Clowns in current media have not been portrayed very nicely.
In fact, the majority of clowns in movies and television have been down right
terrifying. Why? Because it’s easy. It’s easy to take something perceived as
innocent and friendly and turn it into a raging psychopathic killer.
“Coulrophobia” is the fear of clowns. Thanks to
Merriam-Webster, we have a standardized definition for the red-nosed nemeses.
And there’s a reason for why Merriam-Webster created a definition for this
specific phobia. That reason being: too many scary clowns. Big Hollywood
studios have spent decades defaming clowns and creating clown monsters for
their own personal agenda. One could even argue that the big studios are
conspiring against clowns, viewing them as a competitor of entertainment, and
trying to manipulate the masses into fearing them (if one were insane).
But here’s a short list of clowns portrayed in media:
Let’s start with the obvious.
We have Pennywise the Clown
from IT. One can argue that Pennywise
started the clown terror. But we cannot blame the studios for creating the
horrid Pennywise. Prolific writer Stephan King is responsible for this
powdered-face monster. It wasn’t until King’s novel IT was adapted into a film did the masses learn the terror of
Pennywise. Through his menacing, clawed and fanged Pennywise the clown (played
by Tim Curry), King created a truly frightening character. Pennywise shows up
everywhere: sewer drains, showers, daydreams and nightmares.
Then we go on to other scary clowns.
The clown-zombie in Zombieland
(2009). (Where the main character
played by Jesse Eisenberg is already afraid of clowns prior to confronting the
scary clown-zombie. Wonder why?)
Everything From Killer
Klowns From Outer Space (1988).
Captain Spaulding from House
of 1000 Corpses (2003)
Twisty from American
Horror Story (2009)
All of these clowns are fucking terrifying. No doubt about
that.
Now, you’re probably asking yourself, “Okay, Jake, where are
you going with this?” Well, I’m creating a character that is a clown in my
film. And my film is by no means a horror film. It’s about a clown that is
tired, washed up, and done with life. It’s a comedy set in the real world where
the main character, Flex the Clown, must deal with real-life everyday problems.
But to really develop this character, and to get to the root
of his consciousness, I need to understand that he is not be dealing with
problems that a normal person would be dealing with. He lives in a world where
clowns have an awful reputation – where people generally hate clowns. And
living in a world where you’re generally hated and feared cannot be easy.
So, with this into consideration, I need to really
understand my character. Why does he continue to be a clown? Why does he get up
in the morning and continue to put on the clown suit? Even in a world where he
doesn’t fit in? What really drives him and his passions? Thinking about these
questions will add an entirely knew level to Flex – making him a complex human
being but also extremely relatable. Because, it doesn’t matter who you are,
everybody has felt the pain of being hated, excluded, and ostracized.
