Freaks Blog

While some critics see the film Freaks as a defense of equality while other critics believe that it is just shuns people that are "different" than  the people classified as "normal." Both of these arguments could be upheld from either perspective, especially in the movie, but I think that it is a defense of equality. There were the ones that would be considered "normal" were the ones that demonized the "freaks," but for the most part of the movie most of the people were accepting of the people that were not as normal as the others. The ones that were accepting of the "freaks" were also normal people that were more down to earth and accepted them as who they were. I think that it showed throughout the movie that there are people that will shun others and make fun of others differences, for the most part, people are more accepting of small differences and quirks. I believe that the movie is like a reality check for people, since there are a bunch of people out there that have differences (subtle or not) and that we should be accepting. Oh yeah, and I believe that it in the end, people that you make fun of and take advantage of will have their revenge, just like Hans and the other freaks tarring and feathering Cleopatra.

January 22nd Class

The type of comedy that Buster Keaton is a mix of slapstick comedy and extremely witty comedy. To be honest, I went in without any intentions of it being funny, and it was extremely funny, even compared to modern comedies. At the beginning, you thought that he had that mustache then just took it off? That is funny! When he followed the guy closely because number 5 on the guide was to "shadow your man closely" and when he smoked the cigarette when the guy threw it back to shadow him? That was also really funny! It kind of made you think at times and it wasn't crude. It was good, old fashioned funny. In terms of newer comedies, I believe that this is more complex and stays to the story line without going off on tangents (in most cases of comedies with some exceptions.) I also believe that this movie was also way ahead of its time in terms of its humor and effects.  The best use of this was when he was working at the movie theater and had the out of body experience, was in the films going from the steps, to the stool, to the road. It was pretty good for special effects.

--S

Bio of Seth Steele

First off, welcome to my blog! My name is Seth Steele and I am a third year Economics major here at the University of Cincinnati. The real question is why am I even taking this class? The reason is I love movies! One of the things on my bucket list is to at least try and direct a movie or even try to act in a movie. I love watching any type of movies, comedies, dramas, documentaries, or crime dramas. The engagement that I have with cinema is that I truly enjoy cinema. I can't wait to get more in depth with this class and hope it will be an enjoyable experience!