BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY: I AM CONFUSED?

I defend this movie against total straight washing. Also I’m not listing the articles or tweets or anything else I’ve read about this movie because I already will probably write this more dramatically than I intend to and don’t proclaim that I disagree with these people’s interpretations. It’s just that what I’ve written here is my opinion on how the movie handles Freddie’s bisexuality and the response people have had to it.

The first sign of queerness in this movie was when Freddie was on the phone to Mary, and Freddie got distracted by a well-build guy walking into a bathroom at the petrol station.

The next was when Paul kissed Freddie. And I’ve read about how Paul ‘thrusting’ himself onto Freddie suggests that Freddie’s attraction towards men is therefore also considered ‘thrusting unwantedly’ upon him. Making bisexuality or homosexuality seem also ‘unwanted.’ But honestly what sort of bullshit is it to think that he’d not turn Paul down??? He was engaged to Mary when Paul kissed him. You expect the man to just start making out with Paul? He said no, and he said no because he loved Mary. My deepest apologies that the man chose to stay loyal.

And there was a BDSM gay club for fuck’s sake. Don’t you dare say to me again that there wasn’t any gay content in it Patricia.

And I’m not saying either that Bohemian Rhapsody is worthy of praise for its queer representation of how it handles Freddie’s sexuality even. Definitely not. It’s not a great representation really at all for people, and even on the same level for a film that queer people can love as much as something like Love, Simon. But life isn’t always amazing. And not everyone in your life is going to be amazing. Sometimes life is just shit. Sometimes like Freddie you will feel alone, confused and helpless.

Then some reckon that Freddie’s bisexuality was erased when Mary said ‘no, you’re gay’ – but I don’t know… Throughout the entire film there was Mary as a love interest until they became close, lifelong friends when their relationship kind of fell apart. But Freddie still obviously cared very much for her, and her for him, and then Freddie had male partners too. So the audience knows he’s bisexual. Plus Mary is upset in that scene – people say insensitive things when they’re hurt.

And also the movie ends with the Live Aid concert, which was in the same year that Freddie started dating Jim. So Jim doesn’t feature as predominately as Mary as Freddie’s partner. But that’s more the movie timeline’s fault. And it’s pretty hard to fit someone’s life story into a 2 hour movie… So I empathise with those who say that Jim should have been in the film more… But also I understand that the Live Aid concert was a pretty good place to end to the film.

Jim was depicted so lovely though. Him and Mary were so wonderful. And I was so happy that in the ending scene they were both there to watch Freddie perform. Paul was very villainised though, and some say that gives a certain ‘gay couples are bad’ feel to the movie because Paul was so manipulative. And I do think he should’ve been portrayed a lot more ‘human’. But also maybe I’m just a bad person for understanding Paul’s motives for everything and not hating him because he was clearly so scared, wanted to be with Freddie so badly, and also wanted more than he had or could obtain. But Freddie still did have two wonderful partners, one a female and one a male.

Overall:
I am sorry that we weren’t given a nice depiction of bisexuality where everyone always accepts Freddie and him and others aren’t unbelieving or uncertain about it. But I am not really that sorry that we’re shown what can happen to people. That w are given something that for many, is a reality.

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BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY: IT DEFINITELY TRIES TO APPEAL TO MULTIPLE AUDIENCES

And I am the audience ‘looking for entertainment.’ I was thoroughly pleased with this movie. It was very entertaining.

I like Queen’s music. Obviously, who doesn’t? But I am by no means a hardcore fan of the band and know very little about their lives and their band’s story. So the whole thing was quite new to me, and I was interested in about finding out about the band’s origins. Even if I know that some of it definitely wasn’t the exact reality, but also it’s a movie so I don’t except an unbiased hyper-realistic film (especially considering each person has their own version of reality anyway).

And without any surprise here… the music was great! It’s Queen. The performances were amazing to watch too. And I loved seeing the scale of the crowds they performed to.

The band was great, and I loved the family theme that was going on throughout the whole movie. The Acting was sooooooo good too! Honestly just give Rami Malek an Oscar nomination already! Paul was very villainised though… like… they didn’t even try to present him as a more well-rounded human being? While the rest of the characters were very likeable.

The movie was actually very funny too, especially all the petty fights the band members had with each other – very family like and it showed their closeness. I loved the scene too where Roger is getting more and more mad, and the others yell at him to not throw the coffee machine (I remember it as a coffee machine so I’m just assuming that’s correct) and he listens. It was funny and I felt like it really showed how they’re arguing, but it’s nothing that serious that they can’t get over it quickly. And Freddie reaffirmed this when he said how he missed them and their arguing when he tried his solo career. Also the scene where Queen is recording Bohemian Rhapsody has to be my favourite (along with the coffee one).

I have been informed though my numerous research articles too that the general consensus of viewers seems to be that Freddie’s life was a lot more extravagant that what appears on this screen. I tend to agree with this, but also I don’t really like the extravagant lifestyle (I would need naps constantly, even watching that sort of lifestyle makes me tired for the person living it) so I prefer the ‘blander’ approach Bohemian Rhapsody has to Freddie’s life.

But it’s very hard to tell the story of Freddie Mercury anyway. He was very private about his personal life, and that was reflected too in how during the scene where the band is being interviewed Freddie and his bandmates defer questions off of Freddie and his personal life. Freddie instead wanted people to focus on his music. Freddie too in this scene stresses that he is not the lead of Queen, but just the lead singer – reaffirming that family theme that is threaded throughout the entire film.

And I’m okay with that the bandmates of Freddie still alive today ensured that this film was kept that way – the way Freddie wanted people to see him publicly. I’m also fine that this movie tends to protect Queen’s legacy instead of getting into nitty gritty, dirty details. I’m fine with a rose-tinted view of Freddie Mercury’s life as this film remembers him and his legacy.

And I don’t think anyone could really depict Freddie’s life ‘accurately.’ As I said he was private about his life, and this film is already exploring so much with substance abuse, sexuality, family, music, relationships and a great internal conflict. The movie is trying to cover off of so much, and telling someone’s life story in a compact less than 2 hours is hard. The movie is trying to entertain people, keep Queen fans happy, keep Freddie Mercury fans happy with his life’s portrayal, allow Queen to have their legacy and balance everything that the directors, screenwriters, actors… everyone involved in making the movie try to express through their undying hard work to make this movie what it is – while also preserving Freddie Mercury’s life to present it as one filled with much struggle for him, but also one of family, friends and love.

Overall:
But I’m not watching this movie to pick apart how inaccurate it is. Or how Freddie Mercury’s life could have been (or how people think it showed have been) depicted. I’m enjoying the wonderful and amazing acting I got to see, be emotional about how much a family Queen is shown to be, try to understand all the different characters throughout the film and their actions, and just watch it for entertainment purposes. And I really enjoyed it.

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