Film Studies Daily Log

Wednesday, April 29

We discussed Freaks a bit more, focusing on Olga Roderick's (the bearded lady's) assessment of the film as "an insult to all freaks everywhere." The discussion wandered to the question of the film's "rating" and students were reminded that there was no rating system at in 1931. From there we turned to the Hays Code, and the "pre-Code" status of Freaks, and began watching Complicated Women, a documentary about the many-faceted presentation of women in pre-Code films from 1929 to 1934.