Circus Today: Circus Change/Reflecting Times
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
setName: label: See more items in
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2017 Smithsonian Folklife Festival
label: See more items in
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2017 Smithsonian Folklife Festival / Series 2: Circus Arts / Audio
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Sound recording (digital audio file)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 2017 June 29
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
identifier: label: Identifier
content: CFCH.SFF.2017, Item SFF2017_0629_Circus_Arts_Circus_Stories_0003
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Listening copies available
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Jennifer Lemmer-Posey (presenter); Dominique Jando; Rodney Huey; Jennifer Lemmer-Posey Circus clowns emerged in the late eighteenth to early nineteenth century and are an important act in the circus arts. Bozo the Clown and Ronald McDonald helped direct the humorous performance toward children. However, starting in the 1980s, the phenomenon of the scary clown  swept through popular culture. With the increased social fear of clowns today, the circus has changed its clown performances.