The Freakshow

I have decided to do my contextual essay on the idea of 'The Freak Show' and how it still applies to television and media today. Here is my proposal...

AD500 Practice in Context Research Proposal

Name: Emily Dymond

Programme: FD Illustration

Essay (working) Title/s:

- What is societies continual fascination with ‘The Freak show’ and how is this evident through the depiction of ‘The Freak’ in film and illustration?

Aims:
What question (s) do you hope your study to answer? What areas are you looking into?

- What exactly is a ‘Freak’ and is the term still relevant today?
- Explore different examples of ‘The Freak’ in film and illustration and how these examples have changed over time.
- How has the idea of ‘The Freak’ evolved over time?
- Is there evidence of interest in ‘The Freak Show’ in today’s society and how is this evident?
- Is there still interest in the illustrated ‘Freak’ or are audiences today only interested in ‘true story’/ ‘body shock’ television programme’s, are these programme’s now more shocking?

Key words?
What key words might inform your searches?

Freakshow, abnormal, circus, victorian, racial,scientific, culture, John Merrick, disabled

After a tutorial with Lucy, I wrote down some of her suggestions and notes to further my research.

• Find books on reality TV - use key words like Spectacle, Sensationalism, Guy Debord, Medical Gaze
• Understand the context of the word 'Freak'
• Think carefully about the words normal and abnormal and what they might imply.
• Look into the history of freak show's
• Case studies - Jeremy Kyle, Big Brother, Supersize vs Super skinny etc.
• JSTOR
• Google Scholak
• Apply illustration to study in some way (Maybe an editorial piece with illustration to accompany)
• Reality/ freak spectacle
• Post modernism