The other day I came across this documentary about Queen, the rock band best known for such hits as We Will Rock You, Bohemian Rhapsody – in case you haven’t been around for long enough. The documentary promised to show the connection between Christmas and the band Queen. Personally I wasn’t aware there was much of a connection, except for their somewhat failed attempt at a Christmas hit song with, “Thank God It’s Christmas”. While not a bad song, it doesn’t quite live up to their other smash hits. But I’m willing to be educated, so I gave the documentary a try. It started off talking about the Christmas connection, which turned out to be rather tangential, so it quickly morphed into another retelling of the band’s history – a pretty average one at that.
The thing is, I was watching this documentary together with my dad. A couple of years back, I bought this huge Freddie Mercury biography and gave it to him. He must’ve reread it about, oh, a million times already. By now he’s the world’s foremost expert on Freddie Mercury, or at the very least he knows a thing or two on the subject. So obviously we’re picking this documentary apart like you wouldn’t believe. It felt like a case of oversimplification to the point of being deceptive – almost comically so.
Here’s one example. Yes, Freddie was talented, but Bohemian Rhapsody didn’t just come out of nowhere like these documentaries often imply. Just listen to Queen’s second album to know what I mean. You’ll find that many of Bohemian Rhapsody’s elements were already there in other songs. By not providing this context, you’re making it seem like Freddie was some kind of god-like being, who started completely from scratch, with nothing more than divine inspiration to help him. And the truth is, no one can live up to that kind of reputation. Sooner or later people do their research, they start thinking for themselves, and they find out that you weren’t quite telling the whole truth. Then what?
At one point, the documentary made it seem as if Freddie broke up with his girlfriend, and, immediately afterwards, wrote the lyrics for “Don’t Stop Me Now”. I mean, come on now! The guy’s sad as hell, he’s figured out this relationship won’t work out because of his sexuality, and he’s going, “I’m having a ball!”. Really?
Anyways, a few years ago, I picked up this online course, supposedly about ‘influential writing’. The title intrigued me enough to check it out. Come to find out, it was all about telling and writing stories so others believe you’re a big deal. The speaker admitted most of the stories he usually told on stage were either exagerated, or partly made up. Turns out: he just looks at what kind of story he needs for which purpose, and molds the facts to suit the narrative. Sounds quite cynical, I know. Well, he’s a cynical guy. In a stroke of irony, his own course taught me not to trust him. Nevertheless, it did teach me something valuable: beware of stories that sound too good to be true.
Kind regards
Vincent J. Dancet
PS Have a great 2024!