The others: an exploration of physical

difference, its place in cinema and the effect

of these representations on social behaviour

Proof of concept for thesis proposal

Eleanor Luckett
Case studies
● 1600s exhibitions of live curiosities
● 1835 “160 year old” - fabricated
● 1842 “Feejee mermaid” - fabricated
● Tod Browning’s Freaks (1932) vs The Greatest Showman (2017)
● Carol Grant letters, 1950s
● TLC “my 600lb life” - modern
● Jim Rose circus sideshow - modern
● Peter Hennsen’s Hell’s Belles - modern
Key themes and issues
● Defining others - what qualifies and what doesn’t for the sake of this essay
● History of the freak show & how the idea of what constitutes it over time
● How changing roles of others dictated their place (or not) in society
● Disabled vs able-bodied actors playing other roles - alters representation
● Genre treatment: horror - monster; comedy - butt of the joke
● Psychological influence of media representation of others and its effect on social behaviours - abjection
○ Ben-Levi, J (1993) Abject art: Repulsion and desire in American art. USA: Whitney Abrams
○ Dohmen, J (2016) ‘Disability as abject: Kristeva, Disability and resistance’ In: A journal of feminist
philosophy. Oregan: Wiley Online library
○ Hall, M (2016) ‘Horrible Heros: Liberating alternative versions of disability in Horror. In: Disability studies
quarterly. 36 (1) Ohio: Ohio state libraries
○ Inahara, M (2009) Abject love: undoing the boundaries of physical disability. Saarbruchen: VDM Verlag
○ Kristeva, J (1982) Powers of Horror: An essay on abjection. Tans. Leon S. Roudiez. New York: Columbia
University Press
○ Lacan, J (1977) Écrits: a selection. Trans. Sheridan, A. New York: Columbia University Press
Proposed theoretical framework and theorists
● Introduction
○ Defining ‘otherness’ and its parameters
● History
○ 1600s
○ Victorian
○ 1950s
○ Modern
● Able-bodies vs disabled actors to present disabled characters
○ Potential challenges of filming
○ Discussion from actors about challenges of role
○ Availability of roles for ‘other’ actors
● Representation of disability in media
○ Genre roles - comedy - butt of the joke; horror - monster; action - villain
○ Increasing disability representation - positive or negative - double edged sword
○ Adoption of medical terms into public zeitgeist without full understanding
● Psychological effect of media representation
○ Understanding of disability - curiosity and abjection - conversations avoided and becomes
“taboo” - abjection
○ Prevalence of other characters - eg. Sesame Street - positive or negative
○ Subconscious associations to certain characteristics - is this positive or negative,
recognisable, damaging?
○ Steps being taken to improve and widen representation
● Conclusion
Reference books
● Ben-Levi, J (1993) Abject art: Repulsion and desire in American art. USA: Whitney Abrams
● Bogdan, R (1990) Freak Show: presenting human oddities for amusement and profit. Chicago: Chicago university
press
○ A comprehensive overview of the history of freak shows
● Dohmen, J (2016) ‘Disability as abject: Kristeva, Disability and resistance’ In: A journal of feminist philosophy. Oregan:
Wiley Online library
● Foucault, M. (1969) Archeology of knowledge New York: Routledge
○ Sets out a framework for how to unify social and economic changes to understand the history of something,
without involving one’s self, our opinions and anachronistic context upon the media. Detailed information on
methodologies and how to avoid bias issues.
● Gerrone, K. T. (2017) Peter Hennen’s Hell’s Belles: From Gorilla girls to freak babies. Seattle: CreateSpace
independent
○ Explores a more modern freak show and how it had maintained success in a more diverse environment
● Hall, M (2016) ‘Horrible Heros: Liberating alternative versions of disability in Horror. In: Disability studies quarterly.
36 (1) Ohio: Ohio state libraries
● Kashani, T. & Nocella, A,J (2010) ‘Hollywood’s cinema of ableism: a disability studies perspective on the
Hollywood industrial complex.’ In: Frymer, Kashani, & Van Heertum (ed.) Hollywood’s exploited; education,
politics and public life New York: Palgrave MacMillan.
○ Chapter based around media, through the lens of disability studies. Specifically looking at disabled
representation rather than actor diversity.
● Kristeva, J. (1982). Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection. Trans. Leon S. Roudiez. New York: Columbia
University Press.
○ Directly discusses the power abjection holds within the horror genre
● Lacan, J (1977) Écrits: a selection. Trans. Sheridan, A. New York: Columbia University Press
● Meeuf, R (2017) Rebellious bodies: stardom, citizenship, and the new body politics. Austin: University of Texas
press
○ Looks at the idea of celebrity and notoriety, and how those that challenge long-held body ideas are
becoming more integrated into media, but asks whether this transfers to all media and whether this is truly
representative of those individuals.
● Nelson, J, A. (1994) The disabled, the media and the Information Age. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press
○ References the more recent role of disability within media. Media as a wider subject will be useful for
context surrounding Hollywood, whether it is seen in all media, or specifically Hollywood etc.
● Nordon, M, F (1994) The cinema of isolation: a history of physical disability in the movies. New Jersey: Rutgers
University Press
○ Goes through the history of cinema, directly referencing the roles of the disabled and “other” throughout its
evolution. Detailed analysis of each situation.
● Pointon, A & Davies, C (1997) Framed: interrogating disability in the media. London: British film institute
○ Parts 1&2 cover how disability has been manipulated and stereotyped for non disabled audiences
○ Parts 3, 4 & 5 cover artist employment and accessibility, giving background for the experience of disabled
artists working in the industry.
○ Collection of essays and articles written by academics, disabled filmmakers and actors. Many commissioned
for institutes such as BFI
● Prince-Hughes, D (2013) Circus of souls: How I discovered we are all freaks passing as normal. Seattle: CreateSpace
Independent.
○ Discusses how ideas show in freak shows have largely been accepted into ‘polite society’
● Rose, J. (1995) Freak like me: inside the Jim Rose circus sideshow. New York: Barnum Doubleday Dell publishing
group
○ Overlook of a modern freakshow from a performer and side show owner.
Reference articles
● Black, R. & Hayes, M. (2003) ‘Troubling signs: disability, Hollywood movies and the construction of a discourse of
pity’ In: Disability studies Quarterly 23 (2) Ohio: Ohio state university libraries
○ Discusses directly one of the common concerns of disability and additional needs actors in cinema, that the
disabled are presented as needing pity or disappointment.
● Dahl, M (1993) ‘The role of the media in promoting images of disability – disability as a metaphor: The evil crip.’
In: Canadian journal of communication 18 (1) Canada: University of British Columbia
○ Explores cultural phenomenon around disability terms being used in different contexts
○ Explores what it is to be perceived as disabled.
● Kuppers, P. (2007) ‘The Wheelchair’s rhetoric: The performance of disability’ In: The Drama review 51 (4)
Michigan: MIT press
○ Discusses wheelchair as iconography for disability, and how this affects theatre and cinema, in terms of
representation
● Long more, P., K. (1987) ‘Screening stereotypes: images of disabled people in television and motion pictures’ In:
Images of the disabled, disabling images 16 (2) NY: Praeger publications
○ Discussing the common stereotypes
○ How the images themselves can become disabling through social context and behaviour
● Mitchell, D., T. & Snyder, S., L. (1997) ‘Introducing disability studies and the double bind of representation’ In:
The body and physical difference: discourses of disability Michigan: The university of Michigan Press
○ Talks about representation as a two edged sword
○ Through lens of disability studies
● Van Dijck, J (2002) ‘Medical documentary: conjoined twins as a mediated spectacle’ In: Media, culture and society
24 (4) New York: SAGE publications
○ The idea of ‘others’ as something to be observed by the rest of society, and how this still occurs in ,odeon
day
○ Discusses the impact that these incredible ‘medical’ documentaries have on social behaviours.
Reference websites
● British Library (2013) Victorian Freak shows. At: www.bl.uk/learning/cult/bodies/freak/freakshow.html (Accessed
26/01/2019)
○ Respected source with many illustrations and some social information
● Crockett, Z (2014) The rise and fall of circus freakshows. At:
https://priceonomics.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-circus-freakshows/ (Accessed 26/01/2019)
○ Detailed exploration of the history of the freakshow, as well as specific examples.
● Handler, R. (2013) What is the role of Disabled actors? At:
https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/role-disabled-actors-49648/ (Accessed 22/01/2019)
○ Written by a disabled actress, published by a professional theatre magazine
● Holman, K. (2017) BBC announces new development scheme for disabled actors At:
https://rtfs.org.uk/article/bbc-announces-new-development-scheme-disabled-actors (Accessed 22/01/2019)
○ Current issues around subject matter with very recent developments. RTFS is very respected, as is the BBC.
○ Shows how companies are moving forward.
● Learning disability today (2018) New guidelines proposed for casting neurodivergent and learning disabled actors
At: https://www.learningdisabilitytoday.co.uk/ethical-casting (Accessed 22/01/2019)
○ Shows learning disabilities issues as well as physical.
○ Shows legal president.
● Mencap (2017) Diversity at the Oscars: Disabled actors and organisations publish letter calling for more
opportunities for actors with a learning disability. At:
https://www.mencap.org.uk/press-release/diversity-oscars-disabled-actors-and-organisations-publish-letter-calling-
more (Accessed 22/01/2019)
○ Mencap - respected learning disability support organisation
○ Campaigns relevant currently - addresses the improvement in race, gender etc, but not disabilities.
● National fairground and circus archive (2019) History of freak shows At:
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/nfca/researchandarticles/freakshows (Accessed 22/01/2019)
○ National archive run by a university
○ Images and recorded history from freak shows themselves - useful in talking about the history of the
community.
● UK Disability History month (2015) Broadsheet: moving image portrayal of disability: Then and now! At:
https://ukdhm.org/resource-files/The%20portrayal%20of%20disabled%20people%20in%20moving%20image%20
media%20has%20been%20persistently%20distorted.pdf (Accessed 22/01/2019)
○ Publication from national disability awareness group, comparing past experiences with current ones.
● World Health Organisation (2019) Disabilities At: https://who.int/topics/disabilities/en/ (Accessed 22/01/2019)
○ Defines disability clearly
○ Links to medically accurate articles on conditions.
Reference documentary
● Circus Freaks and sideshows [documentary online] pres. Arthur Kent. A&E networks (2000) 50 mins At:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPy6LeUpe7o (Accessed 22/01/2019)
○ Documentary about the history of ‘others’ in performance arts
○ Shows imagery, as well as telling some of the real stories.
● Freak show [television documentary online] pres. Pearson. BBC UK (2016) 95 mins At:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&feature=youtube&v=57_8v-V3X9l (Accessed 22/01/2019)
○ Disabled presenter talking about what it’s like to be an ‘other’ in the modern day around the world.
○ Relatively recent programme - still very relevant.
Key images
Figure 1. Freaks (1932)
Figure 2. Kevin McHale (2016)
Fig. 1 Freaks (1932) From Freaks Directed
by Tod Browning [film still] USA:MGM
At: https://www.nfsa.gov.au/events/freaks\
-
First representation of disabled individuals
on film
Fig. 2 Kevin McHale (2016) From Glee
Directed by Brad Falchuk [television still]
USA:Fox At:
https://www.fromthegrapevine.com/arts/di
sabled-actor-ruderman-foundation-danny-
woodburn-hollywood
-Able-bodied actor playing disabled role
Fig. 3 Clarissa Mullery (2017) From Silent
Witness Directed by Nigel McCrery
[television still] UK: BBC At:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profile
s/5kV9TqcRDr6jFhCy97LMSnj/clarissa-m
ullery
-Actual disabled actress Figure 3. Clarissa Mullery (2017)
Bibliography
● Ben-Levi, J (1993) Abject art: Repulsion and desire in American art. USA: Whitney Abrams
● Black, R. & Hayes, M. (2003) ‘Troubling signs: disability, Hollywood movies and the construction of a discourse of pity’
In: Disability studies Quarterly 23 (2) Ohio: Ohio state university libraries
● Bogdan, R (1990) Freak Show: presenting human oddities for amusement and profit. Chicago: Chicago university press
● British Library (2013) Victorian Freak shows. At: www.bl.uk/learning/cult/bodies/freak/freakshow.html (Accessed
26/01/2019)
● Circus Freaks and sideshows [documentary online] pres. Arthur Kent. A&E networks (2000) 50 mins At:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPy6LeUpe7o (Accessed 22/01/2019)
● Crockett, Z (2014) The rise and fall of circus freakshows. At:
https://priceonomics.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-circus-freakshows/ (Accessed 26/01/2019)
● Dahl, M (1993) ‘The role of the media in promoting images of disability – disability as a metaphor: The evil crip.’ In:
Canadian journal of communication 18 (1) Canada: University of British Columbia
● Dohmen, J (2016) ‘Disability as abject: Kristeva, Disability and resistance’ In: A journal of feminist philosophy. Oregan:
Wiley Online library
● Foucault, M. (1969) Archeology of knowledge New York: Routledge
● Freak show [television documentary online] pres. Pearson. BBC UK (2016) 95 mins At:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&feature=youtube&v=57_8v-V3X9l (Accessed 22/01/2019)
● Hall, M (2016) ‘Horrible Heros: Liberating alternative versions of disability in Horror. In: Disability studies
quarterly. 36 (1) Ohio: Ohio state libraries
● Handler, R. (2013) What is the role of Disabled actors? At:
https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/role-disabled-actors-49648/ (Accessed 22/01/2019)
● Holman, K. (2017) BBC announces new development scheme for disabled actors At:
https://rtfs.org.uk/article/bbc-announces-new-development-scheme-disabled-actors (Accessed 22/01/2019)
● Inahara, M (2009) Abject love: undoing the boundaries of physical disability. Saarbruchen: VDM Verlag
● Kashani, T. & Nocella, A,J (2010) ‘Hollywood’s cinema of ableism: a disability studies perspective on the
Hollywood industrial complex.’ In: Frymer, Kashani, & Van Heertum (ed.) Hollywood’s exploited; education,
politics and public life New York: Palgrave MacMillan.
● Kristeva, J. (1982). Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection. Trans. Leon S. Roudiez. New York: Columbia
University Press.
● Kuppers, P. (2007) ‘The Wheelchair’s rhetoric: The performance of disability’ In: The Drama review 51 (4)
Michigan: MIT press
● Lacan, J (1977) Écrits: a selection. Trans. Sheridan, A. New York: Columbia University Press
● Learning disability today (2018) New guidelines proposed for casting neurodivergent and learning disabled actors
At: https://www.learningdisabilitytoday.co.uk/ethical-casting (Accessed 22/01/2019)
● Long more, P., K. (1987) ‘Screening stereotypes: images of disabled people in television and motion pictures’ In:
Images of the disabled, disabling images 16 (2) NY: Praeger publications
● Meeuf, R (2017) Rebellious bodies: stardom, citizenship, and the new body politics. Austin: University of Texas
press
● Mencap (2017) Diversity at the Oscars: Disabled actors and organisations publish letter calling for more
opportunities for actors with a learning disability. At:
https://www.mencap.org.uk/press-release/diversity-oscars-disabled-actors-and-organisations-publish-letter-calling-
more (Accessed 22/01/2019)
● Mitchell, D., T. & Snyder, S., L. (1997) ‘Introducing disability studies and the double bind of representation’ In:
The body and physical difference: discourses of disability Michigan: The university of Michigan Press
● National fairground and circus archive (2019) History of freak shows At:
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/nfca/researchandarticles/freakshows (Accessed 22/01/2019)
● Nelson, J, A. (1994) The disabled, the media and the Information Age. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press
● Nordon, M, F (1994) The cinema of isolation: a history of physical disability in the movies. New Jersey: Rutgers
University Press
● Pointon, A & Davies, C (1997) Framed: interrogating disability in the media. London: British film institute
● Prince-Hughes, D (2013) Circus of souls: How I discovered we are all freaks passing as normal. Seattle:
CreateSpace Independent.
● Rose, J. (1995) Freak like me: inside the Jim Rose circus sideshow. New York: Barnum Doubleday Dell publishing
group
● UK Disability History month (2015) Broadsheet: moving image portrayal of disability: Then and now! At:
https://ukdhm.org/resource-files/The%20portrayal%20of%20disabled%20people%20in%20moving%20image%20
media%20has%20been%20persistently%20distorted.pdf (Accessed 22/01/2019)
● Van Dijck, J (2002) ‘Medical documentary: conjoined twins as a mediated spectacle’ In: Media, culture and society
24 (4) New York: SAGE publications
● World Health Organisation (2019) Disabilities At: https://who.int/topics/disabilities/en/ (Accessed 22/01/2019)
List of illustrations
Fig. 1 Freaks (1932) From Freaks Directed by Tod Browning [film still] USA:MGM At:
https://www.nfsa.gov.au/events/freaks\

Fig. 2 Kevin McHale (2016) From Glee Directed by Brad Falchuk [television still] USA:Fox At:
https://www.fromthegrapevine.com/arts/disabled-actor-ruderman-foundation-danny-woodburn-hollywood

Fig. 3 Clarissa Mullery (2017) From Silent Witness Directed by Nigel McCrery [television still] UK: BBC At:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/5kV9TqcRDr6jFhCy97LMSnj/clarissa-mullery