The Greatest Show on Earth No Longer

After reading in Time Magazine that the Ringling Brothers' Circus was to close down after 146 years I was somewhat saddened but not entirely surprised. I began to wonder why circus shows have lost favor in modern society. I figured it would make a good topic for this week's blog post after I found myself really trying to dissect what had happened and how I should feel about it.

The easy answer as to why circus shows have become less popular is obvious; tv shows, movies, video games, and the like have begun our new digital age of on-demand entertainment. Whereas at one time most people only had books and theatre to distract themselves from their everyday lives and struggles, we today can conjure an entirely different world to focus on in mere seconds. Yet, this is only one aspect.

Barnum & Bailey elephant show act circa 1900, Encyclopedia Britannica.(source)

One of the biggest reasons cited by the circus owners is that ticket sales drastically declined after the retirement of the elephant acts. After long battles with animal rights groups, after which their allegations of abuse have been proven false, the elephants were sent to a reserve in Florida where they could happily live out their days. However, even after the Ringling Bros gave in to those demands, attendance numbers sharply declined. This comes as an especially painful blow, as they had just announced their first female ringleader.

So, what do we have the circus to thank for? How should we remember it as an important feature of a bygone era? Well, originally the Ringling Bros competed with the Barnum and Bailey circus, PT Barnum's show centered around exotic animals and acts featuring stunts performed by animals and humans alike. The Ringling Bros began as jugglers and daredevils, but they didn't garner much attention until the purchase of their first elephant in 1888.

Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey postcard circa 1931. (source)

At one time the show, which lasted for 3 hours, featured high-flying trapeze acts, stilt walkers, human oddities, carefully choreographed animal exhibitions, dancers, and magicians. In 1890 the most popular act was simply a dark room where people would pay to see the newly invented electric light bulb! This hardly even mentions the culture of side-shows, which focused more on the aforementioned human oddities, and other wonders considered too macabre or strange for everyday entertainment. Even Winston Churchill himself begged his parents to take him to see Barretta the "Boneless Wonder," though they denied him. (Library Source)

I think one of my favorite memories of circus culture is the colorful posters that enticed the local population to come see the wondrous show. These posters used such beautifully selective imagery and illustrations of the acts and actors, portrayed in a cartoonish caricature style that is similar to modern comic books. Today some of the most famous circus performers are memorialized only by these caricatures, as photography wasn't used in mainstream society until the very late 1800's. I believe that the very attitude of their showing, and us getting to witness, such amazing feats and acts will live on in our hearts for at least another generation. The sparkle and dazzle of lighting and sequined costumes forever reflected in our minds.

Circus poster lithograph featuring portraits of 5 of the Ringling Bros at left. (source)

White Zombie

The movie White Zombie was made in 1932; it was directed by Victor and Edward Halperin. This movie is considered to be the first full length zombie film and has been described by critics as the model of all zombie movies. It had box office success, was very popular. The plot in short is the following. Madeleine Short arrives to Haiti to marry her fiancé Neil Parker. On the way to their friend’s, Charles Beaumont’s house she met an evil voodoo master, Murder Legendre, who, grab Madeleine's scarf.  Charles Beaumont, the friend of the couple, loves Madeleine and asks Murder's supernatural assistance. Murder converts Madeleine to zombie using her scarf and she almost kills Neil being in zombie condition. But when Bruner knocks out Murder, he breaks Murder's mental control over his zombies and Madeleine. She awakens and embraces Nail. Undirected by Murder the zombies topple off the cliff. Charles also falls to his death.

Through the lens of racism – there is only one black character in this movie, the coach, though the story takes place on Haiti. Through the lens of Hegemony theory – it is obviously the product for elite taste. The Castle, where all characters live, its furniture, cloths, servants, etc. – everything is designed according to taste of elite. So the movie itself is a product of pop culture, but made by elite standards and for elite. Through the lens of feminism this movie can’t pass Bechdel test. There is majority of male characters. The only female character has no personality at all; it’s just object to gaze. Madeleine beautiful face is shown by numerous close ups but it is impossible to say anything about her personality. She is an object of three men desires and nothing else.  Female servants are shown briefly, it is impossible to tell anything about them. 

Postmodernism and Our Sense of Reality

Facts, according to Postmodernism: Social and Cultural Ideals, are not absolute but something to be interpreted. Our sense of reality has changed as we can manufacture our identities in order to present to the world what we want others to see, though personality tests purportedly allow us to find out who we really are. Attaching meaning to things is impossible as there are no absolutes. One image that floated by during the video caught my eye. It was of art installation outside Marfa, Texas which I visited on a road trip a couple years ago. Along a desolate highway in the middle of the desert there is a Prada “store”.

 If somebody that wasn’t expecting to see this they would question reality and whether or not the “store” was real. It is immaculately kept with shoes displayed in the windows so it seems plausible that you could actually shop there. It is, in fact, just an obscure art installation. Others ways in which reality can be distorted is through technology. Instagram and other social media sites allow users to create a personality for themselves which may or may not represent reality. Photo filters have the ability to make a somewhat sunny day seems brighter than it is. Setting up the perfectly cropped shot also distorts reality as, Chompoo Baritone, shows in her The Truth Behind Instagram Series.