Response #3

        A film like Freaks could not be made today. I found it to be a very good movie but barring the obvious fact of Tod Browning's antiquated style which would now get any remotely similar film categorized as indie or some other equally niche label, the film would likely be heavily criticized and probably protested under modern political correctness due to its apparent exploitation of the actual freaks that appear in the movie. That's not to say that the film was accepted when it was first released in 1932 either. At the time, it was panned by critics calling it “disturbing” or “horrible” showing that even their sense of political correctness didn't even accept the film although it could be argued that it was more their sensitivity to horror that caused this reaction as opposed to our current day desensitivity. In fact, the film would likely not even have been released two years later with the beginning enforcement of the Hays Code in 1934.

        It's interesting to note that even while the film is rightfully considered somewhat tasteless exploitation of the freaks in the eyes of most viewers, the most prominent “freak” of the movie, Harry Earles (Hans), was actually the one who approached Browning over the idea of the film in the first place. It begs the question of whether the actor who chooses to be exploited is really being exploited at all. Of course, that doesn't excuse the treatment of some of the less mentally capable “freaks” featured who might not have been even fully aware that people would derive entertainment value just by gawking at them. Although it's still not entirely the choice of the actors such as Hans to be exploited per say, like the film says that most of the freaks are otherwise normal people who by some chance were born with a crippling deformity or condition. In these cases, the “freak” doesn't have very many ways to work out a living, so from their point of view, it seems reasonable to assume that it's better to survive through exploitation than to not survive at all. In this way I think that the freaks are very sympathetic characters.

        Throughout the first half of Freaks, the viewer naturally takes on the role of a spectator, moving throughout the carnival and getting to peer into what the film presents as the daily lives of the freaks. By presenting them as a living community, the freaks are humanized to an extent although the viewer would be hard pressed to fully identify with any of them due to some of their quirks which might create distance between the character and the viewer. For example, most people would find it difficult to relate to the situation of the conjoined twin's romance life where they must effectively have two partners and share them with another man.

         This role is reversed later in the film; however, when the freaks are rejected by Cleopatra and learn of her malicious intentions to kill Hans. From this point on, there are plenty of close up shots of the freaks peering into the camera or at Cleo and Hercules. These come off as incredibly eerie and add an unsettling vibe to this part of the film. This could be an effort to recreate for the viewer what it feels like to be stared at much like they did to the freaks for the majority of the film.