From time to time, I like to re-publish posts that attracted a fairly large audience of readers.The following post was originally published on
Behind the Walls of Nightmare in August 2013:
Anyone who has ever read or seen horror depictions of clowns can
testify to the power of the clown as a figure of malevolence. To me, the
clown has always been an ambivalent figure, more tragic than comic, but
not usually downright scary. So I was interested to read an article on
the history of the clown figure entitled "The History and Psychology of
Clowns Being Scary".
The article traces the history of
clowns from pagan times to the present day, noting the early clown was
primarily a buffoon or mischievous imp. The image of the "tragic" clown
is associated with Joseph Grimaldi in England, who was famous as a comic
pantomime player on the London stage, known not only for his painted
face but also his extreme physical comedy. Sadly, he had a tragic
personal life and was also always in excruciating pain from his
performances. His memoirs were edited by Charles Dickens, who did much
to reinforce the tragedy behind the clown's mask and the image of an
individual who would literally destroy himself to get a laugh.
A
"sinister" figure behind the clown's face was Jean-Gaspard Debarau,
known as Pierrot and famous for his pantomime and his clown's white face
with red lips and black eyebrows. In real life, he killed a boy who
ridiculed him, but was acquitted of his murder.
Later,
in America, there were "hobo" clowns such as Emmett Kelly, who used
slapstick humor for comedy but also expressed the underlying tragedy for
the common man of the Great Depression (as did Charlie Chaplin, who
isn't mentioned specifically in the article).
The article also references the deranged clown doll in
Poltergeist (lampooned in
The Simpsons' Halloween special); Stephen King's Pennywise in
It; and Heath Ledger's depiction of the Joker, as well as various other permutations of the malevolent clown.
And,
all clowning aside, these negative images of clowns have obviously been
detrimental to the profession because "in the mid-2000s, articles began
popping up in newspapers across the
country lamenting the decline of attendees at clown conventions or at
clowning workshop courses."
Of
course, along the way there were some good clowns: think Bozo the
Clown, for example. No, this isn't just a name you call someone who cuts
you off in traffic: there actually was a beloved Bozo with his own
television show, which most of us who grew up in the 60s watched
faithfully.
And, as the Ringley Brothers' talent
spotter (and former clown) indicates, "good clowns are always in
shortage, and it’s good clowns who keep the art alive".
For the full text of this very engaging article, please
click here.
