Philosophy
Today is Wavy Gravy's 76th birthday. A peace activist who has dedicated his life to making this a kinder place for all who live on the planet, he has done work both small and local and large and global. And he's a clown.
I heard an interview with him years ago where he explained that he actually is a clown and was going to an anti-war march one day when his schedule was unexpectedly tight. He didn't have time to stop home after bringing joy at a children's hospital and so went to the peace rally in costume. It became apparent quickly that the right-wing roughians didn't look so manly beating up a clown and thus left him alone. So he began regularly showing up to events dressed as a clown -- both as a political statement about what a circus the world had become and as a matter of personal safety.
Wavy Gravy's birthday coincides with the release of a new film by Bobcat Goldthwait whose initial film was "Shakes, the Clown" -- called "the Citizen Kane of drunk clown movies." Add to that the news of the weird which has focused on a new business where you can hire an evil clown to stalk your child on his or her birthday, and there's just too much clowningness in the world right now not to comment.
Clowns began as comedic performers. They were meant to be funny with their zany slapstick antics. But with the ability to amplify voices, linguistic comedy has all but replaced clowning. The are certainly some who have maintained and extended the art -- Bill Irwin and Roberto Benigni, for example. Cirque du Soleil has even brought back the circus clown to our collective consciousness as an artist. But the clown has taken on new meaning. Whether it is a sense of obsolescence -- "Bozo" being an insult like the term "clown" itself -- or the sense that they are not funny, but to be feared. It has become cliche to invoke a fear of clowns, especially after a string of clown-based horror films.
Why did clowning change its cultural meaning? Was it Ringling Brothers and the failure to innovate? Was it inevitable? Can anyone rejuvenate clowning or is it a thing of past?
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Baltimore lost its patron saint yesterday. The 60s, with its white flight, drugs, and crime took a toll on America's cities and Baltimore was as bad if not worse than most. But William Donald Shaefer put urban renewal into the popular lexicon. He...
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My Fellow Comedists, This week we mourn the passing of Ed McMahan whose number finally came up in the great Publishers' Clearinghouse Sweepstakes in the sky. For the viewing, he has been hermetically sealed in a mayonaisse jar on Funk and Wagnall's...
- The Feasts Of Saints Emmett And Sam
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere, This week saw the festivals of two Comedist saints. The first is Emmett Kelly, the man who more than anyone else, is responsible for the American clown. Kelley began as a visual artist and took...
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"Probably the Most Racist Rocket Trip Ever" by Ron Miller December 23rd, 2013 io9 Back in the late 40s, Bozo the Clown was hot stuff. He was the star of a lot of kids' books, including one about an amazing rocket. Unfortunately, this futuristic...
Philosophy
The Meanings of Clowns
Today is Wavy Gravy's 76th birthday. A peace activist who has dedicated his life to making this a kinder place for all who live on the planet, he has done work both small and local and large and global. And he's a clown.
I heard an interview with him years ago where he explained that he actually is a clown and was going to an anti-war march one day when his schedule was unexpectedly tight. He didn't have time to stop home after bringing joy at a children's hospital and so went to the peace rally in costume. It became apparent quickly that the right-wing roughians didn't look so manly beating up a clown and thus left him alone. So he began regularly showing up to events dressed as a clown -- both as a political statement about what a circus the world had become and as a matter of personal safety.
Wavy Gravy's birthday coincides with the release of a new film by Bobcat Goldthwait whose initial film was "Shakes, the Clown" -- called "the Citizen Kane of drunk clown movies." Add to that the news of the weird which has focused on a new business where you can hire an evil clown to stalk your child on his or her birthday, and there's just too much clowningness in the world right now not to comment.
Clowns began as comedic performers. They were meant to be funny with their zany slapstick antics. But with the ability to amplify voices, linguistic comedy has all but replaced clowning. The are certainly some who have maintained and extended the art -- Bill Irwin and Roberto Benigni, for example. Cirque du Soleil has even brought back the circus clown to our collective consciousness as an artist. But the clown has taken on new meaning. Whether it is a sense of obsolescence -- "Bozo" being an insult like the term "clown" itself -- or the sense that they are not funny, but to be feared. It has become cliche to invoke a fear of clowns, especially after a string of clown-based horror films.
Why did clowning change its cultural meaning? Was it Ringling Brothers and the failure to innovate? Was it inevitable? Can anyone rejuvenate clowning or is it a thing of past?
- Rip William Donald Shaefer
Baltimore lost its patron saint yesterday. The 60s, with its white flight, drugs, and crime took a toll on America's cities and Baltimore was as bad if not worse than most. But William Donald Shaefer put urban renewal into the popular lexicon. He...
- A Comedist "dylan Goes Electric"
Steve Martin has written his first novel, "An Object of Beauty," that is set in the contemporary art world, something he knows quite a bit about. Since his wild and crazy days as a meteoric rising star in the 70s comedy scene, Steve Martin has become...
- Rip Ed Mcmahan
My Fellow Comedists, This week we mourn the passing of Ed McMahan whose number finally came up in the great Publishers' Clearinghouse Sweepstakes in the sky. For the viewing, he has been hermetically sealed in a mayonaisse jar on Funk and Wagnall's...
- The Feasts Of Saints Emmett And Sam
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere, This week saw the festivals of two Comedist saints. The first is Emmett Kelly, the man who more than anyone else, is responsible for the American clown. Kelley began as a visual artist and took...
- Bozo's Racist Lp
"Probably the Most Racist Rocket Trip Ever" by Ron Miller December 23rd, 2013 io9 Back in the late 40s, Bozo the Clown was hot stuff. He was the star of a lot of kids' books, including one about an amazing rocket. Unfortunately, this futuristic...