History: Freaks Of Nature

The entertainment appeal the traditional "freak shows" is arguably echoed in numerous programmes made for television. Thus Extraordinary People on the British television channel Five or BodyShock show the life severely disabled or deformed people, and can be seen as the modern equivalent the circus freak shows. However in order to make the shows respectable, the subjects are usually portrayed as heroic and attention is given to their family and friends and the way they help them overcome their disabilities. On The Guardian, Chris Shaw however comments that "one man's freak show is another man's portrayal heroic triumph over medical adversity" and carry on with "call me prejudiced but I suspect your typical twentysomething watched this show with their jaw on the floor rather than a tear in their eye".