Of Clown Phobias - Case Study Example

Study of Clown Phobias Interview and report on 4 people: 2 who are under 40 and 2 who are over 40. Simply ask them: What do you think of clowns? Listen to their answers.  The two interviewees who are under 40 generally expressed favorable reactions about clowns. To Layla, a 19 year-old college student, clowns are wholesome and amusing especially to children who often anticipate tricks and surprises. Most of her experiences with clown shows in the past, she claimed, were happy ones for she and her friends were greatly fond of unpredictable antics and colorful exhibitions they had kept their eyes on, hoping for the clowns to present more sights of clever fun.

Layla added that there was even an occasion when she had “momentary relief from anxiety” by merely watching a clown’s random body movement. For Keith, a 30 year-old entrepreneur, the tasks rendered by a clown require a healthy state of emotions besides good intellect. He made reference to a friend who has been a clown and comedian for five years now and Keith observes how flexible his friend could get upon admission that in being a clown, a number of characters may be assumed. More than a figure of entertainment, Keith managed to perceive clowns beyond an image of laughter, knowing that whenever his clown friend conducts shifts in facial expressions, it must be attributed to a serious labor of internalization prior to the show.

On the other hand, one of the interviewees who are over 40 argued that clowns give her an immediate impression of horror instead due to ‘creepiness’. According to a 43 year-old saleswoman, Marie, the grotesque look of a clown in makeup and outlandish suit entails fright and mystery behind the typical sight of cheer or frolic. Having come across motion pictures which have made clowns portray villainous roles, she confessed that her frequent watch of such movies has affected her former perception in a way that it becomes overridden with the film’s negative effect.

Marie further stated “I get paranoid every time I pass by a circus or a place that looks like it and any spot that hints a clown’s presence.” Similarly, Jack, a 47 year-old truck driver, told of an equivalent sentiment whereby rather than finding delight in the clown’s performance, he merely gets disposed to focusing on the appearance particularly on the dreadful aspect of the clown’s countenance. Saying “I could not help feeling some degree of discomfort, aware of every possible evil underneath a seemingly mirthful facade”, he elaborates yielding to a weird sense of acquaintance with clowns.(2) Write your own take on clowns and the social phenomenon of clown phobia.

What causes this to happen in a culture? What is the role of the media in shaping a collective image or meaning about something in the public eye? In general, people acquire a whole new perspective of clowns apart from their original meaning or purpose of existence as time goes and entertainment approach undergoes innovation based on the latest trend in technology and fashion. Hence, in a culture that has initially looked up to clowns as real-time entertainers by tradition, a change of such perspective occurs once clowns are made to assume positions that bear contrasting or ironic compatibility with the physical looks which are designed specifically for them.

Consequently, the formative experiences with the reinvented image of a clown may figure to be a chief cause of coulrophobia among the middle-aged adults. Through the aforementioned accounts of Jack and Marie, who are of age 47 and 43, respectively, the function and impact of media is widely evident. One concrete instance is the introduction of Pennywise, a fictional child-killing monstrous clown whom almost every viewer became anxious about based on his sadistic character in ‘It’ by Stephen King.

In the same manner, the Joker who is known to have constantly appeared as Batman’s mortal enemy and who laughs hysterically while executing morbid killings has, in a way or another, created a horrifying picture that eventually builds a culture of individuals bearing irrational fear toward clowns. This indicates that the power of media in utilizing its tools and resources to project a specific image with associated meaning is capable of shaping emotion and thought such that these are led to an influence which speaks of the media’s attainment of an intended goal which, in turn, determines the measure of its profits and the quality of its standards.

ReferencesDurwin, Joseph. “Coulrophobia and The Trickster.” Retrieved from http://www.trinity.edu/org/tricksters/trixway/current/vol%203/vol3_1/Durwin.htm on 10 Jan 2012.Ryan, Ethan (2011). “Why Clowns are Scary.” Retrieved from http://thoughtcatalog.com/2011/why-clowns-are-scary/ on 10 Jan 2012.