Clowning
Around
Scary clowns
terrorize French cities
Olivier Roux, Arthur Donnadieu
Since
mid-October an unlikely threat has appeared in towns across France:
clowns. The recent arrest of 14 teenagers in Agde, in the south of
the country, for harassing passersby while
dressed as clowns is just one example of this so-called crime wave,
which has spread from
the north, where it began.
In
response to this phenomenon, some teenage self-styled «clown
hunters» (chasseurs de
clown), have organized
resistance groups, both on social networks and in the streets,
leading to violent confrontations .
What's
behind France's clown epidemic?
According
to French police, social media and foreign influences might be
responsible. After a group of clowns brandishing chain saws appeared
in front of a primary school in northern France, the police suggested
on Twitter that the clown gangs were inspired by the 1974 U.S. film
The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre.
Events
in Italy and America could also be possible sources of this outbreak.
There
are the videos of the Italian duo « DM Pranks » titled
« Killer Clown Scare Pranks » which show a comedian
dressed as clown pretending to assault passersby.
Likewise,
the new season of the TV show American
Horror Story
features evil
clowns.
But,
beyond these examples, the motives to dress up as a clown are
questionable.
A
very common fear
The
irrational fear raised by these scary clowns exemplifies the
universality of coulrophobia (the fear of clowns) and echoes popular
culture, which has always shown the clown as an ambiguous character.
Pascal Froissart, Doctor of Communication, says
« The
clown has always carried in him the duality between humor and horror.
He makes us laugh through absurdity, which is close to madness, close
to irrationality. He is a disturbing icon, found in both the imagery
of childhood and horror movies. »
Over
the centuries, many people have darkened the image of the clown.
The
most
infamous was
undoubtedly
John
Wayne Gacy, also known as « Killer Clown », an American
serial killer who used to dress as « Pogo the Clown » to
entertain children in hospitals.
Sources :
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