When did clowns become the centerfold of fear? When did the crazy hair, red noses and oversized shoes hasten the heartbeats of people everywhere?
The identity of clowns dates back to early Ancient Egyptian culture, then expanded into the cultures of the Romans and Greeks. They even entered Medieval England as the royal court jesters that would joke about anything and everything from the food to the monarchy. So, what is so terrifying about food or royal bloodlines?
Food, the monarchy, money, disease and domination are the outlines of any Middle Age society, so the fact that someone could make a career out of mocking ideas that are so standardized is dark in the sense that it exploits the mortality that everyone possesses. The idea that something so precious can be made the punchline of a less-than-thought out joke is frightening.
So, if the fear of mortality is what fuels the ongoing pop-culture phenomena of scary clowns, everyone in 2017 should be aware of what omens lurk behind the painted smiles, right? Contrarily, all JCJC students that were questioned, save for one, found clowns to be anything but scary, despite the media portrayal or the morbid implications of self-awareness.
The one student that does not agree with the majority answered the question with a highly anticipated, “Meh.”
by Alyssa Pearce
