The Growing Trend For TV Freak Shows

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Roll up, roll up, see the dwarfs, bearded ladies, and people suffering from elephantiasis – we may even have a few Siamese twins on show. At one time such circus curiosity shows were common, until it was recognized that they were just cruel exploitation, reducing human beings to zoo specimens to be prodded, poked, abused and stared at. Now such shows are back, not at travelling fairs, circuses and carnivals, but on TV. This week alone my satellite viewing options included a look at Britain’s fattest men, medical studies of people living with unusual cysts, or elephantiasis and a woman covering her entire body in tattoos. Though presented as documentaries, there is no doubt this was pure voyeuristic exploitation and viewer-titillation. The people on display obviously need the money but the motive for such shows is pure sensationalism – the programme makers no better than Victorian fairground hawkers – suffice to say, I chose not to watch any of these programmes. Arthur Chappell