Along the release of the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, the legendary figure of Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the band Queen, resurfaces. The movie, even though it includes spectacular performances, left many with big question marks on the protagonist’s portrayal and a possible obscurity on aspects concerning his personal life. In this article, we will take a look on how Mercury was perceived by his contemporaries but also his own fellow band members, who had the final say about the movie.

I want to talk about identities not as a noun, not as a static fixed, a stagnant item, but as a verb— a string in motion, and more importantly, as something that is given to you, whether you like it or not. Identity is a verb in that it’s very thingness as a thing is made via the act of identifying, tagging, defining, another. To be an identity is intrinsically to be given that identity— an identity which is given— to be identified as such, to navigate the world with that given identity. To be identified is supremely political— it is supremely about power— the power of definition— the power of subjugation. To subjugate the other, the other first must be identified as such and such other, having such and such characteristics, to create those characteristics by the act of saying that they are there, by making an inventory of the things one can be, things to be classified by. They say it is there, so therefore it is there, and therefore you are that. You are fixed to this thing in this location, in this socialized body, in this confined environment— the identified is always the other, the other condemns itself by the invented traits [“the other is less because that is who the other is”] — traits that are exploitable, condemnable— (im)proper(tied).

Podcasts are incredible. They can inspire, educate, make us grow, but also just simply entertain. There’s probably a podcast about anything you can imagine, ranging from nuclear science, through film reviews, to Harry Potter fan-fiction. And there’s, of course, countless podcasts about all-thing-architecture. Many are already established podcasts and many new ones appear pretty much every single day.