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Clowns are not evil. Here are some GOOD, NOT-scary clowns.
12 years ago
I think it's sad that clowns are now almost universally considered to be monstrous creatures of cannibalistic hatred. :( I don't know if movies are to blame, or if it's the bad makeup that some clowns wear, or the fact that one famous serial killer was a clown... But for the most part, clowns are just people who want to make others laugh, bring a little joy into their otherwise dull, or unhappy lives.
Here are some of the great clowns of recent history, who embody all that clowns are MEANT to be, as opposed to the nightmarish demons we always see now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9OUIk4Oaq4 Harpo Marx. You can't see it because there were no color photos back then... But Harpo's clothing, his silly wig, his baggy clothes and mute antics are definitely clown antics. If you just take a look at this video, you will also see that he's also a master of trolling. ;) One of the few great clowns who didn't rely on self deprecation and personal misfortune to make the audience laugh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kguuPM5lPw0 Avner the Eccentric. This elderly clown is a master of misdirection, stage magic, and prop comedy! (CLEVER prop comedy. Not that Carrot Top drivel.) He may not wear the makeup, but nobody can call his antics anything other than "clowning." This is a man with decades of honed skill at making others laugh and connect with him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhbyxlTjEU4 Ronald McDonald. Now stay with me on this. Sure, he may be a mascot for one of the biggest causes of obesity and heart failure in America... But as a character, he has always been a fun, pleasant character who made kids laugh. Personally, I have never heard of kids having nightmares about Ronald McDonald. Well...except for that creepy Japanese version... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ssh71hePR8Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c6e40EKuW8 Loonette - This clown girl was the star of an obscure children's program from Canada called "The Big Comfy Couch." (You can find all the episodes on Youtube) It was obviously for very small children, but her antics were always enjoyable to watch. The rest of the cast were also clowns. Except for the puppets.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K0fFeHX474 Red Skelton. One of the great clowning masters... His most famous persona was his recurring character, "Clem Kadiddlehopper." This character didn't dress like a "clown" as we know them. But his appearance was distinctly comedic, from the shabby, garish clothing to the wild hair, to the goofy voice and silly vaudeville one-liners. A more traditional clown costume was his "hobo clown" persona, Freddie the Freeloader.
http://www.iplehouse.net/shop/step1.....hp?number=1034 Tania Pierrot. She's not a real person, but rather, a clown dolly. Just look at her face, with those little clown teardrops, how can you hate that face? ;^; If she suddenly fell apart, she would look at you with those big sad anime eyes until you put her back together. And you would do it. I would. And then at night while you were asleep, she'd come to life and have little tea parties with the other porcelain dolls on the shelf.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFlZC1G7urs Prince Poppycock. Although it may seem like he was totally asking for a vicious verbal beatdown by the judges, this man was brave enough to go on stage in full makeup, and perform in his now unforgettable persona. Whatever you may think of him, you cannot deny that he has some amazing costumes, and a fantastic singing voice.
http://naughtyjester.tumblr.com/pos.....9607729927/o-o THIS LADY. ..... I don't know who she is... but I am in love with her.
What do all of these clowns have in common?
Well, aside from not having creepy, unnatural looking makeup, these people aren't simply isolated messes of physical comedy. What makes them so loveable is the fact that they are not "OTHER." They are caricatures of ourselves, aspects of ourselves that we so rarely get to embrace, that we so often forget. Their antics are meant to show that the things that unite us... far outweigh the things that divide us.
If clowns coudl only be given a chance, they could be funny and loveable again. Besides, ANYTHING can be scary or creepy if you shoot it in the right light, with the right music. Easy as fucking pie.
Look. Puppies!
http://www.askthedogguy.com/wp-cont...../Scary-Dog.jpg
http://www.jorymon.com/images/2009/.....scary_dog4.jpg
http://cdn.ebaumsworld.com/mediaFil.....3/80480610.jpg
http://i508.photobucket.com/albums/.....Werewolf-1.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/smiledogjpg.jpg
http://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2005/1.....estDogLulu.jpg
Here are some of the great clowns of recent history, who embody all that clowns are MEANT to be, as opposed to the nightmarish demons we always see now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9OUIk4Oaq4 Harpo Marx. You can't see it because there were no color photos back then... But Harpo's clothing, his silly wig, his baggy clothes and mute antics are definitely clown antics. If you just take a look at this video, you will also see that he's also a master of trolling. ;) One of the few great clowns who didn't rely on self deprecation and personal misfortune to make the audience laugh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kguuPM5lPw0 Avner the Eccentric. This elderly clown is a master of misdirection, stage magic, and prop comedy! (CLEVER prop comedy. Not that Carrot Top drivel.) He may not wear the makeup, but nobody can call his antics anything other than "clowning." This is a man with decades of honed skill at making others laugh and connect with him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhbyxlTjEU4 Ronald McDonald. Now stay with me on this. Sure, he may be a mascot for one of the biggest causes of obesity and heart failure in America... But as a character, he has always been a fun, pleasant character who made kids laugh. Personally, I have never heard of kids having nightmares about Ronald McDonald. Well...except for that creepy Japanese version... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ssh71hePR8Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c6e40EKuW8 Loonette - This clown girl was the star of an obscure children's program from Canada called "The Big Comfy Couch." (You can find all the episodes on Youtube) It was obviously for very small children, but her antics were always enjoyable to watch. The rest of the cast were also clowns. Except for the puppets.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K0fFeHX474 Red Skelton. One of the great clowning masters... His most famous persona was his recurring character, "Clem Kadiddlehopper." This character didn't dress like a "clown" as we know them. But his appearance was distinctly comedic, from the shabby, garish clothing to the wild hair, to the goofy voice and silly vaudeville one-liners. A more traditional clown costume was his "hobo clown" persona, Freddie the Freeloader.
http://www.iplehouse.net/shop/step1.....hp?number=1034 Tania Pierrot. She's not a real person, but rather, a clown dolly. Just look at her face, with those little clown teardrops, how can you hate that face? ;^; If she suddenly fell apart, she would look at you with those big sad anime eyes until you put her back together. And you would do it. I would. And then at night while you were asleep, she'd come to life and have little tea parties with the other porcelain dolls on the shelf.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFlZC1G7urs Prince Poppycock. Although it may seem like he was totally asking for a vicious verbal beatdown by the judges, this man was brave enough to go on stage in full makeup, and perform in his now unforgettable persona. Whatever you may think of him, you cannot deny that he has some amazing costumes, and a fantastic singing voice.
http://naughtyjester.tumblr.com/pos.....9607729927/o-o THIS LADY. ..... I don't know who she is... but I am in love with her.
What do all of these clowns have in common?
Well, aside from not having creepy, unnatural looking makeup, these people aren't simply isolated messes of physical comedy. What makes them so loveable is the fact that they are not "OTHER." They are caricatures of ourselves, aspects of ourselves that we so rarely get to embrace, that we so often forget. Their antics are meant to show that the things that unite us... far outweigh the things that divide us.
If clowns coudl only be given a chance, they could be funny and loveable again. Besides, ANYTHING can be scary or creepy if you shoot it in the right light, with the right music. Easy as fucking pie.
Look. Puppies!
http://www.askthedogguy.com/wp-cont...../Scary-Dog.jpg
http://www.jorymon.com/images/2009/.....scary_dog4.jpg
http://cdn.ebaumsworld.com/mediaFil.....3/80480610.jpg
http://i508.photobucket.com/albums/.....Werewolf-1.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/smiledogjpg.jpg
http://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2005/1.....estDogLulu.jpg
Well, I think it's partly because really cheap fairs hire poor quality carnies at the last minute to pose as clowns.
I suspect why this is popular in fiction is because is subverts something that is supposed to be fun and innocent into something that is sinister and evil.
Prosecution rests, Your Honor.
don't for get these. They are completely unscary aswelll.
And Red Skelton was pure magic. I still watch old recordings of him with my grandparents because its comedy we agree on.
there's kefka palazzo.............. sorta and Shaco from LoL as two examples. from what i see clowns are only used as an image of an evil person cause of a common child like fear of them aside that they also pose possibilities for the creators to have fun with them as antagonist characters rather then straight forward battles a clown will 'make a show' of it.
I myself do not hate or fear clowns infact I would appreciate their antics as they try to entertain people as best as they can :3
Personally, I love clowns, both good clowns and evil. I grew up loving Bozo the clown. At the same time, I love Sweet Tooth and Pennywise.
*I know about the Big Comfy Couch
*Red Skelton is the clown's clown. He is to American clowns what Bach is to baroque music.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q.....mp;FORM=HDRSC2
*What they forget to mention about Prince Poppycock, in that first clip in the vid Out Host posted (La Donna e Mobile), Poppycock is actually sick as a dog with an awful bug as he belted out one of his better stagings. What a trouper. Also, two Bonus Multuipliers for Poppycock: Watch as his fellow operatic competitors, watching on the monitor, sing La Donna e Mobile along with him, silently. And as he finishes Vesti la Guibba, fans in the audience throw single long-stem roses onto the stage: how classical can you get? I hate that they had him doing disco shit towards the end. Stupid producers.
Huh. I guess he is. I never thought of that.
I don't know if we can forget.
The Joker.
Sweet Tooth
Pennywise
Doink
I'm just sayin...
They need to bring back Bozo or someone similar.
- Clowns are exaggerated caricatures, but kids, particularly young kids, don't yet have the experience and knowledge to realize that clowns are a kind of self-parody, so all they see is this freaky guy in creepy makeup acting really weird. There have been studies done about this, and MOST kids are freaked out by clowns because they're kinda human but they DON'T look or act like a normal person.
- Touching on the last part of the above: The uncanny valley. Chalk-white skin is something you simply don't see in a healthy human being. In addition to the odd clothes and exaggerated antics, this can be very unsettling.
However, on the other hand, there are a few clowns who are wonderful and amazing. I found this video of the immortal Emmett Kelly, performing with the supremely talented Carol Burnett. This is a clown I can enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x0Et9calE8
It's just that, as a chronically depressed person, clowns can sometimes seem excessively cheerful, especially if played wrong.
Clowns are cathartic, not comedic.
As for non-scary clowns, here are some more:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4_ZnXAHpXg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlT4U6Q4ed0