Freaks

            In 1932, Tod Browning released, "Freaks," acclaimed one of the most controversial horror movies around those times. "The film features a cast of actual sideshow freaks, human-beings of every conceivable physical aberration. Yet the film soon reveals that the normal members of the traveling carnival are the true monsters." (Marshall Fine).
             I believe that Tod Browning was not aiming to make fun of, or put down these people with deformities. He was actually considered a freak himself. I think his plan with this film was to help others understand how these people and himself were look upon in society.
             In this movie the camera angles used are amazingly important. When the midgets were being shown in the beginning of this movie Browning had these scenes shot from above. The camera is never directly looking at these oddities. This shows that he felt like the "beautiful people" in society looked down upon people like this. People who were disfigured were not respected among the normal population, hence the name "side-show freaks.".
             Towards the end of this film he changes the angles on the camera and starts to look at the midgets at eye level. This is his way of showing these people as equals among others. And in the end it is the strong and pretty people who are punished for being the "monsters.".
             I believe that this movie was so controversial to society because it was a true look on how the normal people view these freaks. That is why I feel that Tod Browning's plan was to portray how society views these people really was by using actual deformed people. I don't believe he had any intentions other than to help people like himself receive a little respect from others and be seen as an equal.