Wednesday, March 04, 2015

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CIRCUS?

Over the weekend I payed a visit to Steve Worth's Animation Archive and he kindly let me take snapshots of a few posters in his oversized circus book. 

One of my favorites was of a lion taming act (above). I saw acts like that when I was a kid and they really did take place in a circular cage and it really did contain lots of cats, though not as many as you see here. Working with that many cats is dangerous since it's hard to avoid turning your back on them, and the poor cats are probably irritable from being unnaturally close to each other. 


 And talk about crowding...pity the humans as well as the animals! People are shoulder to shoulder in these pictures. Actually, in spite of the inconvenience, I believe in funneling crowds through relatively narrow spaces if it can be done safely. It makes getting where you're going an adventure and provides lots of opportunities for people watching. You just need to have lots of diversions along the way. 

I also like the fact that the cages are on raised platforms very close to the pedestrians, and not way back in the distance on a flat floor. 


I wonder why circuses ran into trouble. There are probably lots of reasons, one of which might be competition from carnivals. Carnivals are cheaper to mount because they put more emphasis on sideshows and rides. Not only that but visitors can choose which which acts to pass on and which acts to patronize. People like having a choice. 


If most people are like me then they also want to see acts up close. When you sit in a gallery in a giant stadium you're too far removed from things. People want to see the sweat on the performer's brow, which you can do in a sideshow. Of course, you're less likely to encounter really skilled performers there. 
  

Sideshows attracted weird, one-of-a-kind acts. Here's seven women who the poster alleges entertained the crowned heads of Europe with their hair. Haw! Maybe they did a static electricity act...naw, they were probably too classy for that. Maybe they acted out stories from the Brothers Grimm accompanied by music from "Swan Lake."


Aerial shows worked fine indoors. You probably imagine that the poster
exaggerated the number of performers...


...but maybe it didn't. Circuses played in some pretty big venues.


What do you think of this picture (above)? Pretty neat, huh? Seeing beautiful pictures like this (above) makes me think that circuses might have caused their own demise by being too big and expensive. How many people could afford a show like this during The Great Depression?  Carnivals made it easier for people to spend at whatever level they could afford.


I wish mini stadiums like this one (above) hadn't gone out of fashion. Mens athletic clubs used to favor this kind of small indoor theatre. You could stage Hamlet, equestrian shows, boxing matches and small circuses in them. Modern stadiums are too big. Only people in the best seats can see what's going on.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I rarely hear about the circus nowadays but I kinda think that our growing culture of being hooked to our smartphones a lot of the time has just really changed how people generally want to be entertained but I understand where you're coming from with all those other points mentioned in your post.

Also, I get the impression that if something goes wrong at the circus, the implications, lawsuits and claims resulting from whatever incidents could happen must be a major strain on the viability of the circus nowadays. Maybe things that were possible many years ago would be placed under much more scrutiny now by certain organizations. I really need to look into this topic more.

Joel Brinkerhoff said...

http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/05/news/ringling-bros-circus-elephants/index.html?iid=obnetwork

The above article implies that we have become more intolerant of animal abuse. I feel this and the politically incorrect exploiting of human deformity has killed much of the circus magic. What remains is the theatrically driven Cirque du Soleil, which is more acrobatic and music oriented.

There are the fringe, almost cult, show like The Jim Rose Circus which is into gross-out shock sideshow performances.

The big-top, three ring circus is dying fast.

Eddie Fitzgerald said...

Joel: I'm glad we're more intolerant of animal abuse. That's the way it should be.

I looked up The Jim Rose Circus. I'm grateful for the tip but it's not for me. I like acts that are beautiful as well as novel.

Roberto: The circus is still relevant, just like magic is still relevant. IMHO It just needs to be updated.

Stephen Worth said...

The circus was based on traveling by rail. That doesn't work as well any more. Everything is trucked now.