Freak
A freak [ fɹi: k ] (from English freak : "cripple, crazy, abnormal" or freak of nature : "mood of nature", but also "enthusiastic") is usually a person in today's colloquial language Pursues something, for example your hobby, excessively or beyond a "normal" level, makes it part of your life or at least knows it better than a person who corresponds to the average of the population (for example a computer freak ). The lifestyle and lifestyle of a freak can differ from that of the average citizen and be consciously individual , non-conformist, different or “funky”. The associated adjective is freaky , and freaky is also widely used .
Concept history
In English the term originally means "mood". In the USA in particular, the meaning narrowed in the 19th century to “ freak of nature ”; In the 19th century, freak shows pulled over the fairs in which people such as short stature or "dwarfs", "the woman with a beard", "the Cyclops boy ", the " lady without abdomen ", "the strongest person in the world" and others were issued. The elephant man Joseph Merrick also wandered around with such a "freak show" for some time. Director Tod Browning memorialized these people in his classic horror film Freaks (1932, with deformed amateur actors). In the 30 years the public display places was of "malformed" People in Germany by the Nazi - regime banned.
From about the 1960s onwards, this was also used to describe social dropouts and supporters of an alternative way of life , see for example the comic The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers . In Los Angeles, the early hippies were known as freaks. The first album by the Mothers of Invention , released in 1966, is called Freak Out! and is described by music critic Barry Miles as "a celebration of the freaks and their lifestyle". In the extensive liner notes included with the album , Frank Zappa writes, “On a personal level, freaking out is a process in which an individual strays from outdated and restrictive standards of thinking, clothing and social etiquette in order to use creative expression for their relationship his immediate living environment (...). "
In modern English usage, the word can still be taken as an insult, depending on the context, but the benevolent variant now predominates here too - see for example the novel Freaky Friday and its film adaptations or the cartoon series Freakazoid! .
In the technical context, for example as an abbreviation for computer freak , the term is used favorably and appreciatively in German today.
Further examples:
- The title Le Freak by the group Chic ( refrain : “freak out, le freak, c'est chic” ) reached number one in many countries and is to this day - 29 years after its release (July 2007) - the record company's best-selling single WEA .
- The Americans refer to the US states of Hawaii and Alaska as freak states .
- The evangelical youth movement Jesus Freaks interprets the term in the sense of their beliefs.
- In The Model and the Freak , a socially incompetent "freak" is contrasted with a socially competent model who is supposed to free him from his freak existence.
Related terms
- Special names for computer geeks are nerd , geek or otaku (Japanese).
- Phreaking , a suitcase word from Phone and Freak , describes the manipulation of telephone signals in order to make free calls.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Barry Miles : Zappa , Rogner & Bernhard bei Zweiausendeins, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-8077-1010-8 , page 120
- ^ Miles 2005, p. 138
- ↑ Liner Notes on Freak Out , quoted from Miles 2005, p. 138.
literature
- Leslie Fiedler : Freaks: myths and images of the secret self . Simon and Schuster, New York 1978, ISBN 0-671-22505-7
- Hans Scheugl: Show Freaks & Monsters - Felix Adanos Collection . Cologne, 1974. ISBN 3-7701-0733-0 (3rd edition, 1978)
- Jay, Ricky : Sauschlau & Feuerfest - people, animals, sensations of show business , Edition Volker Huber , Offenbach am Main, 1988, ISBN 3-921785-50-2
