Reply To: A Lament for Bozo
It seems picking on them to me because there doesnt seem to be anything fun at all about being a clown in that song, I think. I can agree it is a lot of work- more than most people would believe. But there is a joy and satisfaction from helping someone laugh that the guy in the song never seems to have known. This guy seems more like someone condemned to being a clown and who hates it. All I can think of when I listen to it is- dude, change your name and get a job at an accounting firm or something.
As to the classic pie in the face type clowns- one of the most disturbing films I ever saw was a silent movie called “He who gets slapped” made in 1924. The synopsis, according to the imdb database is “The story of an inventor who, suffering betrayal in life, makes a career of it by becoming a clown whose act consists of getting slapped by all the other clowns. He falls in love with another circus performer, and those who betrayed him enter his life yet again.” The audiences ability to laugh at the obvious pain and suffering of the clown ( Lon Chaney) turns them into a sort of monster chorus. I have only seen it once, but like many pieces of great art, it has stuck with me.