Comparing Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, and Albert Camus' Views on the Absurd

THESIS: Queen’s song, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, correlates to Albert Camus views on the Absurd, shown by the information in Camus’ works, which consist of simplifying the point of philosophy to mean life, the reasoning that the world is not a reasonable place, and there are consequences to believing in the absurd. I. Camus’ Life exemplifies his work on the Absurd similar to Bohemian Rhapsody A. According to Camus the point of philosophy is life: “The preceding merely defines a way of thinking. But the point is to live.” (Camus). Others say that philosophy is theorization about the universe and the difference between ideas of a personal view and views of others that make simple things in life complicated. e.g. beauty, wealth, etc.. B. Camus’ life and work were dominated by the juxtaposition of an unstoppable will towards happiness and justice on one hand and the indifference and hostility of the world on the other hand. This correlation constitutes the absurd. In Bohemian Rhapsody it was often said that “nothing really matters” and how there is “no escape from reality” which is the core of what the Absurd truly is. II. Camus’ Work Of The Absurd In Relation to Bohemian Rhapsody A. The absurd is a conflict between our expectations and reality. Particularly, it is the confrontation between our longing for order, meaning, and clarity and the chaos, confusion, and irrationality of the world; between the human longing for happiness and the evil in the world. “The world in itself is not reasonable, that is all that can be said. But what is absurd is the confrontation of this irrational and the wild longing for clarity whose call echoes in the human heart.” (Camus). B. Bohemian Rhapsody is a song written by Queen on October 31, 1975; the lyrics to this song are very similar to the work Albert Camus had written of describing the absurd and a man’s fate and faith after killing someone quite possibly himself. This song was released around the