clown masks

[Daylight Yet Unseen]

so i noticed it's kind of a custom for the killer in a horror movie to wear a clown mask..but..why? i mean there's so many movies with killer clowns. i guess i kind of see the point, clowns spread joy and make people laugh and then you have this evil clown, that does the opposite.

thoughts?

[FreddysFingers]

That's a question that I have been asking myself, as well as others, for a long time. I'm not sure where the 'killer clown' part came into play but I think it trails back to the 'sad clown' idea. A clown is supposed to bring pleasure and happiness so it would be ironic if the clown was sad. I'm sure that twist sort of morphed into clowns bringing fear rather than happiness.

[Dr. Briggs]

Also consider this: clowns do usually portray positive feelings when entertaining a crowd, but "clown" is a job like any other, and sometimes we need to bring certain feelings that are unlike us to our jobs. A clown, for instance, needs to act; but unlike just actors, clowns bring an entire false persona, usually centering around a single mood to themselves as opposed to simply playing a role. With that in mind one has to wonder what clowns are like off-stage; what real feelings they have been putting aside in favor of an entirely happy facade. What is the psychology of a joy-bringer offstage? How has the job itself affected them? For all we know the nice guy posing and posturing in front of us could be absolutely twisted when he takes off his makeup (if he even does when he goes offstage), and for all we know it could be the mentality of his job that twisted him.

...Plus, the clown getup itself can be a fairly creepy one o.O

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*moved this to "all things horror" since, well, it has nothing to do with any upcoming films x.x*

[Daylight Yet Unseen]

sorry, i thought i posted this in all things horror...guess not.

i really should wear my glasses when i post, haha.

[FreddysFingers]

Also consider this: clowns do usually portray positive feelings when entertaining a crowd, but "clown" is a job like any other, and sometimes we need to bring certain feelings that are unlike us to our jobs. A clown, for instance, needs to act; but unlike just actors, clowns bring an entire false persona, usually centering around a single mood to themselves as opposed to simply playing a role. With that in mind one has to wonder what clowns are like off-stage; what real feelings they have been putting aside in favor of an entirely happy facade. What is the psychology of a joy-bringer offstage? How has the job itself affected them? For all we know the nice guy posing and posturing in front of us could be absolutely twisted when he takes off his makeup (if he even does when he goes offstage), and for all we know it could be the mentality of his job that twisted him.

Briggs, I have to say that was a great psychological analysis of the clown mythology. However, I do think that the thought of a clown being a twisted person inside is very ironic... back to which I was stating. I also think that some of this has to do with history itself, specifically Gacy. He was a clown that murdered kids on his off time.