The Weird Al biopic 2022, satirises the bohemian rhapsody poster, by replacing Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury, with Daniel Radcliffe playing Weird Al. This was done as the weird al biopic itself is a parody of biopics, playing into the comedic nature Yankovic is name for.
The posters feature a close up shot of the face, with half of it cut off, perhaps symbolising internal conflict, specifically around personal identity and maybe around sexuality, it features a purple hue, often associated with royalty as in the past, (purple dye was extremely hard to obtain, increasing its value to the point, only the richest could afford it, hence the connection to Queen). It also is an ambiguous colour, not commonly associated with either gender, being a mixture of both blue and pink, in the case of Freddie Mercury, it may symbolise a breakage of gender norms and not conforming to standards. The eyes, which are often seen as a gateway to the soul, are blocked off by a pair of sunglasses, featuring a word which summarises their identity, in the case of Freddie Mercury, it states Queen, a provocative and bold title for a male led band, once again disrupting societal expectations. Freddie ‘s bravery and daringness is summarised in the tagline, ‘fearless lives forever,’ stating that his willingness to break conventions meant he will be immortalised forever for his efforts, and that his legacy will live on.
The Weird Al version shows Yankovic’s comfortability to associate himself with gay artists, rather than his tendency to mock them, as some may assume. As it is important to know, Weird al never aims to make fun of someone without their permission or approval first. Weird Al’s parody of another one bites the dust, titled another one rides the bus, was what helped Weird put himself out in the music world, back in 1981. The song was even received well by Brian May the guitarist of queen, who expressed his amusement at the song.
Weird Al is no stranger to depicting his gender in unconventional ways, such as his parody of Lady Gaga’s born this way, named perform this way, where his head is edited onto a woman’s body, wearing an assortment of odd outfits. Some may find offense however as when Al does this, as it is typically done for humour due to its typical found oddity, however due to Weird Al’s harmless nature and tendency not to take things seriously, its safe to assume, he never meant any offense and only has good intentions.
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