Review of Freaks (1932) by Tim L — 20 Sep 2008
It could be easy from the title to misconstrue this as being a shameful attack on disabled people and something that should be buried and forgotten about in a more 'enlightened age.' It is certainly true that watching it now it is quite disconserting how the 'freaks' as the people are called, are treated. But this is the point, the film, which is actually quite forward thinking for it's time (in the 30's disabled people were shut away from society in huge institutions where they were often abused terribly and denied all human rights) challenges the viewer to see the disabled 'freaks' as the heroes of the piece; the misunderstood characters with much more to offer the world than that world will afford them, whereas the people deemed 'normal' are the villians, the money-grabbing immoral monsters that their disabled counterparts have been portrayed as.
In essence, this is a disturbing look at how labelled people are viewed by a society that segregates and labels them. A very important and unique slice of cinema.
This review of Freaks (1932) was written by Tim L on 20 Sep 2008.
Freaks has generally received very positive reviews.
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