December 29, 2019

"It’s misleading to ask when clowns turned bad, for they were never really good... You can no more separate a good clown from a bad clown than a clown from his shadow."

From "Having a laugh: is this the end for clowning?" in The Guardian.
[W]hen the students discuss what inspires them about clowning, many use terms that I’ve heard from other clowns in recent weeks: innocence, freedom, vulnerability. Nicola believes clowning offers something deeper than other forms of comedy. “Standup is about your ideas and how clever you are,” she says. “And this is about who you are as a human being.”...

12 comments:

rhhardin said...

A boss I know was enrolled in clown school by somebody. All the paperwork showed up.

rehajm said...

I’M A MIME!!!!

Darrell said...

The Guardian knows clowns.

Anthony said...

Clowns are stupid and not funny.

Like drag queens.

gilbar said...

Maybe, Just MAYBE, if so many Clowns weren't homosexual rapists, that kidnap and KILL their victims
MAYBE people wouldn't be so scared of them
Pogo the Clown

Temujin said...

Clowns used to be OK when I was a kid. Did clowns change or did society change? The circus arts are still taught down here in my neck of the woods (Sarasota area) which was the home of Ringling Bros. and the winter home of the circus employees for years. There is still a culture of young people learning the art of the circus- getting trained to be the next generation of trapeze artists, stilt walkers, cirque de soleil applicants, and...clowns. They perform every year under the Big Top locally. It's fun to watch the young at this craft.

We grew up with Bozo. Today the kids have Pennywise. You think our culture has changed? Is this what people had in mind when they pushed for a more 'progressive' culture? You've got it. Now even clowns scare you. Nicely done.

Fernandinande said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Fernandinande said...

A clown walks into a rowdy Alamo Cinemas bar to see 'Star Wars' and the bartender says "Hey, no funnily dressed people with bad makeup allowed!" and the clown says, "Oh yeah? What about that guy who wears a bent-up bucket on his head?" and the bartender says, "Oh, OK, I see your point. You don't like Darth Vader."

And they lived happily ever after.

(Man, that was difficult...)

Wince said...

It’s misleading to ask when clowns turned bad, for they were never really good...

"What is 'things said in front of Jeffrey Dahmer's open refrigerator door' for $1,000, Alex."

Wince said...

It’s misleading to ask when clowns turned bad, for they were never really good...

"What is 'things said under the floorboards of John Wayne Gacy's house' for $1,000, Alex."

Brian said...

Lecile Harris, please pick up a white courtesy phone.

n.n said...

Too many clowns next door in the circus. Perhaps The Guardian would satiated if they diversified, of they were a first-order forcing of the prophecy of catastrophic anthropogenic climate change. Send in the clowns.