'Bohemian Rhapsody' censored in China: No AIDS, gay kissing or cross-dressing
The Oscar-winning Bohemian Rhapsody has been criticized for giving minimal screen time to Freddie Mercury's homosexuality and life with AIDS. But it was still far too much for Chinese censors. The Queen biopic (starring Rami Malek as Mercury) opened in China on March 22, and according to reports, between two and three minutes have been cut from the film. That may not sound like a lot; however, the cuts include important plot points, such as the introduction of Mercury's partner Jim Hutton, the creation of Queen's most controversial video and the moment in which Mercury reveals his AIDS diagnosis. The nature of the edits effectively censors all explicit (and some less explicit) indications of Mercury's sexuality.
What, exactly, was cut from the Chinese version of Bohemian Rhapsody? CNN has identified six specific scenes. Some edits are small, such as a close-up on Mercury's crotch during a live TV performance, and a bandmate (Ben Hardy) jokingly calling Mercury's new haircut "gayer" than his last. Others are significant to the plot, including a kiss between Mercury and his manager-boyfriend Paul Prenter (Allen Leach); a discussion between Mercury and his longtime girlfriend Mary (Lucy Boynton) in which she questions whether he's bisexual or homosexual; the scene in which Mercury meets future boyfriend Jim (Aaron McCusker) and the entire sequence in which Queen shoots their "I Want to Break Free" video, dressed in women's clothing. The Associated Press has also noted that the dialogue goes silent at the moment that Mercury announces to his bandmates that he has AIDS. According to the New York Times, the subtitles at this moment have also been removed, leaving viewers in the dark as to what Malek is saying.
Media censorship is a part of life in China, where the government closely regulates the film and television industries. Although China has the world's fastest-growing film market, only select Hollywood films are shown in mainland China, often with edits from Chinese censors or changes made by American studios to accommodate audiences (like the notorious Chinese version of Iron Man 3). Along with gore, nudity and supernatural elements, gay-themed content is a frequent target for censorship. According to the AP, "same-sex relationships are still virtually absent from mainstream media." Even when live-streaming Malek's acceptance speech for Best Actor at the Academy Awards, Chinese broadcaster Mango TV subtitled Malek's statement "We made a film about a gay man" as "We made a film about a special group."
A younger generation of Chinese filmgoers seems to be rebelling against this kind of censorship. The Times spoke to several 20-somethings in Shanghai and Beijing who were upset or annoyed by the Bohemian Rhapsody edits, or who decided to skip the film entirely after hearing about the censored cut from friends. Said one Shanghai office worker, "As a young person with independent thinking, I do not need anyone to control which scenes I can see and which I cannot see."
Twentieth Century Fox has yet to comment on the changes to Bohemian Rhapsody.
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