Sarah Kenney
5/10/19
Ms.Barklow
We’re All Freaks
The famous TV Show American Horror Story always portrays freaks as characters. In season 1 “Murder House”, Tate was essentially a freak to everyone in his school, that’s why he did the school shooting. In season 2 “Asylum”, there was a whole asylum full of people labeled as freaks, because they were in for having mental illnesses. Some of them didn’t have anything wrong with them but they were put in there because they were acting different. In season 4 “Freak Show”, the one I will be discussing in this research summary, the characters are all freaks to the society so they are in a circus to entertain the “normal” people. It shows how people used to dehumanize anyone that was different, physically or mentally. In 2019, the people in this Freak Show would be seen as having disabilities and nothing else. But this show takes place in 1963 so society look at them as freaks just for looking and acting different. An example would be Jimmy Darling, he’s in the freak show circus for having deformed arms/hands. His nickname is “Lobster Boy” because his arms look like lobster claws. That is his deformity and he gets treated differently than the normal public. People who make fun of the freaks in this show would be shamed for it in 2019, because the generation I’m in is very sensitive. So, in my adaptation I will be putting the freak show circus in Saco, Maine. By doing that I can explain how people nowadays would react to the “freaks” compared to how people reacted to them in 1963. In doing this, I want to show how badly we used to (and still sometimes) dehumanize anyone that is different.
Annotated Bibliography
“ Interpreting the Freak Show and Freak Show”
This article talks about how in history, disabled people are oppressed because of their disabilities. They get treated differently and because they have a disability it’s even harder for them to speak out. David A. Gerber notes that,
“... it is necessary to begin by understanding that this history is constituted in the social oppression and immediate exploitation of a uniquely powerless minority, i.e. people with physical and developmental disabilities.. (435)”
Gerber explaining this in his article shows clearly that people with disabilities don’t have much of a voice for themselves. They are looked down upon by “normal” people and have few people on their side to help them.
“American Horror Story: Capital, counterculture and the freak”
In this article it talks about how the situation that happened in the episode Massacres and Matinee’s. Jimmy Darling brought other freaks with visual impairments to a diner in town. They all walked in and were met with stares by the customers and the staff. One staff member even said that maybe they should “eat elsewhere” . The freaks were treated poorly throughout their
Kenney 3
whole visit at the diner. This scene is an example of how people in the town of the freak show treat the freaks themselves.
“The Victorian Freak Show: The Significance of Disability and Physical Differences in the 19th Century”
This article focuses on the different types of Freak shows there is. Craton turns the metaphor llooking glass” into saying “fictional characters body is a looking glass”. By saying that she means that the size, shape, characteristic traits, etc. can be made into characters because since it’s a character it can be anything the author desires. This article also explains the significance it gives a character if they are different than the others in a story. It makes them stand out for a reason, just like in modern day life. Somebody who looks different, is labeled different than someone who looks normal which is just apart of life.
Work Cited
Craton, Lillian. “The Victorian Freak Show: the Significance of Disability and Physical Differences in the 19th Century.” Maine Digital Library, libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebscohost.com%2Flogin.aspx%3Fdirect&AuthType=cookie%2Cip%2Cuid&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.273529444&site=eds-live.
Gerber, David A. “Interpreting the Freak Show and Freak Show .” Maine Digital Library, libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebscohost.com%2Flogin.aspx%3Fdirect&AuthType=cookie%2Cip%2Cuid&db=edb&AN=14150207&site=eds-live.Costa, Stevi. “American Horror Story; Capitol, Counterculture and the Freak.” Maine Digital Library, libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebscohost.com%2Flogin.aspx%3Fdirect&AuthType=cookie%2Cip%2Cuid&db=edb&AN=135139788&site=eds-live.
5/10/19
Ms.Barklow
We’re All Freaks
The famous TV Show American Horror Story always portrays freaks as characters. In season 1 “Murder House”, Tate was essentially a freak to everyone in his school, that’s why he did the school shooting. In season 2 “Asylum”, there was a whole asylum full of people labeled as freaks, because they were in for having mental illnesses. Some of them didn’t have anything wrong with them but they were put in there because they were acting different. In season 4 “Freak Show”, the one I will be discussing in this research summary, the characters are all freaks to the society so they are in a circus to entertain the “normal” people. It shows how people used to dehumanize anyone that was different, physically or mentally. In 2019, the people in this Freak Show would be seen as having disabilities and nothing else. But this show takes place in 1963 so society look at them as freaks just for looking and acting different. An example would be Jimmy Darling, he’s in the freak show circus for having deformed arms/hands. His nickname is “Lobster Boy” because his arms look like lobster claws. That is his deformity and he gets treated differently than the normal public. People who make fun of the freaks in this show would be shamed for it in 2019, because the generation I’m in is very sensitive. So, in my adaptation I will be putting the freak show circus in Saco, Maine. By doing that I can explain how people nowadays would react to the “freaks” compared to how people reacted to them in 1963. In doing this, I want to show how badly we used to (and still sometimes) dehumanize anyone that is different.
Annotated Bibliography
“ Interpreting the Freak Show and Freak Show”
This article talks about how in history, disabled people are oppressed because of their disabilities. They get treated differently and because they have a disability it’s even harder for them to speak out. David A. Gerber notes that,
“... it is necessary to begin by understanding that this history is constituted in the social oppression and immediate exploitation of a uniquely powerless minority, i.e. people with physical and developmental disabilities.. (435)”
Gerber explaining this in his article shows clearly that people with disabilities don’t have much of a voice for themselves. They are looked down upon by “normal” people and have few people on their side to help them.
“American Horror Story: Capital, counterculture and the freak”
In this article it talks about how the situation that happened in the episode Massacres and Matinee’s. Jimmy Darling brought other freaks with visual impairments to a diner in town. They all walked in and were met with stares by the customers and the staff. One staff member even said that maybe they should “eat elsewhere” . The freaks were treated poorly throughout their
Kenney 3
whole visit at the diner. This scene is an example of how people in the town of the freak show treat the freaks themselves.
“The Victorian Freak Show: The Significance of Disability and Physical Differences in the 19th Century”
This article focuses on the different types of Freak shows there is. Craton turns the metaphor llooking glass” into saying “fictional characters body is a looking glass”. By saying that she means that the size, shape, characteristic traits, etc. can be made into characters because since it’s a character it can be anything the author desires. This article also explains the significance it gives a character if they are different than the others in a story. It makes them stand out for a reason, just like in modern day life. Somebody who looks different, is labeled different than someone who looks normal which is just apart of life.
Work Cited
Craton, Lillian. “The Victorian Freak Show: the Significance of Disability and Physical Differences in the 19th Century.” Maine Digital Library, libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebscohost.com%2Flogin.aspx%3Fdirect&AuthType=cookie%2Cip%2Cuid&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.273529444&site=eds-live.
Gerber, David A. “Interpreting the Freak Show and Freak Show .” Maine Digital Library, libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebscohost.com%2Flogin.aspx%3Fdirect&AuthType=cookie%2Cip%2Cuid&db=edb&AN=14150207&site=eds-live.Costa, Stevi. “American Horror Story; Capitol, Counterculture and the Freak.” Maine Digital Library, libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebscohost.com%2Flogin.aspx%3Fdirect&AuthType=cookie%2Cip%2Cuid&db=edb&AN=135139788&site=eds-live.