Brian Explains: Freaks

Freaks are all around us. It is easy to say that someone is a freak if they have a third leg or tree bark skin. I saw the movie “Freaks” (from 1932) years ago and was fascinated. I wasn’t fascinated because of the sideshow performers in the movie, but more that the sideshow performers allowed themselves to be in the movie. Now, I realize that being in that movie was probably good for them. They got paid for being in the movie and reached at least a certain amount of fame from it. Being a “freak” allowed them to make a living for themselves and their families. It is no different from the freaks that are in the movies and on television. The true freaks are in Hollywood. All the top stars are freaks. The more freakish someone is, the bigger the star they are (though, there are exceptions to every rule - even the one I just created).

Some people may not agree with my terming these Hollywood-types as freaks. My definition of a freak is anyone who has some distinguishing characteristic about themselves that sets them apart from other people. Some freakish qualities consist of what most people term talents while others consist of physical characteristics. Even brain power can distinguish someone, though, this is a rare rarity for the public to be interested in such higher pursuits without some other freakish qualities also being apparent. "Freaks" is the all-encompassing term for all those qualities combined. Just as love is hard if not impossible to define, so the term freak is easier seen than defined.

As I write this, I realize that I have several freakish qualities that it takes to become a star. In other words, I am quite the freak. My main qualities are in areas of rarity, but I do have a few major freakish qualities of my own (that I keep in a cage by my TV). Utilizing the dictionary, we (you and I on the journey of discovery) find that "freak" is defined as "something very queer or unusual" and as an "animal, plant, or person that has developed abnormally." Jack Nicholson, one of my favorite freaks, was born on April 22, 1937, on a Thursday. Whether his parents knew that he would achieve total freakish fame can only be guessed at by other freaks and non-freaks alike. I am guessing that they knew he was not normal from his voice and unique looks.

Perhaps if more people embraced their freakish qualities, they would feel better about themselves and other freaks. They wouldn't feel the need to sit in front of an audience on a talk show being stared at just to get their 15 minutes of fame. Your unique qualities are the things that make you distinct from other people. If we were all the same, we would all have just typed this sentence in this article on this day as I just did. Unfortunately for you, only I can claim ownership of the freakish qualities that it took to create this article. Okay, I understand many other people possess the unique qualities that it took to create this article, but I was the only one who used my freakish hands to actually create it.

Does everyone want to be a freak? Does everyone want to be liked? Does anyone? (Which question am I questioning?) Some people don't want to be freaks merely because they don't want to stand out from other people. I understand this, but I still feel (deep down under my arteries) that everyone wants to be a freak of some kind or another. They may not admit to their freakish side and they may not appreciate their freakish qualities, but they exist. Then again, what do I know. I'm just a freak.