An Oklahoma filmmaker told News 9 on Monday that his 2025 documentary, Fragilé, examines the drama behind the controversial, 50-foot-tall leg lamp in downtown Chickasha.
It was 2019 when Chickasha native Reagan Elkins first heard that a man in town by the name of Tim Elliot wanted to construct the world’s largest leg lamp, as a tribute to the 1980’s classic, “A Christmas Story.”
“I didn’t really think about it – about filming this or anything – until 2020. I got a phone call and a friend of mine said, ‘hey, they’re putting an inflatable leg lamp up right now on Chickasha Avenue,’” recalled Elkins.
Elkins grabbed his camera and began filming what he would later call “Fragilé.”
The documentary explains how the inflatable leg lamp turned into a real statue and captures a passionate community coming together to collaborate on the future of Chickasha.
“Some people love the leg lamp in our town, and some people want to burn it to the ground, absolutely hate it,” he shared.
While there’s no denying the tourist attraction has boosted the town’s revenue, “Even in the documentary, it talks about from 2022 to ‘23, $7.7 million in additional tax revenue. That’s incredible. Who would hate that?” Elkins posed.
His goal, he said, was to show both sides honestly.
“The whole story is not just: this leg lamp brought tourism, or even, that Warner Brothers got upset and sent a cease and desist, and now it seems like everything is fine. There’s so much more to this story that people don’t realize.”
He added, ‘everything from accusations of objectification, sexism and fraudulent spending,’ to heated city council meetings, and claims that a Chickasha resident invented the original leg lamp.
Elkins said, “I want people in my town to see that there are better ways of going about doing things.”
Through all of the drama, he continued, the film tells the story of a town that truly loves their community.
Fragilé is available on platforms like Fawesome (free with ads), Youtube movies, Vimeo on Demand, and soon Tubi.
You can learn more here.