This whole afraid of clowns thing gets me to thinking, however. As "scary clowns" are pretty much the whole clown business now. At least in pop culture. . But now? It's all scary clowns all the time. Or drunk clowns. Or sarcastic clowns. Or sad, depressed clowns. Or homicidal bat-obsessed clowns.
Do kids even like clowns anymore? Not in a scared way, but in an endearing fascinated way? Do kids want them at birthday parties? I can't imagine they do. Why would they? All the younger generation knows of clowns is that they're scary.
We've lost the innocence of clowns. The way of Bozo is over. The intentionally frightening clown worked for a while because it co-opted an otherwise jovial and friend-seeking character.
Now the co-opted clown is all that we find.
Which makes me wonder what other cultural or societal relic has likewise been so co-opted there's nothing of the original left.
32 comments:
Other than Kramer in Seinfeld, I've never run into the "scary clown." Any other allusions?
Wasn't there a scary clown in the "The Simpsons"?
I think it's a hipster generational thing.
Another vibe I've been picking up from hipsters: how insidiously politically incorrect (hence evil) old Disney characters are. One recent rant about "Peter Pan" was memorable.
Doing a google image search for "clowns" shows the trend, I think. Almost all scary.
I don't think I ever thought of clowns as scary until I was exposed to Bergman and Fellini movies. They loved to use them as symbols of, well, whatever.
Which makes me wonder what other cultural or societal relic has likewise been so co-opted there's nothing of the original left.
The United States of America.
"... what other cultural or societal relic has likewise been so co-opted? There's nothing of the original Left."
Yep, that's a good example.
Tears Of A Clown by Smokey Robinson.
I remember biking to the dime store with my brother to buy that 45rpm when when it came out.
Christians. When I was a kid, the good guys in all the sword and sandal movies were Christian. Now they're mostly affiliated with pagan gods. The Russell Crowe character in Gladiator was pious but to his own household gods. If they ever do a remake of Ben Hur or Quo Vadis expect a more nuanced portrayal of early Christians and a more sympathetic characterization of Nero.
Any other allusions?
John Wayne Gacy.
Also, the Poltergeist clown doll (seminal for kids in the 80s).
And there's a whole string of tragic fucked-up clowns, in literature, opera, film.
A smiling face that is clearly a grotesque mask? That is dark stuff, intrinsically so. For a kid, an inkling of something terrifying about the (adult) human world. An utterly unreadable (inhuman) face.
I've always been creeped out by clowns myself-- from a young age (before any significant pop culture infuence on my tender brain). Mom tells me even friendly clowns would make me cry.
Maybe the oddest contemporary cultural appropriation of the "scary clown" is the Juggalo subculture.
Stephen King's IT sealed the deal on the scary clown stuff.
Wasn't there a scary clown in the "The Simpsons"?
Family guy has an angry closet monkey.
Other than Kramer in Seinfeld, I've never run into the "scary clown." Any other allusions?
Killer Klowns from Outer Space was full of them. And the alltime great line, "They got him! He's dead!"
One of my favorite sad/ scary clowns is the professor-reduced-to-clown (& his scary breakdown/ crack-up) in Der Blaue Engel (played by Emil Jannings).
The young Marlene Dietrich would drive any man insane.
Puff Daddy is deathly afraid of clowns. Which is funny because he is sort of clownish.
Send in the Clowns
I don't believe there was ever a time in which the clown figure was innocent & innocuous. Or if so, that was a temporary historical aberration.
It's one thing to have such creatures-- ultra-stylized representations of human (human-like) types, through masks painted or worn-- on a stage (a safe distance). From ancient Greek theatre to commedia dell'arte. In cultures throughout history and around the world, such figures appear in ritual ceremonies, representation/ performance/ shamanic intermediation of divine or supernatural (more than, other than, human) forces.
To invoke terror and/ or awe, not comfortable laughter.
Event carnivalesque laughter, saturnalian laughter, has something terrifying about it. Energies unleashed there are not suitable for children.
It's natural that to actually interact with such creatures-- not on stage, but to see them irrupting into our world, in the flesh, is an extremely unsettling experience. Such figures have always been uncanny, meant to be so.
If I ever liked clowns I don't remember when that was. I kind of lump them together with mimes.
I don't think I ever liked clowns - but I didn't dislike them either. I never bought what they were selling - nor did I reject it. I am clown neutral.
I always disliked mimes though - perhaps because they are French?
You inspired me Paddy!
awesome post :D it was nice to read ;)
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That is Willard Scott in that picture. The original Ronald McDonald. He's not scary at all, but he seems a bit confused when it comes to figuring out which wig to wear on any given day.
Al Roker is a scary clown, but not in the sense that this post refers to.
The Joker.
Botox John Kerry is getting awfully close to having a clown face. A little lipstick and he'll be there.
El Pollo Raylan said...
Wasn't there a scary clown in the "The Simpsons"?
Krusty the clown.
The only clown that scares me is the one in the white house.
I was never afraid of clowns, just creeped out by them. They aren't really funny. Mostly they are just stupid. Mimes are not only stupid, they are annoying. We should have a national Punch A Mime Day.
Although, I do remember Red Skelton's clown skits with some fondness.
Mimes are indeed creepy. The whole "I want to be like Marcel Marceau" thing was going on when I was an undergrad. Couldn't walk down State Street without some mime getting in your face. You'd have to give them a few coins to leave you alone. That's how they raised money to buy weed.
Barista wasn't a career path back then.
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