The History of Freddie Mercury by MV Ahundova

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The symbol of the Faun (Greek Pan) is a goat-legged forest goddess, the patron saint of shepherds, a seducer of nymphs, a wild forest inhabitant. In ancient mythology, Pan was also considered the winner of the Titans, symbolizing evil. In late antiquity, the rough image of Pan was ennobled, he became associated with the Logos (speech) - because Hermes was regarded as the father of both his and the Logos, and with the dual nature of man - his spiritual and animal principle, good and evil within him, because Pan upper body is like a person, and the bottom - on a goat. Greek philosophers beat the name of Pan and the Greek word "pan" - "all". Socrates in Plato's Dialogue "Kratil" (5th century BC), thus explains the symbolism of Pan:

"Pan is the bipedal son of Hermes. Speech (Logos), everything (pan) means and everything revolves ... and it is also bipartisan - true and false. The true nature is both smooth and divine, and dwells in the summits with the gods, lying down below, among the crowd, being shaggy and goatskin (tragicon), wherever there is most of the myths and fictions everywhere ... Speech (Logos) will be the shepherd Pan, the biped Hermes son , From above smooth, from below shaggy and goat, and, consequently, Pan, since he is the son of Hermes, will be either the Logos or the brother of the Logos ... "

Faun symbolizes a man beginning to overcome his beastly nature. In the next episode, the Faun and his companions attack the bunches of grapes, laid out on a rock, and try to grasp it with their mouths. Grapes - the oldest symbol of eternal life, spirituality, rebirth and immortality. He was a symbol of the posthumous salvation of the soul in funerary art, he was depicted in ancient Egypt as a sign of the risen Osiris and the Zoroastrian ossuary. In Christianity, grapes and grape wine symbolized the rebirth of the soul in God. The wine was used in the communion ceremony as the "Blood of Christ". In the Gospel of John, Christ is compared with the vine: "I am the vine, and my father is the husbandman" (15: 1). Therefore, the grapes in the video clip are eaten by the mouth, which symbolizes spiritual nourishment, the sacrament. As is known, During the communion ceremony, the sacrament is put into the priest's mouth, which symbolizes the spiritual food received directly from God - therefore the hands should be folded or crossed with this ritual. Grapes also symbolize the godfather death of Jesus Christ, and people who eat grapes take the sacrifice of Christ, communing with him. The stone is the oldest symbol of death, and the fact that the grapes are on a stone means overcoming mortality. This can also be an allegorical illustration of the words of Jesus Christ from the Gospel of Matthew: "And I say to you: you, Peter, and on this stone I will create my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (16.18). And people who eat grapes take the sacrifice of Christ, communing with him. The stone is the oldest symbol of death, and the fact that the grapes are on a stone means overcoming mortality. This can also be an allegorical illustration of the words of Jesus Christ from the Gospel of Matthew: "And I say to you: you, Peter, and on this stone I will create my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (16.18). And people who eat grapes take the sacrifice of Christ, communing with him. The stone is the oldest symbol of death, and the fact that the grapes are on a stone means overcoming mortality. This can also be an allegorical illustration of the words of Jesus Christ from the Gospel of Matthew: "And I say to you: you, Peter, and on this stone I will create my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (16.18).

Freddie-Fawn lies on his back with his arms crossed, and the people lined up pass it to each other. In parallel to the line is a man who drags two women with her hair loose behind her. The symbolism is somewhat creepy - it's not hard to guess that it's about death, funeral. Freddie crosses his arms as they do in the Zoroastrian funeral rite. People carry the body, and the family moves alongside. Women loose their hair, as it should be in the East with the manifestation of grief. From grief, they can not go, so the man drags them behind him. It is worth remembering that the Freddie family consisted of a man and two women - father, mother and sister. Freddie was not sick when this clip was filmed, but perhaps he hinted at the possibility of his death, as in "Mustapha." But this is only a hint - the main significance of the episode is quite different. Freddie still plays the part of the Faun,

According to the legend set forth by Plutarch, in the year 33 on the Greek merchant ship people heard an invisible voice, proclaiming: "The Great Pan died." The emperor Tiberius took this event as a heavenly sign and convened philosophers and astrologers, ordering them to give an interpretation of a strange phrase. In the future, Christian theologians considered this a sign of the end of the ancient era, the death of paganism and the coming of Christianity. Thus, this is a hidden hymn to the onset of Christianity and the victory over death.

Episodes in which Freddie flies and crawls along the bridge from the bodies, symbolizes the so-called posthumous tribulations of the soul, eloquently described in both Christian and Zoroastrian spiritual literature. Finally, he appears in the company of a strange girl, hugs her from behind, his eyes are covered, bliss is on his face. Christian symbols smoothly passed into Zoroastrian: Freddie hugs Daena - a girl who meets the soul of a righteous Zoroastrian at the entrance to heaven. The soul finally "broke free", reaching the posthumous bliss.

The plot again returns to the "first level". The housewife in horror rushes through the kitchen, screaming "and life passes" - and this is the horror of a woman whose only life goes on in endless domestic troubles. Death is approaching, but what did she see, except for the kitchen and the bathroom? The clip ends with a scene from "Aida" - standing among the shadows against the background of the same black quadrangle, Freddie crosses his arms over his head and "signals", singing: "Oh, how I want to break free." People are again waiting for salvation - like thousands of years ago.

Freddie Mercury created a three-minute philosophical treatise - on the meaning of life and death, on the freedom and salvation of the soul, on faith in God and the desire to escape from the captivity of vulgarity and vanity, about Christianity and paganism. That's why "I Want To Break Free" was internationally persecuted and banned. The scene in the women's clothing has nothing to do with it - it was just an excuse for quibbles. Pay attention - released three years later Mercury's solo video "The Great Pretender", which also used a comic dressing in women's clothing, although he was accused of homosexuality, but did not cause anything even remotely resembling a tantrum around "I Want To Break Free". And this can only mean one thing: those who stand behind the baiting of this video clip, unlike most viewers, understood it correctly - and they really did not like its meaning.

In 1986, Queen released her most famous album, "A Kind Of Magic", based on songs for the fantastic film "Highlander" ("Highlander"). "Highlander", in contrast to "Flash Gordon", enjoyed great popularity and became a cult youth film of 80-90-ies. Queen music contributed to the success of the film no less than the actor's play of Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery, special effects and sword battles. Cooperation between Queen and the film's authors was more than successful. The director of the "Mountaineer" Russell Malkahi, who also directed the video clip "Queen" "A Kind Of Magic", said that he even had no doubts about the choice of the group - he knew that only "Queen" with her amazing sense of the image is able to write that music , Which is necessary for the film. In turn, members of "Queen" spoke with enthusiasm about Malkahi and about his work. Mercury and May said in their interviews that "Highlander" is a wonderful and very serious film. Especially praised the "Highlander" Mercury - he said that the film made a huge impression on him. It is not surprising - his Parsi soul could not fail to respond to the dualistic idea of ​​the "Highlander".

Gregory Wyden, a student and philologist and author of the story "Highlander", was hardly familiar with Zoroastrian culture - he took as a basis the folklore traditions of Europe. Nevertheless, "Highlander" turned out to be a film with a pronounced Zoroastrian idea. The plot is based on the eternal struggle of the forces of good and evil, expressed in the images of two immortal warriors - Connor MacLeod and Kargan. Two of them have no place on this earth, they fought centuries ago and will always fight. But this will not be forever - sooner or later they will converge in the final battle for the Reward, and then only one will remain - and he will gain power over the world. At the end of the film, the victorious MacLeod refuses to leave for the higher worlds and remains on Earth - and this corresponds precisely to the Zoroastrian concept of the "last battle". Zoroastrianism believes that after the defeat of Ahriman, life on Earth will continue - the Golden Age will be restored, The world will be cleansed from evil and filth, and the risen righteous will enjoy an eternal and happy life. The hero, having inherited the world, must henceforth rule them with good and justice ...

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