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The Entertainer brings you a cyclone of fun, fit for everyone.
Clowns of some sort have been a source of entertainment for hundreds of years. The clowns that we are familiar with today came about with the modern circus during the 19th century. Although they're meant to bring a smile to the faces of children of all ages, for many, they are a source of dread and discomfort.
The unofficial term for having an irrational fear of clowns is Coulrophobia, although few are diagnosed as truly suffering from it. Many people simply don't like clowns. But why?? If they are figures meant to entertain and delight us, what is there to be frightened of??
Is it because we cannot see their faces??
Is it because their true identities are hidden away and concealed beneath a thick veil of make-up??
Or could it be because we are forced to reflect upon what we are hiding from the rest of the world??
We are afraid of being judged. We are afraid of not being accepted. In a world which tells us to be individuals, most of us really only want to fit in. Because of this, we hide our true selves. We bury our identities beneath designer clothes, expensive make-up and sometimes even with plastic surgery. We then entomb ourselves in similar homes which have been stamped out by a developer while the vehicles we have been told by manufacturers and advertisers to drive are parked out front. It seems we are supposed to be individuals as long as we are doing it the way everyone else is.
So maybe, just maybe, when we see a clown and the uneasiness begins settling in, the problem is not so much the clown. Maybe its the realization and fear that our own identity and flaws that we are hiding may not be hidden as well as we may like and we are at risk of being unmasked at any given moment.
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