Nutopia is a conceptual country, sometimes referred to as a

micronation A micronation is a political entity whose members claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by world governments or major international organizations. Micronations are classified se ...

, founded by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

. One of the reasons that the country was founded was to address Lennon's then-ongoing immigration problems (the previous week he received a deportation order) through satirical means. There is no leadership and not all citizenships have been recorded. As a result, the population is unknown. Nutopia is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words

History

On 2 April 1973 Lennon and Ono introduced the conceptual country of Nutopia at a press conference in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Lennon and Ono declared themselves ambassadors of the country and sought

diplomatic immunity Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are recognized as having legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country.

to end Lennon's ongoing

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

troubles as he and Ono tried to remain in the United States. (Ono already had a Resident Alien "

green card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

" through her previous husband, Tony Cox. Lennon had been denied permanent residence status.) Lennon talked about the imaginary country, which would live up to the ideals of his song "

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

", saying this in the "official" declaration, signed the day before:

We announce the birth of a conceptual country, NUTOPIA. Citizenship of the country can be obtained by declaration of your awareness of NUTOPIA. NUTOPIA has no land, no boundaries, no passports, only people. NUTOPIA has no laws other than cosmic. All people of NUTOPIA are ambassadors of the country. As two ambassadors of NUTOPIA, we ask for diplomatic immunity and recognition in the United Nations of our country and its people.

Lennon's deportation order was overturned in 1975. The following year, he received his

, certifying his

permanent residency Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with suc ...

, and ended talks about Nutopia. In 2006, a Nutopia website was created that forwarded to a site about the documentary ''

The U.S. vs. John Lennon ''The U.S. vs. John Lennon'' is a documentary film about John Lennon, Lennon's transformation from member of the Beatles to anti-war activist opposing the reelection of Richard Nixon as president in 1972. The film also details the attempts by the ...

'', distributed by

Lions Gate Entertainment Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered in ...

. The Nutopian Embassy is located at 1 White Street in the Tribeca neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Symbols

The

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

of Nutopia has only one colour:

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

. At the press conference Lennon, waving a white tissue, stated, "This is the flag of Nutopia—we surrender, to peace and to love". According to a reporter for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Lennon blew his nose on the tissue. Some criticised this association with surrender, but Lennon and Ono defended the association, saying that only through surrender and compromise could peace be achieved. Lennon's album ''

Mind Games Playing mind games (also power games or head games) is the largely conscious struggle for psychological one-upmanship, often employing passive–aggressive behavior to specifically demoralize or dis-empower the thinking subject, making the a ...

'' (1973) features the "''Nutopian International Anthem''", which consists of four seconds of silence. The hand-drawn Great

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

of Nutopia features a picture of a

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

balancing a

yin-yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the cycles of yin and ya ...

globe on its nose. A plaque engraved with the words "NUTOPIAN EMBASSY" was installed at the back (kitchen) entrance to

the Dakota The Dakota, also known as the Dakota Apartments, is a Housing cooperative, cooperative apartment building at 1 West 72nd Street (Manhattan), 72nd Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The Dakota was construc ...

apartment where Lennon and Ono lived. Ono remarked decades later that guests preferred walking into her home through that door instead of the front entrance.

Legacy

Finnish singer-songwriter

Kari Peitsamo Kari Juhani Valdemar Peitsamo (born 26 August 1957) is a Finnish musician whose style has changed over the years from acoustic avant-garde pop to electric rock. His best-known song is probably "Kauppaopiston naiset" (Business College Women) from ...

, fan of Lennon's work, released a song called "Nutopia" on his album ''

I'm Down "I'm Down" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released on a non-album single as the B-side to "Help!" in July 1965. The song originated in McCartney's attempt ...

''. In 2009 an exhibit in New York displayed the letter that established Nutopia.

References

External links

Nutopianism
A conceptual road to Nutopia {{Micronations John Lennon Micronations Yoko Ono