yoko actually felt. 'There were two types of archives,' Rice-Edwards said. 'The footage with John and Yoko, which was limited, but incredibly powerful, and then the seemingly endless material from 1972 American television. We watched everything from war coverage to daytime game shows, Nixon speeches, Coca-Cola adverts, all of it. We filtered and refined until we were left with what really told the story of that time.' Also Read: A Million Ways To Die, NFOH reincarnated That window in time was politically and culturally charged. The war in Vietnam raged on. The youth vote was in play. Nixon was under scrutiny. The country was divided and Lennon, newly arrived in America, believed he could make a difference. 'They (John and Yoko) fell in with radicals, artists, and activists,' Rice-Edwards said. 'There was this incredible optimism. They really thought they could change the world. But over time, they realised the world does not change as easily as you might hope. And so, they changed from global revolution to human connection, from grand gestures to smaller, more meaningful ones.' Meaningful human connection It was a moment on television that inspired the One to One benefit concert, the centrepiece of the film. A segment by broadcaster Geraldo Rivera about a school for children with disabilities struck a chord with both John and Yoko. 'They both had traumatic childhoods,' Rice-Edwards said. 'Yoko's daughter had been kidnapped. There was this intense emotional connection, and they wanted to do something about it.' The concert, which took place on 30 August 1972 at Madison Square Garden, was Lennon's only full-length solo show ever. But it was not recorded under ideal conditions. 'Everyone working on it was apparently really high,' Rice-Edwards said. 'So, the footage was chaotic, and the sound was poor. Sean Ono Lennon went back and completely reworked the audio. He took it to another level. We would hear the music as we were editing, and with every version it got better. By the time we did the final mix, it blew us away.' The film also attempts to correct the imbalance in how Yoko has been portrayed over the years. 'We did not feel the need to defend her,' he said. 'We just let the archive speak. She is strong, creative, compassionate, and central to everything. When Sean saw the film, he said it was the most honest portrayal of his mother ever made. That meant a lot to us.' Beyond politics and the rage of the time Beyond the music and politics and the rage of the time, One to One is also about perspective. 'What really surprised us,' Rice-Edwards said, 'was how much 1972 looked like now. The environment, race, gender, immigration, populist leaders, culture wars. It is all there. In a strange way, stepping back into that world tells us something urgent about the one we are in now.' One to One: John & Yoko screens exclusively in IMAX at selected Ster-Kinekor cinemas. It opens in South Africa for limited screenings on 6, 7 and 8 June. Also Read: Taryn Nissen's the heroine of ink
The Citizen
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
Conspiracy theories: Has the world gone mad?
The internet has given them eternal life and online scrolling has caused them to spread like wildfire. The world has gone crazy. Unless it has always been. There is just no place where conspiracy theories go to die, because the internet has given them eternal life. Online scrolling has also caused them to spread like wildfire, reeling in converts to absolute ridiculousness along the way. Of course, it could be these very folk who count among the select few that know the real truth. Perhaps Justin Bieber really is a lizard and aliens walk among us, exercising mind control techniques to keep the human population in check. And of course, both Santa and the Easter Bunny are real, but Finland never was. What are they smoking? The world is full of strange ideas, but sometimes you must wonder what they are smoking. You can see this mockumentary on Amazon Prime. It's called Mermaids, The Body Found, and first aired on pay TV about a decade ago. The narrative goes that scientists purportedly found evidence of half-human, half-fish. It sent the internet into a frenzy. The situation spiralled so far out of control that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States stepped in and issued an official statement confirming that 'no evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found'. But then again, that's exactly what they'd say if they were covering it up. Like with UFOs, conspirators said. And then there's the Denver International Airport, which might just be the centre of all things sinister and evil. Some corners of the internet believe it's the headquarters of the Illuminati, the secret organisation that controls the world. The symbol is on the cornerstone. Others think it's a literal gateway to hell because there is a glowing, red-eyed demon horse named… wait for it… Blucifer – that killed its sculptor, it's said. Then there are bizarre apocalyptic murals, and a plaque commemorating the New World Airport Commission, which is an organisation that doesn't exist, punters say. The airport, of course, has denied all these wild ideas. But then again, isn't that exactly what the Illuminati would say? Is Beyoncé married to a great-grand-oupa? Beyoncé may also be married to a great grand-oupa with some sharp teeth. Conspirators say that Jay-Z is a time-travelling vampire. A 1939 photo of a man photographed in the New York borough Harlem bearing an uncanny resemblance to the rapper surfaced a few years ago, launching an entire subgenre of internet sleuthing dedicated to proving Hollywood's elite are immortal bloodsuckers. Limos, paparazzi and the soft life? Unlikely. Instead, ancient, undead people still fill Lala Land, dressed in youth skins. The evidence is there, it's all there. Also Read: A Million Ways To Die, NFOH reincarnated Reddit is a wonderful place to learn, chat and sniff out the bizarre. A recent post claimed that China has been breeding an all-female army in underground bunkers since introducing its one-child policy. According to the post, these women, uncorrupted by blue-light-emitting electronics, are biding their time, waiting to unleash themselves and take over the United States. Apparently, prolonged exposure to screens has made the rest of us too sleep-deprived and mentally unstable to resist their inevitable takeover. And if that wasn't enough, once they conquer the United States, they'll repopulate the country with their superior, non-blue lighted genes. All female secret army Also, on Reddit there's a mother who genuinely believes that the concept of primary and secondary colours taught to her child at preschool is nothing more than a propaganda ploy created by the 'big colour industry'. Yes, Crayola and other evil crayon overlords, apparently, have been controlling our understanding of colour to serve their own nefarious agenda. What this motive may be, she didn't say. Then there was the woman who explained, with absolute conviction it seemed, that Ukraine is supplying the United States with kidnapped babies to produce yogurt. Only three letters will do here. It's a W, then a T, then a F. She also said that Russian president Vladimir Putin's invasion of the country was merely a heroic attempt to put an end to this great dairy-based atrocity. She probably had one too many, because she told what is easily the most absurd tall tale in a very, very long time. Lizardry… Finland, often rated as the country with the happiest citizens in the world, does not, in fact, exist. Japan and the Soviet Union invented it during the Cold War as part of an elaborate scheme to secure exclusive fishing rights in the Baltic Sea. They claim that Swedes, Estonians, and Russians now make up the country's smiley population and were duped into believing they live in a non-existent nation. His music may be as bland and cocky as his various hairstyles, but perhaps that is just a cover up for Justin Bieber's true identity. Conspiracy pundits revealed that the singer is part of an elite reptilian overlord class. They just don and zip up a human skin. Apparently, during a concert, Bieber shapeshifted into his true scaly form, much to the horror of fans. And they say that Bieber is not the only famous lizard in California… Also Read: Raise your hands to Miss Velvet's 'Hallelujah'
