Ages Into The Clown example essay topic

The heart of the circus and centre of entertainment clowns are "divine spirits to rejoice and delight the heart" - according to a nine year old Egyptian Pharaoh. The comic spirit of clowning exists in just about every known culture and dates back to approximately 2270 BC. When we think of clowns we think generally of the typical clown wearing big, baggy, bright clothing with vivid make up and a red nose however the clown has evolved through the ages into the clown we see in circuses and comedy shows today. Early clowns portrayed everyone from soldiers, fools and witches to slaves and Greek Gods. Throughout the middle ages and early renaissance, Jesters or Fools perpetrated the art of clowning in the palaces of Kings and great nobles wearing bright coloured coats, hose and hooded caps topped with tiny bells which jingled every time the wearer moved.

Although many clowns entertained at court, the vast majority continued to be street performers. They were adapt to a vast majority of skills such as magic, contortion, juggling, tightrope walking, acrobatics, story telling, exhibiting trained animals, ballad singing and clever dialogue. During the 18th Century, the art of clowning came under attack by authorities who claimed that "more established" theatre had a monopoly on drama. Clowns then resorted to the use of pantomime as English and French restrictions said nothing about the use of silent acting. As pantomime gained in popularity, Harlequin and Pierrot were transformed into romanticized hero's. This transformation, along with the emergence of a new entertainment form allowed the reappearance of the more lively, more versatile clown we see today.

With society becoming more and more rushed, stressful, impersonal and dangerous the clown needs to work harder to get people to laugh. Although it is more difficult for the clown to do it's job it is also more important. Because the clown is a childlike character who isn't very serious it calms it's viewers down because they do not need to concentrate hard on the performance to understand it. A very good example of a modern clown is Rowan Atkinson who plays the character of Mr Bean.

Although Mr Bean doesn't wear big baggy clothes or a red nose he still looks like a clown. He always wears the same, tight-fitting clothes which make him look different to everybody else and make him look like he is out of place and kind of vulnerable. Mr Bean doesn't talk a lot in his shows but when he does he speaks in a deep, droning voice which is difficult to understand. Because he doesn't talk much, Mr Bean uses body language and facial expressions to get his message across.

He often has to over exaggerate his facial expressions to let people know what he is thinking. As day to day life is getting more and more serious people are relying more heavily on the clown to get them to laugh and make life seem easy, carefree and even comical, even if only for the 30 minute performance. With the advancement of technology we can access clowns a lot easier than in previous times because we don't have to go out to see a clown doing a street performance we can just sit at home and turn on the TV or radio and even go onto the internet and access clown performances in the form of the modern clown (Mr Bean) or the classic clown (Harlequin). Clowning has been around for thousands of years and will be around for years to come. It has evolved through the ages to become what it is today, A fun loving, childlike character who doesn't take life anything seriously. As society becomes a more stressful place the role of the clown is going to become a more necessary thing to help people cope with the stress of life.