to this song is ‘How can muslims retain their central Islamic features – family life, care for children, respect for elders, concepts of modesty and so on – in the face of the contrary philosophy of the postmodernist age?’ (2004,p.5). For this reason, he takes the stance that Islamic and Western principles are contradictory and this dominating image of capitalism is damaging to other cultures. Another one of Barber’s predictions was the conflict between Islam and the Western world, which materialised nine years later when 9/11 happened (Waters, 2001, p.222). An analysis of this
song combined with the reaction to it from Ahmed’s Islamic perspective shows that a tension between islam and capitalism can be identified in the 1980s.
The Freddie Mercury brand as a product of globalisation
Globalisation is too complicated to be seen as a complete domination of the U.S. also known as
Americanisation or McDonaldisation. The process is more fluid, however British and European identities have clearly overshadowed Mercury’s perceived ethnicity. This shows that ethnicity can be constructed, and Mercury’s reinvention of a westernised identity seems to be necessary at the time in order to achieve world-wide success. In addition to this, Westernisation has been destructive for the Parsi community who have become a dying race due to ideologies and culture that are not compatible with the way of life in India or other eastern countries. Thus, as a response to capitalism and western values, Islam has also become a global force. As a result, the world is in a state of conflict between which system will become global. Having just one system, however, is threatening to traditions. Globalisation therefore needs to embody all cultures which has not been the case in Queen’s image as it is only representative of western culture.
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Bibliography
Auslander, P. (2006) Performing glam rock: Gender and Theatricality in popular music. United States, The University of Michigan Press.
Ahmed, A. (2004) Postmodernism and Islam: Predicament and Promise. 2nd ed. New York, Routledge.
Figure 9.
Figure 10.
Figure 11.
Figure 12.
Figure 9 - 11 are a sample of adverts on British television in 2017. All of them utilise Queen songs almost fifty years after the group first formed. The adverts are for products of the British home. This is a domestic space that epitomises the day to day British lifestyle. The vast number of adverts that feature Queen’s songs show that the band continue to have a secure cultural place in Britain.
Figure 12 is a celebratory video of the United Kingdom's success at the Olympics in London and establishes Queen as the ultimate symbol of British accomplishment.