A fun fest that became the epi-center of chaos
Did you ever hear of a group of children who threw stones at frogs just for fun? The moral of the story is: don’t hurt someone to make yourself feel better. This recent documentary, “Freaknik, The Wildest Party Never Told,” reveals some interesting stories about an Atlanta festival that was once part of its scene in 1980’s and 1990’s.
The documentary presents a festival which at first appeared infinite but in the end was more chaotic than anticipated. It began as a fun festival, which soon turned into something for all people to come down in Atlanta during Freaknik week. So what exactly is this Freaknik anyway? Is there such word even exist? What does it conjugate with and where has it come from? Why did it turn out to be an epi-center full of chaos and flames though it had started out as a mere enjoyment feast?
Historically black colleges and institutions in Atlanta, Georgia, began hosting an annual spring break festival called Freaknik in 1983. Originally intended for students who could not afford trips home over spring break, Freaknik swiftly grew large enough until by adulthood people came from all over America.
However, the music event had increased so much within the nineties such that there were many other things such as rap sessions, basketball games, dance contests parties film festivals and job fairs replace each other during freakinik every year. That is because the city’s most spirited musical culture was shaped by the festival specifically by popularizing southern hip-hop that became mainstream during two decades of the festival.
Freaknik lured individuals into Atlanta’s culture and music scene. The good things also have their dark side. All these led to increase in illegal activities like rape cases pick pocketing among others. A wild transition from a madly delightful fun-fest to pure chaos left many wondering why this happened and what happens now in Freaknik.
P. Frank Williams’s 1 hour 20 film uses a traditional approach, mixing stock footage with interviews of the festival’s founder and some successful music artists from Atlanta. If one is new to this event, it could take a few minutes but after one has understood the concept within the first ten minutes, he/she will be amazed at how these events unfolded from when it started in 1983 up to its peak towards the end of nineties.
The Hulu documentary gets bonus marks for its thorough research, especially when it comes to addressing where the term “Freaknik” comes from and the original idea behind the event. The documentary follows a logical progression that draws in audiences as it traces the origins and culmination of the event.
This social commentary was more than a street party; many people know that freakinik was not just a simple street party which for days took over all streets in Atlanta, Georgia bringing hundreds of thousands of individuals not only from all over America but even Los Angeles.
As a result of the number of guests that were too high, some roads in Atlanta had to be closed thus making it hard for emergency vehicles such as fire engines and ambulances to move causing in some cases even road traffic accidents. It was typical for there to be no worry about quality control and regulation governing loud music among other things during Freaknik The Wildest Party Never Told.
This led some locals to flee Atlanta for the duration of the festival due to the unbearable noise and disorderliness. The festival initially targeting undergraduates was caught up by its popularity and ended up attracting an older generation whose behavior was unruly. This is because there was inadequate organizing committee or control.
The police pay little attention or concern towards black people’s issues contributed as well to this chaos. With better implementation of quality control measures by authorities, future looks may have been different.
Freedom and vulgarity do not go hand in hand hence Freaknik crossed a line. Despite having freedom to wear what they desire, deviation from being a college festival into open-sex party indicates that it has completely lost direction. There is no justification for this shift; rather, it spoils everything about the festival.
A lot of those who used to enjoy attending quit going feeling uncomfortable showing how the festival lost its way. At one point, people began to view Freaknik as a poor representation of black culture, and to some extent, they were not entirely into a sexualized college festival turned sexualized event.
In the early years young women would attend Freaknik festivals unaccompanied by any male companion but with time due security concerns they started getting scared considering their security matters so grave at Freaknik parties. Along with this there were many instances where men got mugged on these streets hence boys also grew frustrated at Freaknik.
Atlanta is known as a black Mecca in the south US and some blacks perceive Freaknik as an embodiment of creativity, black joy history self-determination which came through education. Freaknik The Wildest Party Never Told became a money spinner to the Atlanta people with millions of dollars changing hands on daily basis during the festival. It was a marketers’ heaven as well.
Eventually, this festival that had once been a great vehicle for the cause of Atlanta economy and could be regarded good example of empowerment to different populations ended up being a calamity itself. Over time, it has increasingly become more about the “freak” than the “nic,” whereby even persons aged 35 to 40 attend only attracted by big-name Freakniks.
This is what makes Freaknik The Wildest Party Never Told, such an engaging and thrilling material. The documentary feels so alive, thanks to its exotic footage. But even though Freaknik has been around in American pop culture for some time now; there is something very authentic about this presentation.
The makers of this documentary deserve great credit for their job. They have done a really good job of capturing what Freaknik is all about in such a unique and convincing manner as never seen before.
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