The beginnings of what people know as “freak shows” began with the Colloredo Twins. Lazarus and his brother Joannes where conjoined twins the toured Europe in the mid-17th century. The twins became minor celebrities and even performed for the court of King Charles I of England. Their popularity, no matter how minor, is where the niche audience for “freak shows” was discovered. “Freak Shows” are shows that displayed people with many different talents or gifts and the performers ranged from sword swallowers and trapeze artists, to conjoined twins and dwarfs. I argue that through a thorough analysis of the history, legality, and popularity of freak shows in the United States, that they have had a moderate impact on modern forms of media in today’s …show more content…
As previously stated, one of the reasons for the decline was that the performers were viewed differently by the audience, but why was that not the case originally? There are two different reasons why the shows were popular: how the shows were advertised and the lack of other mediums of entertainment. First, the way the shows were advertised led to the creation of a niche audience. For instance, Dr. Fordham describes that “During this time [late 1800s], freak shows were promoted as being morally uplifting and educational” (Fordham 211). The fact that these shows were promoted like that led people to almost ignore the exploitative aspects of “freak shows”, and patrons were more likely to bring their entire family to watch the show. A similar example today would be reality TV, in particular Keeping Up with the Kardashians, because even though the majority of the audience is aware that the show is over-dramatic and features people with a lack of real talent, the show is advertising makes the show seem more palatable, and viewers are more likely to tune in. Same thing with “freak shows”; the audience is acutely aware that the performers are being exploited for their defects or strange talents, yet the showman makes the show more palatable to a wide audience through advertisement. Second, the lack of other mediums of entertainment from 1840-1940 is another attributable reason for the popularity of “freak shows”. During the heyday of “freak shows”, home television, movie theatres, and home computers were either not invented yet or not yet mainstream. So, there was not much competition to “freak shows” and if people wanted to get out of the house to watch a performance, “freak shows” were a cheaper alternative to the theatre. However, as Zachary Crockett of Priconomics writes, that during the decline of “freak
During the era of P.T. Barnum, the stars of the freak show were those that were visibly deformed, the more extraordinary their disability, the more successful of an act they were (Thomson). Thomson notes that eventually the extraordinary moved from “portent to pathology”, the freaks of the 19th and 20th-century became the medical specimens of the 21st-century (Thomson). As moral values shifted in modern day society, Rose
Similar to businesses standardizing in making and advertising consumers goods, the practice of mass-producing culture standardized and sped up in the 1920s. Radio became a national obsession. What started out as only a few independent stations soon evolved into huge networks and sponsored programming became popular. Movies during this time became accepted by all social classes with the expansion from rowdy nickelodeons to uptown theaters. With audiences nearing 80 million people a week, the corporate giants Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Brothers, and Columbia made the ...
Television networks used these types of shows to protect themselves from any accusations that they were sending out “Communist messages”, but these shows subsequently influenced a generation into a new way of thinking and living. Families moved in rapid numbers to suburbia and wanted to be just like the Cleavers or the Andersons. The American public would never be the same, always reflecting on the perfection played out nightly on television and setting their goals to reach that level of traditionalism. The Hollywood Blacklisting that followed the Red Scare of the 1950’s forced the media to change in order to survive the scrutinizing committees of the HUAC and various congressional committees that pushed for the social “purging” of America in hopes of searching out the “Reds” which they believed were hiding among them. This change in media came at a time when the public had become extremely receptive to such influences due to the spread of the television and the growth of the middle class who had extra money to spend on luxuries such as going to the movie theatres.
Among New American Ghost Cinema, one can witness the re-emergence of an interesting sub-genre: the Found Footage Cinema. We can observe this new fascination in many modern horror films such as 2008’s Cloverfield, 2009's Paranormal Activity, and 2011's Apollo 18. Digging below the surface of a literal reading of some of these movies, one finds a genre that can be far more intelligent than what meets the public eye. For example, within Cloverfield, the screams and images of smoke heaving through the city of Manhattan hint at post-September 11th. To understand the growing popularity of Found Footage Cinema and why we discover these political undertones, this paper will examine The Blair Witch Project (1999, Myrick and Sanchez) in the context of theorists Robin Wood and Jürgen Habermas’ discussion on humankind’s senses of truth and what our society represses or oppresses. Both Habermas’ essay “The Public Sphere” and Wood’s “Introduction to the American Horror Film” touch on the inner workings of the public’s mind. With these essays and an analysis of these films, I will be able to propose theories working towards a mode of critical engagement with the success of The Blair Witch Project. It is then that we will connect it to the wider social and political jungle surrounding America as it stood on the edge of the Twenty First Century.
Reality based television has a broad landscape ranging from competitive game-like shows to programs following the daily lives of a group of people. Every major network now has some form of reality programming because the genre’s shows are high in viewership and require low costs for production. The genre is appealing to viewers because it provides them with a first-hand look into the lives of everyday people, which allows them to observe social behavior that helps them determine what is appropriate or not (Tyree, 2011, p. 397). Since the majority of modern reality stars start out as unknowns, frequent viewers of reality programming believed that fame is obtainable if they appear on a popular show (Mendible, 2004). According to Mendible’s evaluation of the genre in the article Humiliation, Subjectivity, and Reality TV, people enjoy reality programs beca...
An analysis of the relationship between pornography and the American culture reveals that the industry is blamed for dozens of social ills for the men of our society. Those ills also work to damage the women in several irreparable ways. Some of the damages to men include: illegal sexual behavior, illegal non-sexual behavior, callousness, sexual harassment, casual sex, and multiple sexual partners. The problems for the women directly involved in the industry are long term and long lasting, creating overall issues that affect women’s economic and social status. But what are there damages caused by the type of movies most women love, the type of movies they drag their boyfriends and husbands to, the type of movies millions watch unashamedly in public-the romantic comedy?
It is a type of insecurity that one chooses whether or not to reveal to others. No matter how normal or abnormal that person is, they will have skeletons in the closet. Freak Show is a good example of showing how a community filled with so many different people all have a past and something they may not be proud of. For instance, Elsa Mars, a very steadfast independent woman, took on the role as ringleader and mother figure of her freaks. She had a persuasive way that captivated everyone she came in contact with especially when it came to her baggage. Because she had been at the freak show for so many years, and it was always understood that Elsa was normal with no deformity, it came as a shock to her freak family when her baggage was revealed that she had wooden legs. This proved to the freaks that even the most flawless-looking people have
Freak shows, also known as sideshows, were a form of entertainment as early as the 16th century, but did not become commonplace until the late 18th century and early 19th century. As places in England and the United States became more industrialized, the popularity of the display of human oddities and curiosities increased. As sideshows died down in the late 19th century due to ethical issues, many believed that they were a thing of the past. While people no longer go see freaks within the confined boundaries of the freak show, the discourse surrounding ‘freaks’ and ‘freak culture’ still exists. We still continue to have the same fascination with those with bodily differences. The structure of the freak show has carried on to the 21st century in the form of reality television and other forms of entertainment. The separation of normative and non-normative bodies, and the notion of
Countering the Culture of Sex is an article by Ellen Goodman dealing with the entertainment industry’s plague upon society. With sex rooted deep in children’s minds it creates this idea of what life revolves around. Digging deeper, Goodman brings up the point of why one never sees the consequences of sex. If the media were to show the consequences of people’s actions, the industry could create a sense of fear into the public.
86). I like his definition of the word freak show, which is “an elaborate and calculated social construction that utilized performance and fabrication as well as deeply held cultural beliefs” (p. 86). The freak show was a place in which white people could come and recognize their difference and privilege and reaffirm their superiority over individuals who were different from them, who fall into the realm of the ‘other.’ It causes me to wonder that if some individuals saw this as a morally unjust thing, why was it such a popular phenomenon that had a great turn out? And it takes me back to what a friend said, that the only way things sell, is because there is a high demand for it. These freak shows were able to thrive in society, because some individuals needed to know and confirm that they were indeed higher than some other saps out there, whatever they had, they had it better than others. Yes these spectators were being duped into pay high prices to see people with highly exaggerated features, but they did not mind, because why they were there, was to have an opportunity to look at themselves and say Thank God, we are not like them and to reassert their dominance over the
That attitude Americans used to embrace was one that promoted strong morals. Racy material was a rarity, but more importantly, an attitude of acceptance of this material was even more scarce. Comedians on television did not rely on obscene language and movies did not rely on graphic sexual content for an audience. The media has become “the monster from which the decadence, violence, and rampant sexuality emerged”(Bouza 6).... ...
13 Nov 2013. Poniewozik, James. A. “What’s Right With Reality TV.” Time 175.7 (2010): 92-97. Academic Search Complete. Web.
Since the very first reality show launching in 1990, the reality genre has rapidly developed to become the most popular experience of television nowadays. A plethora of research has been undertaking in recent years to identify the origin of reality shows’ appeal which concentrated mainly on the psychological side such as the theory of human motivations called ‘16 basic desires’ which linking the most fundamental purposes of human life to aspirations with their attention to media conducted by Reiss and Wiltz (2004) or the element of mastery sense named ‘schadenfreude’ introduced by Hall (2006).
"Husband Sees Prostitute," "Mistress Meets Wife," "Girl Sleeps with Over 100 Men," "My Girlfriend is a Guy," "Teenage Prostitution," "Maid-of-Honor Slept with Girl One Week Before Wedding," Commonly Jerry Springer topics! Why are people fascinated with such topics? What says it of our society? The biggest problem is that the behaviours are depicted are common, sensible, and, perhaps, even worth copying. Approximately six percent of daytime talk show viewers are under 11. Shows like Springer's according to a New York Times journalist cause violence in society and argued that the source of the problem lies in the insatiable lust of the audience for more and more gory violence. The only way to stop violence on television---either on the news or on Springer-type shows--is to cut the demand for it, thereby removing the profit.
Lehmann, Carolin. “Reality TV: A Blessing or a Curse? An Analysis of the Influence of Reality TV on U.S. Society.” Academia. Edu 5 Nov. 2012. 29 Nov. 2013.