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ABSTRACT:
The study focuses on Bohemian Rhapsody (2018, directed by Bryan Singer, later Dexter Fletcher), the biographical drama that reflects on the extraordinary lives and career patterns of the four members of the rock band Queen, predominantly the band's frontman, Freddie Mercury. Given the fact that this feature film has changed the way we perceive the economic potential of biopics entirely, we offer an overview of some of the reasons why it was so successful in terms of the globalised film industry. The main objective of the study is to outline the biographical drama's synergistic tendency in relation to the movie industry and the music business. Acknowledging Bohemian Rhapsodys unprecedented global success, we work with the assumption that certain biographical dramas can, in fact, become globally popular, partly thanks to the fact that they utilise music as a nostalgia-driven narrative tool making portrayals of musicians deeper and more complex. The assumption is addressed via a theoretical reflection on the given topic and through a qualitative content analysis of the biographical drama Bohemian Rhapsody.
KEY WORDS:
biographical drama, Bohemian Rhapsody., diegesis, film industry, film music, movie narrative, music industry, soundtrack
https://doi.org/10.34135/communicationtoday.2023.Vol.14.No.1.1
1Introduction: Synergy of the Music and Film Industries
The ways the film and music industries operate in the 21st century reflect the enormous influence international media conglomerates hold over the social, political and economic organisation of the globalised world. These segments may produce different kinds of content and services, but their economic activities are significantly intertwined due to direct or indirect ownership ties. The fact that the film and music industries share some of their market structures and both of them function as media oligopolies only deepens the already existing synergistic connections. Digital communication may have changed our lives, but that does not mean it has abandoned this basic economic framework, i.e., the existing distribution of power held over the global and international media markets. We may even say that media conglomerates (such as major music and movie producers, mostly those based in the United States) now operate online and offline and thus have gained even more economic power and social importance.1 The synergies merging the movie and music industries shape production processes related to both these business sectors, acting as a driving force...