SEND IN THE CLOWNS
Send in the Clowns: a meta on evil clowns
NO!!! Clowns are not your friend
This cry was heard across the fandom during Every Body Loves a Clown (S2E02) when as a father reassures his son. Obviously, Stranger Danger Programs in Wisconsin had failed to include enforce the message that the rest of us seemed to have picked up - clowns are evol. In the episode, successive children invite a clown into their home. A clown that subsequently butchers their families.
Clowns as evil rather than playful have become an established character in popular culture. Most notable icons of evil clowns include the real John Wayne Gacy, a serial killer who killed 33 young men and often appeared at parties as Pogo the Clown and Pennywise the manifestation of the evil monster in Stephen Kings novel (and subsequent movie) It. There are also musical groups such as The Insane Clown Posse.
There are two major reasons clowns have become entrenched as signifiers of horror. One is that a common device in tales of horror is to find make the mundane and ordinary creepy. The more innocent the thing or character usually is the more shocking its transmutation to evil. I give you the many evil children in horror, dolls (hello Chucky), puppets and other toys. The toy monkey with cymbals from the Stephen King story The Monkey and the movie The Devil's Gift (1984) have already seen in the Supernatural episode Home. And clowns.
The other reason for clowns being objects of horror is that many of them are actually evil i.e. John Wayne Gacy. There is also deep suspicion these days around any man who works in a profession that focuses on children, and some clowns have been involved in child abuse.
As to the “fingering a clown” line from Sam, well I hate to tell you that there actual is clown porn out there. No, I am not going to link you to it! Google is your friend and your porn pimp.
Oh ok, you twisted my arm. Here is a review of some clown porn at SomethingAwful. Click at your own risk, you’ll probably wish you didn’t. I really didn't need to think about clown semen today. Really didn't.
So why evil clowns as the MOTW in this particular episode? The hunt is clearly the B story line in this episode. Or as
anteka’s sister
reese_a_piece_a put it hilariously put it:
"You do realize we just spent the last hour listening to the boys talk about their feelings, right? That the monster was just in there as set dressing? So we knew we hadn't flipped the channel and were watching Everwood repeats?"
But I think that evil clowns specifically were relevant to the main story line. In the episode, the children continue to innocently believe in the goodness of clowns. To lose this belief is to lose childhood. This theme has been oft mentioned in Supernatural, right from the Pilot:
Sam: Yeah? When I told dad when I was scared of the thing in my closet he gave me a .45. Dean: Well, what was he supposed to do?
Sam: I was nine years old. He was supposed to say “Don’t be afraid of the dark.”
Dean: Don’t be afraid of the dark? What are you kidding me? Of course you should be afraid of the dark! You know what’s out there.
And of course we find out in this episode that Sammy has been scared of clowns since he was a kid. In contrast to the kids in this episode, his childhood was cut short, his loss of innocence very early. (Sam's hair looks like a clown wig during parts of this episode. I have no point to make. Just an interesting observation, in an observationally intersting kinda way).
And of course in Something Wicked, Sam regrets what they have had to reveal that sometimes nightmares are real.
Sam: (Michael)…will always know there are things out there in the dark. He’ll never be the same, you know?
In ELaC, Sam and Dean are grieving for their father, dealing (or not) with the loss of their only parent. It is a time of transition for them; it marks their passage into adulthood. Their father who raised them, who particularly because of his obsession, shaped them significantly. Psychologically I don’t think either son had separated from John, a process which is normally associated with the transition into adulthood. Now John is dead although his presence will continue to be felt. Even in this episode the boys are still relating through John, but as this fades how will they relate to each other?
They are no longer John Winchester’s boys. They are Sam and Dean Winchester. And they know clowns are evil.
NO!!! Clowns are not your friend
This cry was heard across the fandom during Every Body Loves a Clown (S2E02) when as a father reassures his son. Obviously, Stranger Danger Programs in Wisconsin had failed to include enforce the message that the rest of us seemed to have picked up - clowns are evol. In the episode, successive children invite a clown into their home. A clown that subsequently butchers their families.
Clowns as evil rather than playful have become an established character in popular culture. Most notable icons of evil clowns include the real John Wayne Gacy, a serial killer who killed 33 young men and often appeared at parties as Pogo the Clown and Pennywise the manifestation of the evil monster in Stephen Kings novel (and subsequent movie) It. There are also musical groups such as The Insane Clown Posse.
There are two major reasons clowns have become entrenched as signifiers of horror. One is that a common device in tales of horror is to find make the mundane and ordinary creepy. The more innocent the thing or character usually is the more shocking its transmutation to evil. I give you the many evil children in horror, dolls (hello Chucky), puppets and other toys. The toy monkey with cymbals from the Stephen King story The Monkey and the movie The Devil's Gift (1984) have already seen in the Supernatural episode Home. And clowns.
The other reason for clowns being objects of horror is that many of them are actually evil i.e. John Wayne Gacy. There is also deep suspicion these days around any man who works in a profession that focuses on children, and some clowns have been involved in child abuse.
As to the “fingering a clown” line from Sam, well I hate to tell you that there actual is clown porn out there. No, I am not going to link you to it! Google is your friend and your porn pimp.
Oh ok, you twisted my arm. Here is a review of some clown porn at SomethingAwful. Click at your own risk, you’ll probably wish you didn’t. I really didn't need to think about clown semen today. Really didn't.
So why evil clowns as the MOTW in this particular episode? The hunt is clearly the B story line in this episode. Or as
anteka’s sister
reese_a_piece_a put it hilariously put it:
"You do realize we just spent the last hour listening to the boys talk about their feelings, right? That the monster was just in there as set dressing? So we knew we hadn't flipped the channel and were watching Everwood repeats?"
But I think that evil clowns specifically were relevant to the main story line. In the episode, the children continue to innocently believe in the goodness of clowns. To lose this belief is to lose childhood. This theme has been oft mentioned in Supernatural, right from the Pilot:
Sam: Yeah? When I told dad when I was scared of the thing in my closet he gave me a .45. Dean: Well, what was he supposed to do?
Sam: I was nine years old. He was supposed to say “Don’t be afraid of the dark.”
Dean: Don’t be afraid of the dark? What are you kidding me? Of course you should be afraid of the dark! You know what’s out there.
And of course we find out in this episode that Sammy has been scared of clowns since he was a kid. In contrast to the kids in this episode, his childhood was cut short, his loss of innocence very early. (Sam's hair looks like a clown wig during parts of this episode. I have no point to make. Just an interesting observation, in an observationally intersting kinda way).
And of course in Something Wicked, Sam regrets what they have had to reveal that sometimes nightmares are real.
Sam: (Michael)…will always know there are things out there in the dark. He’ll never be the same, you know?
In ELaC, Sam and Dean are grieving for their father, dealing (or not) with the loss of their only parent. It is a time of transition for them; it marks their passage into adulthood. Their father who raised them, who particularly because of his obsession, shaped them significantly. Psychologically I don’t think either son had separated from John, a process which is normally associated with the transition into adulthood. Now John is dead although his presence will continue to be felt. Even in this episode the boys are still relating through John, but as this fades how will they relate to each other?
They are no longer John Winchester’s boys. They are Sam and Dean Winchester. And they know clowns are evil.