I believe this movie is a proponent of equality amongst all individuals regardless of their physical demeanor. As Hawkins says in her article entitled “’One of Us’: Tod Browning’s Freaks,” it is very obvious that Browning was making a rather progressive claim regarding humanity at the beginning of the film. We see the so called “freaks” going about their everyday lives proving to the viewer that they are indeed human. We see that they love and feel for each other and truly want to help each other in making their lives better. This is in contrast to Cleopatra who although appears quite normal on the exterior, is very dark and sinister in her dealings by manipulating Hans’ love for her. However, Hawkins believes that Browning then contradicts his original claim of equality by demonizing the apparent “freaks” during the scene in which they get revenge on Cleopatra and Hercules. I disagree with this claim. I believe that instead of demonizing the “freaks,” the scene of revenge actually validates their humanity.

Humans rarely make the right choice for every situation in which they are confronted. As a result, to prove someone is human one must not only show the good that he or she has done, but also the mistakes that he or she has made. Browning uses Phroso, Venus, Cleopatra, and Hercules as the benchmarks of human qualities. Phroso and Venus are used to represent the good that humans can do while Cleopatra and Hercules are used to represent the mistakes humans can make.  As a result, during the first portion of the movie, Browning was proving that the “freaks” were indeed like Phroso and Venus where they truly care for each other. However, during the revenge scene, Browning was proving that “freaks” do make poor and scary decisions as Cleopatra and Hercules did. As a result, I believe Browning is making a claim of equality for all humans by simply proving that we all have the capacity to love and make mistakes.