# Why the hate for mimes? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 22, 2009, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396 "2009-01-22T02:47:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396/1 "2009-01-22T02:47:32Z")
I’ve wondered about this for years. Mimes are pretty much the most maligned genre of entertainers in history. They get a worse rap than rappers. They even get the short end in video games, Duke Nukem Forever. In the carnival there’s a room full of mimes. If he blows them all away, you here him say, “I hate mimes.” What’s the story? Or do I need to kick this one upstairs to the big C? ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396/2 "2009-01-22T03:04:20Z")
I don’t get it either, **Projammer**. For my money, a mime is a terrible thing to waste. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396/3 "2009-01-22T03:09:12Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > I’ve wondered about this for years. > > Mimes are pretty much the most maligned genre of entertainers in history. > > They get a worse rap than rappers. > > They even get the short end in video games, Duke Nukem Forever. > > In the carnival there’s a room full of mimes. If he blows them all away, you here him say, “I hate mimes.” > > What’s the story? Or do I need to kick this one upstairs to the big C? Here’s my WAG: Mimes are associated with French culture, which many Americans love to hate. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396/4 "2009-01-22T03:13:47Z")
Street mimes tend to intrude on you in public and mock you or make you the butt of the joke. That’s just rude. The white face and total lack of speech are creepy. Combine the two and you have a recipe for loathing. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396/5 "2009-01-22T03:25:04Z")
The mime is the most pretentious clown subspecies. They evoke a deadly combination of fear and paranoia, because they are interact with an occult world of unseen forces and objects invisible to the viewer/victim. Their verbally uncommunicative demeanor only adds to their secretive, spiderlike quality. In addition, their stereotypically monochromatic appearance mimics the corpse’s pallor while simultaneously evoking the stark oft-colorless environment of nightmares on a subconscious level. Also, they are all willing minions of Satan, which can’t help. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396/6 "2009-01-22T04:22:16Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Street mimes tend to intrude on you in public and mock you or make you the butt of the joke. That’s just rude. The white face and total lack of speech are creepy. Combine the two and you have a recipe for loathing. Creepy was the word that I was going to use. That (almost) always chipper attitude, the odd attire and face paint and the strange motions seem creepy to me. What’s really creepy to me isn’t so much that they are stuck in a box/behind a wall/pulling on a rope for no apparent reason, it’s moreso that they’re REALLY good at it. It’s convincing to the point of being weird. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396/7 "2009-01-22T04:44:40Z")
Clowns try to entertain you. Mimes are trying to be avant garde and the performance is about _them_ not you. It’s like public masturbation. Look at me! Look at me! ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396/8 "2009-01-22T04:52:50Z")
😕 ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396/9 "2009-01-22T04:55:04Z")
IMO it’s an instance of the “uncanny valley” phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396/10 "2009-01-22T05:04:42Z")
It’s just so pretentious and wanky. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396/11 "2009-01-22T05:05:28Z")
> [@Hunter\_Hawk](#): > > IMO it’s an instance of the “uncanny valley” phenomenon. You watch 30rock too eh? 😉 I have always enjoyed the mimes who perform illusions with their bodies isometrically. They are dedicated professional athletes imho. ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396/12 "2009-01-22T05:12:15Z")
bastards never say what they mean… ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396/13 "2009-01-22T05:13:28Z")
> [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](#): > > You watch 30rock too eh? 😉 Nope. I have no idea what you’re talking about here… ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396/14 "2009-01-22T05:26:57Z")
… ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396/15 "2009-01-22T05:35:39Z")
Aww, I like them. Of course, I used to collect clowns in general, so perhaps my Creep-O-Meter needs recalibrating. Besides, doesn’t anyone want to know what they are _really_ thinking while they pretend to walk down that flight of stairs? ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396/16 "2009-01-22T05:48:57Z")
Mimes are pretentious buggers. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396/17 "2009-01-22T07:19:06Z")
> [@Terrifel](#): > > The mime is the most pretentious clown subspecies. Really? More pretentious than Harlequins or Pierrots? > [@](#): > > Also, they are all willing minions of Satan, which can’t help. [True enough.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLPbtOKXUec) ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396/18 "2009-01-22T07:36:52Z")
:)…:eek:…:rolleyes:…:dubious:…😉 ---
**Author:** ![bartleby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bartleby/32/10491_2.png) [@bartleby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bartleby)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396/19 "2009-01-22T13:06:51Z")
See, now i like mimes. Granted, i’m not afflicted with them, as i don’t live anywhere that has them wandering around, but i think they’re fun. a) the BEST part of “The Aristocrats” was the mime. 2. once, while working in a bookstore in college, i had a mime come through the checkout. That was…bizarre… he was in full makeup and full “cry” (as it were)… ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_Tightlips](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/57b2e6/32.png) [@Joey\_Tightlips](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_Tightlips)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396/20 "2009-01-22T13:23:18Z")
I think people just jump on the bandwagon because everyone else seems to hate them. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a real mime other than ones being made fun of on TV or movies. I see the same kind of universal hate for prop comics. Why? Does it really require any less talent to construct a funny joke out of household items than it does to just stand there and talk about how NYC and LA are so different? If you don’t like CarrotTop in particular, fine whatever, but don’t hate on the whole genre. Anyone who didn’t laugh at the prop comic on last season’s Last Comic Standing has something wrong with him. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-mimes/482396.md?page=2)