# Why are Cirque Du Soleil clowns so bad?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cirque-du-soleil-clowns-so-bad/537224>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [April 24, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cirque-du-soleil-clowns-so-bad/537224 "2010-04-24T17:32:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cirque-du-soleil-clowns-so-bad/537224/21 "2010-04-25T07:20:48Z")

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In French culture, clowning is the serious lament of the bitter sunset of ennui.

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**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cirque-du-soleil-clowns-so-bad/537224/22 "2010-04-25T15:32:29Z")

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> [@RickJay](#):
>
> Actually, to some extent it’s already been hit upon; it IS a French thing. Quebec has a legacy of “clowning” and physical humour that is quite different from Anglophone humour. Even to me, a Canadian who speaks French, that style of clowning is… well, just weird, and not funny at all.

Do you have an example? Because when I think of “Quebec” and “humour”, I think of stand-up comedians like Yvon Deschamps (who, I’ll grant, does a different kind of stand-up than most English-language comedians), not really of physical humour.

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**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cirque-du-soleil-clowns-so-bad/537224/23 "2010-04-25T22:55:12Z")

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> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#):
>
> In French culture, clowning is the serious lament of the bitter sunset of ennui.

On a croissant

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**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cirque-du-soleil-clowns-so-bad/537224/24 "2010-04-26T04:11:20Z")

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I have never really been a fan of clowns in general. However, I thought the clowns in Cirque’s _ **O** _ and _ **Zed** _ shows were pretty good.

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