Master’s Degree programme – Second Cycle (D.M. 270/2004) in History of North-American Culture Final Thesis “Big on Family”: The Representation of Freaks in Contemporary American Culture Supervisor Ch. Prof. Simone Francescato Ch. Prof. Fiorenzo Iuliano University of Cagliari Graduand Luigi Tella Matriculation Number 846682 Academic Year 2014 / 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS ............................................................................................. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................................... 5 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER I: FREAKS IN AMERICA .............................................................................. 11 1.1 – The Notion of “Freak” and the Freak Show ........................................................... 11 1.1.1 – From the Monstrous Races to Bartholomew Fair ................................................. 14 1.1.2 – Freak Shows in the United States ......................................................................... 20 1.1.3 – The Exotic Mode and the Aggrandized Mode ...................................................... 28 1.2 – The Representation of Freaks in American Culture ............................................. 36 1.2.1 – Freaks in American Literature .............................................................................. 36 1.2.2 – Freaks on Screen ................................................................................................... 50 CHAPTER II: FREAKS IN AMERICAN LITERATURE ............................................... 59 2.1 – The Binewskis: Katherine Dunn’s Geek Love ........................................................ 59 2.2 – The Stephanideses: Jeffrey Eugenides’ Middlesex ................................................. 69 CHAPTER III: FREAKS IN GRAPHIC NOVELS ........................................................... 80 3.1 – “Weren’t we all one big happy family?”: Charles Burns’ Black Hole ................... 80 3.2 – The Owens: Steve Niles and Greg Ruth’s Freaks of the Heartland ...................... 93 CHAPTER IV: FREAKS IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN TV SERIES ............. 103 4.1 – The Lannisters: HBO’s Game of Thrones ............................................................. 103 4.2 – Pepper and the Gayhearts: FX’s American Horror Story: Freak Show ............. 118 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................... 133 WORKS CITED .................................................................................................................. 135 TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1: The Monstrous Races (p. 15). Figure 2: Stephen Bibrowski (1890-1932), widely known as Lionel, the Lion-faced Man (p. 17). Figure 3: Joseph Merrick (1862-1890), the Elephant Man (p. 17). Figure 4: Bartholomew Fair (p. 18). Figure 5: Barnum’s American Museum in New York City (p. 22). Figure 6: Ella Harper (1870-1921), the Camel Girl, photographed by Charles Eisenmann (p. 23). Figure 7-8-9: The pathologization of Maximo and Bartola from exotic oddities to clinical cases through medical photography (p. 25). Figure 10: Chang and Eng Bunker (1811-1874), the original Siamese Twins (p. 27). Figure 11: The Fiji Cannibals, example of exotic mode (p. 30). Figure 12: Souvenir of the Fairy Wedding. From left to right: best man Commodore Nutt, General Tom Thumb, Lavinia Warren, and bridesmaid Minnie Warren (p. 32). Figure 13: General Tom Thumb, Lavinia Warren, and their baby (p. 33). Figure 14-15-16-17: Eli Bowen (1844-1924) and his family (p. 34). Figure 18: Giacomo and Giovanni Battista Tocci (p. 40). Figure 19: Poster for the film Freaks (p. 50). Figure 20: Cleopatra, played by actress Olga Baclanova, reduced to a freakish creature. Freaks, 1932 (p. 51). Figure 21: Cleopatra and Hans, played by actor Harry Earles. Freaks, 1932 (p. 53). Figure 22: Beverly and Elliot, played by actor Jeremy Irons, in the nightmare scene with Claire, played by actress Geneviève Bujold. Dead Ringers, 1988 (p. 55). Figure 23: Chewbacca, played by actor Peter Mayhew. Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope, 1977 (p. 58). Figure 24: Black Hole #4, 1997. Charles Burns, inside cover (p. 81). Figure 25: Black Hole #4, 1997. Charles Burns, inside cover (p. 81). Figure 26: Chris’s mutation. Black Hole, 2005. Charles Burns, p. 32 (p. 82). Figure 27: Chris’s argument with her mother. Black Hole, 2005. Charles Burns, p. 189 (p. 83). Figure 28: Keith’s parents laughing. Black Hole, 2005. Charles Burns, p. 146 (p. 86). Figure 29: Todd’s grotesque laughter. Black Hole, 2005. Charles Burns, p. 158 (p. 86). Figure 30: Eliza’s drawing. Black Hole, 2005. Charles Burns, p. 307 (p. 87). Figure 31: The kids in the woods. Black Hole, 2005. Charles Burns, p. 171 (p. 88). Figure 32, 33: The freakish kids at the McCroskeys’. Black Hole, 2005. Charles Burns, p. 279 and 339 (p. 89). Figure 34: Will Owen. Freaks of the Heartland, 2005. Steve Niles and Greg Ruth, p. 44 (p. 93). Figure 35: The Owens’ house. Freaks of the Heartland, 2005. Steve Niles and Greg Ruth, p. 8-9 (p. 94). Figure 36: Henry Owen threatening his son and wife. Freaks of the Heartland, 2005. Steve Niles and Greg Ruth, p. 11 (p. 95). Figure 37: Henry Owen threatening his son and wife. Freaks of the Heartland, 2005. Steve Niles and Greg Ruth, p. 12 (p. 95). Figure 38: Henry’s death scene. Freaks of the Heartland, 2005. Steve Niles and Greg Ruth, p. 55-54-56-57 (p. 97). Figure 39: Will and Trevor find the graveyard. Freaks of the Heartland, 2005. Steve Niles and Greg Ruth, p. 82 (p. 98). Figure 40: Marion’s suicide. Freaks of the Heartland, 2005. Steve Niles and Greg Ruth, p. 109 (p. 100). Figure 41: Tyrion Lannister, played by actor Peter Dinklage. Game of Thrones, “Two Swords”, 2014 (p. 103). 4 Figure 42: Tywin Lannister, played by actor Charles Dance. Game of Thrones, “The Pointy End”, 2012 (p. 108). Figure 43: Cersei Lannister, played by actress Lena Headey. Game of Thrones, “The Lion and the Rose”, 2015 (p. 113). Figure 44: Joffrey Baratheon, played by actor Jack Gleeson. Game of Thrones, “ Fire and Blood”, 2012 (p. 116). Figure 45: Tyrion’s wedding to Sansa Stark, played by actress Sophie Turner. Game of Thrones, “Second Sons”, 2014 (p. 117). Figure 46: Dwarves entertaining guests at Joffrey’s wedding. Game of Thrones, “The Lion and the Rose”, 2015 (p. 117). Figure 47: King Joffrey humiliating his uncle, Tyrion Lannister at his wedding. Game of Thrones, “The Lion and the Rose”, 2015 (p. 117). Figure 48: The Siamese twins Bette and Dot Tattler, played by actress Sarah Paulson, and created through the use of CGI. American Horror Story – Freak Show, “Curtain Call”, 2015 (p. 120). Figure 49: Pepper, played by actress Naomi Grossman. American Horror Story – Freak Show, “Orphans”, 2015 (p. 121). Figure 50: Pepper with Ma Petite, played by actress Jyoti Amge. American Horror Story – Freak Show, “Monsters Among Us”, 2015 (p. 123). Figure 51: Pepper taking care of Lucas. American Horror Story – Freak Show, “Orphans”, 2015 (p. 125). Figure 52: Pepper dragged away after Lucas’s murder. American Horror Story – Freak Show, “Orphan”, 2015 (p. 127). Figure 53: Penny, played by actress Grace Gummer. American Horror Story – Freak Show, “Blood Bath”, 2015 (p. 129). Figure 54: Dell Toledo, played by actor Michael Chiklis. American Horror Story – Freak Show, “Massacres and Matinees”, 2015 (p. 130). 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my supervisors, Prof. Simone Francescato and Prof. Fiorenzo Iuliano, for their suggestions and help. I would like to thank my parents whose huge sacrifices gave me the possibility to be where I am now. I would be nothing without you. Words will never be enough to express my love and gratitude for my sister. You are the best and I wouldn’t know what to do with my life without you. I offer my sincerest gratitude to my grandparents, who are always ready to help. This achievement was mainly the result of your endless support. Finally, I would like to thank my few but amazing friends: the new ones, the old ones, and those who, sadly, are too far from me, but always in my heart. You all helped me in very different ways and I am forever grateful. 6 INTRODUCTION “Ladies and gentlemen! Everything you’ve heard is true. All that has been advertised is here, under this tent. Wonders. Curiosities. A plethora of the strange, the weird, the bizarre, the unusual! From jungles untamed, to forests enchanted. From the Dark Continent, to the spice-laden lands of India. Astounding mistakes of nature are gathered here for your amusement and edification. What you’re about to see will astound your very senses and harrow… yes, harrow your souls.” (American Horror Story: Freak Show, “Monsters Among Us”) “Family. The Binewskis are big on family.” (Geek Love, 261) In the TV series American Horror Story: Freak Show Ethel Darling – played by actress Kathy Bates – introduces the freaks performing in Fräulein Elsa’s Cabinet of Curiosities. Her words, quoted above, resume the essential traits characterizing freaks and the freak show: shockingly deformed performers from everywhere in the world, or at least this is what the showmen claim, gathered together in a single place and offered to the audience ready to pay to gawk at them. In her presentation, Ethel uses a list of words that increase our curiosity, talking about a “plethora” of weirdness and wonders that will leave the