Fielder's Freak Analysis

The world is an extraordinary one of a kind place; as it provides us with all of the necessary means for life. In a similar fashion, the same concept applies to people, especially to the individuals that are viewed as different or are considered out of the social norm. Even so, every extraordinary person has an origin, just like an ordinary person. Be it a freak, nerd, or genius, they’re all considered an outlier in their own unique ways and talent is an attribute that differentiates an outlier from the average person. A person doesn’t have to conform to social-cultural norms to be a positive influence in society as demonstrated through Johnny Depp’s artistic performance. For instance, Depp is a perfect example of someone who is considered

an outlier for the odd characters he has played, yet Depp has successfully capture the hearts of people with his characters. A few of his famous, yet strange roles are Edward Scissorhands in Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as well as the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow in the movie series Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Mad Hatter in Alice in the Wonderland series. Depp played these roles that are viewed as eccentric and yet was still able to make them lovable. These characters he played also made a huge impact in terms of cultural identity. Children began to emulate these personas, such as Captain Jack Sparrow who is in search for freedom and treasures. However, when these children grow up, they realize they can’t be Jack Sparrow as he doesn’t conform to social norms and would be labelled as a ‘Freak’.
For example, Leslie Fielder’s Freaks: Myths and Images of the Secret Self
complements how people have their secret selves.

People who don’t follow social norms become outcasts in society which it originated with the term ‘Freak.’ The origin of ‘Freak’ has been around for centuries. In Leslie Fiedler’s Freaks: Myths and Images of the Secret Self, Fielder points out how the name ‘Freaks’ has come about as well as how it has influenced the past and the present. Fielder emphasizes on how ‘Freaks’ are humans who physically look different from the majority of people. Fielder also perfectly complements the definition by pointing out how ‘Freaks’ come in all forms, and how they challenge the conventional division of gender, sex, and size. On the other hand, the term ‘monster’ is the oldest word that label human oddities, not ‘Freaks’. Since ancient time, ‘monsters’ are considered abominable. Therefore, when people relate themselves to ‘monsters’, they get scared and sympathize with themselves. In present day, ‘monsters’ who have physical abnormalities introduced the concept of mythical creatures which are presented in children’s literature, which eventually affect adolescents’ identities. In these fairy tales, there are ‘happy endings’ that are represented by awakening or growth, or even both. When a girl enters into physical maturity, only then can she believe that she is normal. When a person fails to be awakened or grow up, she will not obtain her ‘happy ending’. However, not everyone receive ‘happy endings’. If a person is too fat, too thin, too big,

or too small, she starts to believe that she is a ‘Freak’. This comes from the relation to a fat lady, a human skeleton, a giant, and a dwarf which were first considered ‘Freaks’ centuries ago and have been stigmatized throughout children’s mythology. Lastly, the author states that the boundary between ‘Freaks’ and normal is an illusion, as myths are not real in the first place. Hence, ‘Freaks’ has define social outcasts in present day.
Outliers are unconventional, yet they’re emerging and being embraced in popular culture and this is the case for Johnny Depp. Depp started his journey when he travelled to Hollywood to start his music career with his band. However, his music career didn’t pan out as he had hoped. Nonetheless, that wasn’t the end for Depp. Depp eventually married Lori Anne Allison who introduced him to actor Nicolas Cage. Cage then advised Depp to pursue an acting career. Depp eventually starred in a lead role on the Fox television series 21 Jump Street. He accepted the role as he wanted to work with actor Frederic Forrest, who inspired him. The series’ success turned Depp into a popular teen idol. Despite his success, Depp felt forced into the role of a Hollywood product. He subsequently decided to appear only in films that he felt were right for him. This was when people started identifying Depp as an outlier who is not only successful for being talented but also for his oddities. “In other situations, however, feminine men, like masculine women, are scorned. Feminine-looking men are in some cases perceived as less competent, less suitable for “masculine” roles. They are also seen as more likely to be homosexual and to suffer prejudices that accompany that attribution [20]” (2). In other words, X believes. Depp’s first major role that explicitly shows who he is, is a 1984 classic horror film, A Nightmare on Elm Street, as the boyfriend of heroine Nancy Thompson and one of Freddy Krueger’s victims. As he move forward in the film industry, he moved on to the iconic characters we know of him today such as Edward Scissorhands in Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean series, and the Mad Hatter in Alice in the Wonderland series. “ ”
(Depp has generally chosen roles which he found interesting, rather than those he thought would succeed at the box office. Critics have often described Depp’s characters as iconic loners. (Psychology professor at University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zeland. Helen E. Owen source) (LINK)
One of the most iconic characters Johnny Depp has played is the character Captain Jack Sparrow. (Josh Rottenberg’s Mad Hatter: How’s successful) In the series Pirates of the Caribbean, Jack Sparrow is the main lead of the series. Jack is portrayed as a drunken outlaw who is odd. He goes in search for treasures and freedom. In this generation, pirates seem weird as they do not want to conform and enjoy materialistic items such as living in a palace but enjoy the thrills and dangers in seeking treasures, power and freedom, which is out of norm in this generation. Yet Jack was able to capture the hearts of audiences everywhere, both young and old, female or male. Jack is eccentric enough by being whatever he wants to be. He is unpredictable and has an aloof personality. In the first movie, Jack can be seen as a good and bad man and there is never one to choose from. For instance, he saved a governor’s daughter, Elizabeth, from drowning but then threatened her in minutes after, as he was being threatened by the commodore and that can be seen as non-conforming to social norms as one either has to be good or bad, but never in the middle of the spectrum. Also, his gestures are funny as well as he speaks. Even when he is stranded on an island with a woman, he is still most concerned with his rum without a care in the world about his survival. He’s mad, and he doesn’t care for authority regardless of how important that person can be. Even in the first movie of the series, after he turned into an undead from holding onto the “cursed treasure”, he remained unfazed. Under normal circumstances, an individual would not act like that, but if one sees it more in depth, because of his aloofness, ‘without a care in the world’ attitude even in the worst situations; Jack actually has gut amount of courage and determination preventing him from being broken as he continue to improvise and in the moment respectively. (Link)
As in reality, individuals in society have to follow laws, social norms, and cultural norms. If one does not follow these, she could struggle in life as she could have trouble in work, friendships, or even family. However, each individual wishes to be like Jack Sparrow as he has no care in the world and does everything the way he wants it to be and that is freedom. Every individual wishes for freedom, hence following laws, social norms, and cultural norms in a sense because when one does, she gets acceptance and people wouldn’t bother her because she is not an outlaw or social outcast. In this sense, every individual has a secret self. The secret self of wanting to be someone they are yet can’t be in reality, due to strict rules and regulations; especially for cultural norms as one would be discriminated against consistently for every single moment he lives. (Source) How does one have a secret self? Proof lies in the Pirates of the Caribbean’s popularity which resulted in $1.8 billion box office, as the character Jack Sparrow played by Johnny Depp is well-liked even though he doesn’t conform to social norms. People have their secret selves, and they secretly want to be Jack Sparrow and so they can relate to it; as a result, people love the movie. Also, Jack Sparrow always seems so confident by saying “I’m Captain Jack Sparrow.” People have their secret selves; hence, proving that one does not have to conform to social norms to be a positive influence.
How one is unconventional and successful. One such example would be Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story of Success, where in chapter 2, the rule of practicing something 10,000 hours in order to ma3ster it shows that one could. Depp is the perfect example of weirdness yet success. According to X, ““But there was a particular, narrow nine-year window that was just perfect for seeing the potential that the future held” (61) and “All the outliers we’ve looked at so far were the beneficiaries of some kind of unusual opportunity” (56). In making this comment, X urges us to.
Just like in The 10,000-Hour Rule chapter, it was mentioned that people who were born during certain years could achieve success due to some reasons. Yet, Depp did the unthinkable as most rising movie stars would prefer doing a blockbuster movie rather than a movie that might seem like it will be unsuccessful. For instance, Depp was in the 21 Jump Street, and he wasn’t happy but Depp was able to collaborate with Tim Burton on the film Edward Scissorhands which was what he needed. Even though he played as Edward Scissorhands who is considered odd, he was hugely successful as he made those characters come alive. Depp is still hugely successful despite choosing odd roles that he identify himself with which demonstrates that he had the luck and the right time; therefore, he became a huge Hollywood star. Therefore, making the unconventional individuals successful.
In contrast, most people still conform to social norms despite of alternatives. Like Murray Milner, Jr’s Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids: American Teenagers, Schools, and the Culture of Consumption points out the reasons for American teenagers’ materialistic and consumerism behavior. Since teenagers have limited economic and political power, Milner emphasizes that the main power that teenagers have is status power. Milner also perfectly
complements the reasons by pointing out that a teen who associates with a high-status friend, ability to conform to norms in high-status groups, and guts to bring a person down to keep her position are the main factors to obtain a high status in teenage culture.

Furthermore, consumerism has become part of teenage culture due to one of the needs to conform to norms in high-status groups. Also, the importance of parents, social class, school, and peers to a teenager are significant aspects that shape teenage culture. Additionally, status groups affect the lifestyle of a teenager, not only that, there could be emergence of different ‘cultures’ among groups. Teenagers, who are considered too young to be completely free, only have one ultimate power to control and that is status power. Although many people conform to social norms, in order to avoid being isolated and achieve success, Depp demonstrates that this is not

necessary.
(Support my claim after naysayer)
In conclusion, an outlier doesn’t have to follow social-cultural norms in order to have a positive impact on individuals. Everybody have their secret selves, and having odd outliers emerging and being successful can be attributes to why we shouldn’t follow them. With more outliers emerging and being successful can lead to a future of society that accepts talented ‘Freaks’. This could lead to happiness on the individual level and hence, giving everyone a fair chance of being an authentic person and the ability to succeed in life.