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Deep in the shadows of our subconscious mind there is a dark place, a place filled with poorly defined but incisive fear - a nagging ancient anxiety which, on occasion, flares into paralyzing all consuming terror. It is this fear which ignites phobic responses, crippling so many individuals and, without the slightest overstatement, ruining lives. Being the smart, upright, talking monkeys we are, people often give this primordial terror a name, and occasionally a face. Such personae are often gleaned from the traumatic experiences of early childhood when helpless passivity can render otherwise insignificant events downright terrifying. For many people the phobic principle takes the shape of a clown, mime of other [supposedly] entertaining grotesque. These characters represent an intrusive, vocal, often boorish and highly memorable "non parent" adult, an individual to whom we are exposed often without any context. In short, unless we have learned that clowns and mimes are entertaining [and can suspend disbelief for long enough to accept this] they are, at best, bemusing and incomprehensible. It is my sincere opinion that exposure to these painted freaks can induce severe scarring of the vulnerable infant psyche. A child may become profoundly disturbed that Mom and Dad accept [and appear to enjoy] the presence of this disguised individual, whilst knowing [through a more acute association with the subconscious] that the clown figure is threatening, disturbing and, by virtue of his disguise, untrustworthy. This experience can establish a paradigm of distrust and preemptory separation anxiety between infant and parent, perhaps foreshadowing those all too familiar teen angst tantrums; "They just don't understand me; SWEET HOLY GOD, can you believe it? They actually like MIMES!" Many individuals, report that their first clown exposure was characterized by embarrassment, confusion and terror, and that they subsequently experienced enjoyment - simply out of relief. Succinctly, happiness defined by an absence of clowns. I propose that, among the emotionally competent, few people actually enjoy the antics of clowns, mimes or for that matter, those large, promotional, costumed characters we are so often forced to endure. Instead, I suggest that having experienced such a painted trickster [and survived] even the most traumatic events may seem more tolerable. 

Regards, Doc Savage ian.boulton@utoronto.ca
 
 

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