In my opinion although Freaks had the potential to break down fears and stereotypes of the general public towards people with physical differences the ending causes the movie to fall short of these goals. Throughout the majority of the movie the circus "freaks" are shown to be just like you and me, they hang clothes up to dry, they enjoy the outdoors, they have friends and even interact normally with people of an average physical appearance. Beyond that they're also shown having normal emotional experiences, they fall in love, they get jealous, they celebrate the birth of the bearded lady's baby. By the end of the movie you almost stop seeing they're physical differences or at least they're not the first thing you think about when they come on screen. The "freaks" also seem to be more moral than Cleo and Hercules, their average sized comrades. Right up until the ending the film has the audience sympathizing with and even liking this band of circus "freaks".
In the last 5 minutes however, the tables turn and this band of likeable oddballs becomes a gang of monsters with revenge in their eyes. The minute the audience looses their emotional connection with the "freaks", the physical differences that define them as such come front and center and we no longer see them as our equals. All the sudden the audience sympathizes with Cleo, who up until this point has been strongly portrayed as the villain. I think if the goal of the movie was to be more forward thinking towards those with physical differences than the ending was a mistake, because it portrays the "freaks" as villains and Cleo, who is clearly a terrible human being, as a victim of their crimes. The ending of the film cements the connection in the audiences' minds between monsters and persons with physical abnormalities.
You tied the reading assignment in to your blog post very well. I agree that the film fell short of their goals towards equality, if that was the goal. It makes for an overall disappointing film in my opinion. It takes the audience full circle: making them believe the "freaks" are on the same level as the audience, then causing them to realize that they are just as different as they were when the audience had set foot in the theater. You put it very well, the ending cements the already assumed connection between monsters and abnormal human beings.
ReplyDelete- Andy
I thought you wrote about the film very well. I actually thought that the film was successful in proving equality, beacuse the revenge of the so called "freaks" I feel validates their humanity. We, as viewers never doubt the humanity of Cleopatra, despite her horrible actions that lead her in attempting to kill Hans. However, I feel that Browning was using the revenge scene to prove that even the so called "freaks" can make bad decisions that equal those of Cleopatra's. I agree the scene at the end of the movie was in some ways terrifying, but I also believe that what Cleopatra did to Hans was terrfying as most viewers would. As a result, I feel that they are equal in my eyes.
ReplyDelete-John
I agree that by the end of the film Cleopatra and the "freaks" are on an equal level of morality, but Cleopatra is a lying, cheating, attempted murderer. So does it really promote the equality of the "freaks" to put them on the same level as someone who represents the lowliest of human beings?
DeleteYou're completely right about the movie falling short of these goals. There was the effort to try to humanize these people but in the end, it didn't hit the target. Both the freaks and humans (mainly Cleo and Hercules) were morally flawed. Hans was lustful. Cleo was conniving. The freaks sought revenge. Their revenge plot made them seem a bit vicious, and made it difficult to sympathize with them, even though their acts - to some degree - seemed justified.
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