If people call themselves 'freaks' and want to put on a show for a paying audience, should we feel okay about attending and their use of the word? Does finding entertainment in people who regard themselves as 'freaks' make those who do so bad people? Or are they simply enjoying what's on offer?
Credit: FOX
That's something viewers are going to have to ask themselves when FOX brings reality series 'Freak Show' to the small screen later this year, coinciding with the latest season of American Horror Story, which holds the same subtitle.
In the reality series we'll meet a bunch of characters with unique traits that have joined the Venice Beach Freak Show, showcasing their talents and abnormalities and using them to their advantage, taking in a wage and utilising what many of them once thought would hinder their lives.
But should we and they allow the word 'freak' to hold such ground in the modern-day world? Todd Ray, 'The Boss' at Venice Beach's Freak Show believes so, and hopes to embrace the word as a 'joyous rebuttal to 'normal' and the pressure of conformity'.
Todd says that the word 'freak' refers to "the most special, the most unique, the most magical creatures in the universe", but even within that, why are we referring to fellow human beings as 'creatures', simply because they're different to the majority of the population?
Animals have also been used in the show such as a five-legged dog and two-headed snake - should we be allowed to capture animals such as this and put them on display for our own gain? The argument can be made that without a show like this, they'd live a life that's not as rewarding (all animals are well fed and well kept) - could the same argument be made for the humans in the show?
Though some may believe that Todd and his family - some of which perform in the show themselves - are taking advantage of these people and potentially their emotional states before they joined the show, each and every one of them is at an age where they can be trusted to make their own decisions and so, who are we to judge if they want to live their life on the stage?
Are we as bad for judging their choices as we would be for judging their differences? That's one to think on. But do let us know - would you attend the 'Freak Show'?
Freak Show launches at 10pm on Wednesday, November 26 on FOX.