Editing Freaks (1932 film) (section)

===Class conflict===
Film critic Melvin Matthews has interpreted ''Freaks'' within the context of the [[Great Depression]], writing that it "is essentially a story of the little people (average Americans) versus the big people (the rich and businessmen). The film makes it clear that the big people, personified by Cleopatra and Hercules, scorn the Freaks. Such a disdainful attitude was reflected in the real-life social outlook of some business tycoons during the Depression."{{sfn|Matthews|2009|p=58}} Film studies academic Jennifer Peterson similarly identifies ''Freaks'' as an example of an "outsider film".{{sfn|Peterson|2009|p=37}} Historian Jane Nicholas suggests that the film's conclusion, in which the circus performers mutilate Cleopatra whilst chanting "one of us", is reinforcing the freaks' social currency: "It is interesting that a statement that reads as one of inclusion is often cited as one that embodies horror in the film. What does it mean to be 'one of us'? The chilling horror of the chant 'one of us' reveals why the freak show persists."{{sfn|Nicholas|2018|p=204}}

In the book ''Midnight Movies'' (1991), critics J. Hoberman and [[Jonathan Rosenbaum]] compare ''Freaks'' to ''[[Gold Diggers of 1933]]'', writing that the former is "almost literally dealing with the same thing [class disparity]...&nbsp;but more directly—because the end product isn't just putting on a show, but slaves breaking their chains and triumphing over their masters. ''Freaks'' is asking a Depression audience to identify not with the Beautiful People, but with sideshow mutations, a total underclass."{{sfn|Hoberman|Rosenbaum|1991|p=306}}

John Stanley, longtime publisher of the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'', describes the film as "A Classic of the Grotesque" in ''Creature Features''.<ref>{{cite book|first=John|last=Stanley|title=Creature Features: The Science Fiction, Fantasy And Horror Movie Guide|publisher=[[Berkley Books]]|location=New York City|isbn=9780425175170|date=2000}}</ref>