Movie "Freaks" gives new meaning to Disability Blog "Carnival"

I confess.  I am at a stage in my life (it involves worry) that "the cure" for my insomnia is the boob tube.  Puts me right out.  If I can stay awake long enough to catch a Frazier episode and laugh on my way to la-la land, all the better.  Every now and then I need to turn it on in the middle of the night to put me back to sleep.  Thank goodness this works for me because there is absolutely nothing worth focusing on in the middle of the night. 

It happened this morning at around 6:00 a.m.  In an attempt to squeeze in just a few more zz's before I had to get up, I thought I'd find something to listen to.  I picked up the remote, turned on the tube and what did I see?  A movie I had personally never seen before - a  person of very small stature standing on a table, running around offering a sip of something (wine perhaps?) to others around the table, all of whom were laughing and chanting "gooble gobble, gooble gobble.  We accept you.  One of us...."   "SHE" was then offered a sip from this goblet at which point she rose from the table, bug-eyed, and screamed something I now can't remember.  How many of you now know what I am talking about? 

I almost woke Steve up I was so appalled.  Instead I decided to let him sleep.  Knowing him, "he'll know exactly what I'm talking about when I explain this to him" I thought to myself.  I was soooooo appalled by this, and now no longer sleepy, that I decided to hang in there to at least find out the name of this movie.  "FREAKS"  All those people sitting and chanting around this long table - they were all freaks!  Turns out it was a carnival of freaks!  Some beautiful blond married one of these freaks, just so she could poison him.  For what?  Was he a rich freak?  She was plotting to inherit his estate?   (Remember now, I had just woken up and I had yet to have a cup of coffee....)  In the end, all these freaks ganged up on this woman and turned her into some kind of chicken lady - her head on the body of a chicken.  The new MAIN ATTRACTION at the FREAK carnival!!   And who could blame them?! 

An hour later Steve got up.  Did he know of this movie?  Had he seen it?  "Have I!"  he said. "I've taught it in one of my classes...."  (No surprise there.)  I've since done a little research myself.  This movie "Freaks" was also known by other names:  "Forbidden Love", "Nature's Mistakes" "The Monster Show"...

I found this "user comment" describing the movie:

10 out of 13 people found the following comment useful:- The Most Reviled Film of its Time, 25 April 2001 Author: eibon04 from New York City, NY Grotesque and shocking motion picture from one of the first masters of horror pictures. Deals with the realities of what people who are physically deformed go through when working at the circus. In the film they are a close bunch who live by their own code of ethics. Told through the flashback structure, the movie tells the story of a group of circus performers who get revenge when there is an attempt of murder on one of their own to get his money. Like Straw Dogs(1971), Freaks(1932) is disturbing and relentless in its imagery.

And here is some disturbing "trivia" behind the making of this move.

With due respect to all involved, I'd like to propose changing the name of the Disability Blog "Carnival".  Any thoughts?

~ Connie

Comments

[Penny]

Aha, a Halloween post, yes? I thought about the "Carnival" thing--yeah. I kinda wish the phrase "blog carnival" wasn't already so well-entrenched in the blogosphere. Even if we change the name of "our" roundup of recent posts, and I'm not opposed to that idea at all, the site through which they're submitted would still be BlogCarnival.com! So maybe we can't-beat'em-join-em and reclaim this as a part of disability history; or maybe it's the theme of the carnival edition that YOU folks host here at Planet of the Blind (December 14)?!? It could make a good theme. In the meantime, have a scan through the other carnival names at blogcarnival.com--if any alternatives appeal more, we can hash those around with other participants, and see what the response is.

[Georgia Whitney]

Connie, that's exactly why I seldom watch TV any more. Was this excuse for a movie in celebration of Halloween? Try solitaire on the computer the next time you have insomnia.

Georgia

[Connie]

Hi Georgia,

I have very little interest in watching TV either. The only time I do is when I need to go to sleep. It puts me out very quickly.

I have to assume this movie was given air time in "celebration" of Halloween. Whoopee.

[Connie]

Hi Penny,

Penny - hi there!

I too thought this might make a good theme for a blog "carnival"! I understood when I posed the question this morning that a blog "carnival" is a kind of generic term for this type of "event" - and not a bad one at that. I couldn't help but ask the question though!

[Blue]

There was a discussion about "Freaks" on a couple feminist blogs a few months ago. I ordered Freaks from Netflix back then and keep meaning to watch and write about it, but the prospect of actually watching it never appeals.

[Penny]

I like to imagine the Disability Blog Carnival as more like the Brazilian carnaval (extravagant costumes, music, dance).... or like the Trinidad carnival (extravagant costumes, *calypso* music, dancing)... not so much like the traveling circus/sideshow kinda carnival. And while I'm thinking of it... BlogCarnival will let us submit a logo, that participants can post on their blogs, too---might be something further to think about as we consider the meanings of the Carnival.