The John Lennon's 'Imagine' Joke in 'Forrest Gump' Isn't Funny

Music

A famous historical gag from the movie 'Forrest Gump' ignores the fact that Yoko Ono helped inspire John Lennon's "Imagine."

Published on May 7, 2023

TL;DR:

• In Forrest Gump, the title character goes on The Dick Cavett Show and inspires John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
• The scene makes it so that “Imagine” is inspired by Forrest’s experiences in Red China.
• John said the song was inspired by Yoko Ono and his feelings about religion.

John Lennon‘s “Imagine” has a big place in popular culture. For example, the song appears in the movie Forrest Gump. The song’s appearance in the film simply isn’t funny and undermines Yoko Ono’s place in history.

The John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ joke in ‘Forrest Gump’ explained

In a famous sequence from the film Forrest Gump, Forrest makes an appearance on The Dick Cavett Show. During his appearance, Forrest tells John about China, He remarks that the people have very few possessions and don’t go to church. John says that the people in that country have “no possessions” and “no religion.” Cavett says he can’t imagine a world like that. John says “it’s easy if you try.”

The clear implication here is that Forrest inspired many of the most famous lyrics from “Imagine.” The song presents a utopian vision of the world. Instead of coming from John’s imagination, the vision was instead an optimistic vision of Red China. In a way, Forrest Gump undercuts the mystique of John’s song. The film has a similar gag where Forrest inspires Elvis Presley’s famous dance moves.

Why the ‘Imagine’ gag doesn’t work

Puns aside, the gag is insulting. It denies Yoko Ono’s place in musical history. According to a 1980 interview contained in the book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Yoko’s avant-garde book inspired John to write the song. 

“The song was originally inspired by Yoko’s book Grapefruit,” he recalled. “In it are a lot of pieces saying, ‘Imagine this, imagine that.’ Yoko actually helped a lot with the lyrics, but I wasn’t man enough to let her have credit for it.”

What John Lennon was trying to say in the lyrics of the song

John regretted this decision. “I was still selfish enough and unaware enough to sort of take her contribution without acknowledging it,” he said. “I was still full of wanting my own space after being in a room with the guys all the time, having to share everything. So when Yoko would even wear the same color as me, I used to get madly upset: ‘We are not The Beatles! We are not f****** Sonny and Cher!'” In 2017, Yoko received finally a writing credit for the 1971 track. 

John explained the idea behind the song and it had nothing to do with China. “It is the concept of positive prayer,” he said. “If you want to get a car, get the car keys. Get it? ‘Imagine’ is saying that. If you can imagine a world at peace, with no denominations of religion — not without religion but without this my-God-is-bigger-than-your-God thing — then it can be true.”

The gag isn’t funny but Forrest Gump remains a crowd-pleaser.

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