Evolution of Entertainment: From Freak Shows to Acceptance

Over the past few centuries, people’s definition of entertainment has changed and will continue to change as society definition of acceptable forms of entertainment changes. For instance, according to an article written in the St. James Encyclopedia of Popular culture, freak shows were once a common past time for many Americans and Europeans during the 16th to 20th century. However, as new forms of entertainment emerged and people’s perception of “Freak” changed, fewer and fewer people attended these shows because society began and now views people who find someone’s disability amusing as “abnormal or inappropriate”. (Thomson) However, despite the fact that freak shows are no longer accepted as they once were during the 16th to 20th century,

newly evolved forms of freak shows have reemerged in our society.
According to the article Strange and Bizarre: The History of Freak Shows written By Laura Grande, freak shows or sideshows were exhibitions of humans with extreme physical deformities and exotic talents that the public paid to see during the 16th to 20th century.

(Grande) During this time these events would be held at fairs, museums, theaters, circuses or any other public platforms were human oddities could be exhibited. (Thomson) According to Grande, Freak shows first began in the 16th century and peoples' perspectives on humans with physical abnormalities were changing. At the time, people began to view abnormal humans with curiosity and began to stop seeing them as cursed bodies. However, it was not until the 19th century that freak shows began to skyrocket in the entertainment industry, especially in the United States and England. (Grande) According to “Freak Shows” written by Rosemarie Garland Thomson, freaks throughout the 19th century were seen as far “more than simply disabled people”; freaks during this time were seen as celebrities by the public. As stated in the article, scientists and doctors became involved in the industry to find the origin and authenticity of the freak’s disability. Because of their involvement freak’s abnormalities began to be seen under a new light that saw their disabilities as medical problems.

(Thomson)
According to the article “Freak Shows” written by Rosemarie Garland Thomson the exhibition of abnormal humans became a thing of the past by the mid-twentieth century. People during this time began to see “the sentimentalizing of disabled people as pathetic rather than wondrous”. (Thomson) This as well as the fact that medical advancements began to diagnose the once unexplainable human oddities caused the public lose interest. For instance, some people stopped going to freak shows because they feared that the new discovered disorders were contagious and then there were those who no longer found a classified disorder unique. (Grande) This caused freak show performers to lower the price that people would normally pay to see them. On top of that, the publics’ option on freak shows continued to change and with new forms of entertainment beginning to emerged people no longer saw the need for freak shows. In fact, some countries began to ban the display of human oddities for profit. This resulted in freaks being unable to make a living from their differences and having to settle for low paying jobs that traveling carnivals and museums offered. These changes almost caused freak shows to disappear in the 1950s and only a few shows that contain the original freak show format still exist today. (Grande)