Showing posts with label protest art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label protest art. Show all posts

Sunday, April 10, 2011

I want to break free



Nifty anti-oppression song from 1984 performed by Queen that did well in Europe but not so much in America. The video featuring the male band members in drag, a frequent comedic trope in the UK, was marginalized or banned from play in the United States. That some members of the band were homosexual was known though not generally acknowledged at the time by the media and many fans. I've seen references likely repeated from the same original unverified source that this video heralded the death of Queen as a music force in America. While the sight of Freddie Mercury in a dress probably made some stupid and prejudiced Americans uncomfortable, even though being gay and donning ladies fashions has little or nothing to do with the other, it was more likely that the style of music Queen produced was becoming unpopular rather than public reaction to band members in costume.

While controversial in 1984 it seems American evolution has progressed to the point where many would find the video whimsical and ironic or just another entry in typical bad 1980s MTV.

A lazy, shwooshy peplum Sunday post.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Angela Bomb


Angela Davis from the cover of International Times #132 (May 1972). Artist unknown.

This is a cool graphic from an old UK magazine that I cleaned up a bit to remove the streaks and whatnot though I kept the color scheme. The image is amazingly cool but is a good example how protest art and the subject can be problematic.