Last night, AMC debuted the series Freakshow, a reality show about the Venice Beach Freakshow. Its owner, former Grammy-winning producer Todd Ray (Santana, Korn), believes in reclaiming "freak" as a "positive word." "We're trying to bring it back, but we're trying to celebrate the differences," he told the tallest man in America, George Bell, who joined his crew.
"Freak" isn't exactly Ray's word to reclaim, but the show follows his stated ethic as a gentle feelings-based exploration of its entertainers. In the scene above, a bearded lady Ray commissioned tells her story. Yeah, it's one of those triumphs of the human spirit, but this time, at least, it's one for the type of person who traditionally wasn't treated like a human at all and whose spirit went without consideration.