once upon a time - or maybe twice...

[wytchcroft]

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How many films about the Beatles does the world need?

The band split 40 years ago and Lennon himself died 20 years back and yet, what with Paul McCartney's touring theme-park of concerts, the never ending repackaging of material (Let it Be Naked, Love, One ad infinitum) and the steady flow of dramas and documentaries, it's as if they never went

Comments

[vivid_corners]

The older I get, the less I feel connected to John. Growing up I was obsessed with him, and when his name is mentioned I still get a dopey smile on my face, but he seems less and less of an amazingly unique visionary and...well, more like the rest of us. I also used to think he was, without a doubt, the best Beatle, even the most important. But even though I like his solo work better than any other band members, none of it comes close to the work they did when together. I have never seen a Beatles movie that was not made by the Beatles themselves (other than the Anthology I guess), I don't really see the point. Especially because I've read so many of Lennon's biographies, I don't find movie versions necessary. I feel like the stories stand alone so well that any attempt to mass market them into entertainment is going to do them a disservice.
John had a large and damaged ego, and tons of self-loathing. Looking at him now, he even seems somewhat narcissistic, and I think his talk of peace and love wasn't out of genuine understanding, but of having a lack of those things in his life.
Nice analysis of the movie! It sounds like they did a fairly decent job. I'm kinda scared to see what gets done with the Disney version of Yellow Submarine :/ Are there any fictional *books* written about Lennon's life?

[wytchcroft]

that's very interesting and i sort of agree in that i think growing away from your formative influences is a natural enough process.

Lennon pretty much kept me alive during my school days and his music and life still act as a touchstone for me... but not in the same way anymore, not with the same intensity.

i'm glad about that, not only does it mean i have my own life (ha ha!) it also means i see the reality and humanity of Lennon's life, warts and all.

And if some uniqueness and freshness are lost, i still appreciate the wonderful things generated by a bunch of boys from an average suburb in an average town in an average country at a profoundly average point in time - if anything they seem all the more extraordinary in that way.

Lennon in fiction? well there are Beatle fan-fics of every kind on the web though i've hardly read any, but there's an interesting couple of stories by Poppy Z. Brite that turn up in anthologies now and again. :)

[vivid_corners]

Agreed. I didn't mean to take a piss on our main man ;P He was essential to my childhood/adolescence too and I have no idea who'd I be without him or The Beatles. I think now, I have more affection for the Beatles than I do for John specifically, and less of an affection for the sixties as well as the things that came from it. The beauty in their sound is something that still stands alone though, and I hope for me it always does.
I feel silly saying I didn't know there was Beatles fanfic, but I know there is fanfic for *everything* lol.

beatle fics

[wytchcroft]

well i feel silly for knowing abut that stuff! LOL!

*gazes around warily*

[wytchcroft]

some of my closest friends absolutely detest Lennon (and the Beatles too), so i don't think you were taking the piss. Lennon wasn't a saint, he'd have been a lot more boring if he had been.