>> Earlier in the year I was at half price books in Cleveland and a book caught my eye: "The lion boy and other medical curiosities" by Jan Bonderson. It had a painting of Lionel on the cover.<<
So cool!
>> "Very Special People: The Struggles, Loves and Triumphs of Human Oddities" by Frederick Drimmer. <<
I think I have that one.
>>Over the years I saw the 1932 movie "Freaks" by Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein.<<
My partner watched that this summer and showed me the making-of feature that came with it. Fascinating. The modern commenter was a bit put off by the way that freaks have made a living in sideshows and Hollywood because of how poorly they're treated.
Me, I tend to side with the things they've said: "The way I look, people are gonna stare. At least this way, they gotta PAY ME for it!" Some of them would've have a very hard time getting a regular job, but in show business of whatever kind, they could support themselves and have a tolerant community. In fact if you look at the circus towns, they were the first modern places to make accommodations for accessibility needs. There was a low counter for the little people and sturdy chairs for the fat ladies and so on.
>> The world of sideshows and freak shows (as they sadly were mostly referred to back then) are pretty much now a thing of the past. <<
Mostly but not quite entirely. You still see bits of them at Renaissance faires. One fellow I saw had a grindshow going with his bizarre collectibles. He had a shrunken head, complete with provenance papers, in a box labeled "See the Creepy Thing." (He didn't want to bother nonconsenting bystanders.) I think he had a preserved tattoo also. Sword swallowers and other circus-type performers still work the various carnie circuits. Very special people are uncommon but still appear occasionally. It's their choice.
>> Over the years I haven't given them and this subject much thought sadly. But now I was excited to learn again.<<
It's something I keep in mind for some of my writing. See "Carnival Candy" in Frankenstein's Family, or "The Unknown, Unpredictable Change" and "The Surest Passport to Fortune" in Polychrome Heroics. Also in Terramagne, show soups are direct descendants of sideshow performers -- their job is to let people meet a real person with visible superpowers. I try to cover a range of how different people feel about physical diversity.
If you want to ask for more, the October 1 fishbowl theme will be Cryptids, which would certainly fit some types of Very Special People. :D
>>Do you have a favorite person from the past who was considered a human oddity?<<
My favorites are the conjoined twins, like Chang and Eng. I'd love to see you write more about this topic.
Thoughts
So cool!
>> "Very Special People: The Struggles, Loves and Triumphs of Human Oddities" by Frederick Drimmer. <<
I think I have that one.
>>Over the years I saw the 1932 movie "Freaks" by Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein.<<
My partner watched that this summer and showed me the making-of feature that came with it. Fascinating. The modern commenter was a bit put off by the way that freaks have made a living in sideshows and Hollywood because of how poorly they're treated.
Me, I tend to side with the things they've said: "The way I look, people are gonna stare. At least this way, they gotta PAY ME for it!" Some of them would've have a very hard time getting a regular job, but in show business of whatever kind, they could support themselves and have a tolerant community. In fact if you look at the circus towns, they were the first modern places to make accommodations for accessibility needs. There was a low counter for the little people and sturdy chairs for the fat ladies and so on.
>> The world of sideshows and freak shows (as they sadly were mostly referred to back then) are pretty much now a thing of the past. <<
Mostly but not quite entirely. You still see bits of them at Renaissance faires. One fellow I saw had a grindshow going with his bizarre collectibles. He had a shrunken head, complete with provenance papers, in a box labeled "See the Creepy Thing." (He didn't want to bother nonconsenting bystanders.) I think he had a preserved tattoo also. Sword swallowers and other circus-type performers still work the various carnie circuits. Very special people are uncommon but still appear occasionally. It's their choice.
>> Over the years I haven't given them and this subject much thought sadly. But now I was excited to learn again.<<
It's something I keep in mind for some of my writing. See "Carnival Candy" in Frankenstein's Family, or "The Unknown, Unpredictable Change" and "The Surest Passport to Fortune" in Polychrome Heroics. Also in Terramagne, show soups are direct descendants of sideshow performers -- their job is to let people meet a real person with visible superpowers. I try to cover a range of how different people feel about physical diversity.
If you want to ask for more, the October 1 fishbowl theme will be Cryptids, which would certainly fit some types of Very Special People. :D
>>Do you have a favorite person from the past who was considered a human oddity?<<
My favorites are the conjoined twins, like Chang and Eng. I'd love to see you write more about this topic.