Clowns are old-fashioned, so by modern standards they are “lame.” But I always enjoyed them as a kid & still enjoy them as an adult. They’re unsophisitacted, but so are the Three Stooges and any other physical comedy.
The idea that modern foul-mouthed standup comeny is somehow a higher art form is pretty silly once you think about it carefully.
The whole thing I don’t get about “evil clowns” is that the joke loses it’s meaning once clowns aren’t viewed as good guys. The thing that makes evil clowns so evil is that they’re going against their nature. Once you decide all clowns are evil to begin with, where’s the no-sequitur or inconsistency that’s the root of the humor?
I have yet to meet a kid not scared to death of clowns.
They can’t walk and they don’t talk–they’ve got painted-on frowns.
A clown with a gun I hope I never see
Would he shoot himself, or shoot me?*
My BIL has done clowning. He’s not bad at it, but it’s still kinda creepy. He does great balloon animals, though.
At least for me, the funny part about evil clowns is that it reaffirms what I KNOW to be true (all clowns are evil), and smirks at society’s belief that clowns are innocent and harmless. It’s a self-righteous sort of humor.
When I was a kid, I knew this woman who was a Clown for Christ. She would go to church events in her full clown regalia to try and convert the kiddies. Talk about a dealbreaker.
But Pennywise, Sweet Tooth (from the Twisted Metal series, especially Black) and those wacky Killer Clowns from Outer Space are amusing in their own way.
And, yes, Shakes the Clown is the Citizen Kane of alcoholic party clown movies.
Oh, yes, they all float down here. And when you’re down here with me, you’ll float, too.
I agree that this is a fairly self-selecting survey, so I’m going to come out and say that as a kid I loved clowns. Not sure why, now that I think about it, because they were never quite funny in a laugh-out-loud way, but they were entertaining nonetheless. Heck, I still like clowns. *<@:O)
Oh my God. Me too. I forgot all about her. I don’t have kids but I was at a friend’s house and he was watching it with his kids. I was enthralled, especially when she did the clock thing.
Clowns capitalize on physical “humor” and loud sounds, like horns and whistles, none of which is remotely funny or entertaining. Perhaps the first clown was funny, but the rest are just cheap knock-offs who use tired old gags. The fact that they only get courtesy laughs, and that there is no actual purpose for the costume and make-up is why we find them horrifying and wish for them all to be piled up and destroyed.
“To me, clowns aren’t funny. In fact, they’re kind of scary. I’ve wondered where this started and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus, and a clown killed my dad.”
We’ve had several clown-hate threads in the past, usually with terrifying links . . .
I, too, detest clowns and all things clownlike. When my Mom was in the hospital last month, they sent a clown in while I was visiting her! Big mistake. I drew the clown aside and whispered, “Just between us dear–a little heavy on the blush,” and pushed her out of the room.
Why do hopsitals send clowns around to people when they are at their weakest and least able to resist? Are they trying to clear out a few beds?
