Monster Clown: Difference between revisions
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Clowns are ''supposed'' to be funny. They're supposed to make everyone laugh, especially children. This is the entire point of their existence. Sometimes they succeed. But for some people, clowns awaken [[wikipedia:Coulrophobia|some primal fear]]. There are children who won't go near a clown without screaming.
Their face is... [[Uncanny Valley|fake, corpse-like]], and most often the makeup they use [[Uncanny Valley Makeup|does ''not'' help]]; the emotions aren't real, the smile is just painted on. The outfit and big shoes are downright grotesque. There's something seriously wrong with a clown to some people, and this resonates deep within the part of us that still believes that there is a [[Things That Go Bump in the Night|monster in the closet]], that will get out if you don't keep the door closed. You don't want ''your'' kids around the '''Monster Clown''', but the character's parents seem oblivious to their kid's fears.
It's somewhat uncommon to find clown characters who are genuinely ''good'' - sympathetic clowns are generally a little more muted, whether or not this is faithful to the job. Surly clowns who tiredly work with ungrateful children are more common, probably because they speak to the average overworked audience; they may be an example of [[Hates the Job, Loves the Limelight]]. But writers are just as likely to tap into the fear: the
Monster Clowns are often [[Affably Evil]] or [[Faux Affably Evil]] - if they work in a circus, it'll be a [[Circus of Fear]]. Likewise, many of these clowns may or may not be [[Ax Crazy|completely insane]] and act [[Psychopathic Manchild|in a very similar manner to an overgrown child]]; they tend to commit their crimes while [[Laughing Mad|laughing crazily]] [[The Hyena|and frequently]], cracking fittingly dark jokes ([[Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor|if you can ''call'' them that]]).
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The point is that real-world clowns ''clown'': while clowning is intended to be funny, it can be received as ritualised (self-)humiliation, and may make modern audiences quite sick to the stomach - now imagine what the Monster Clown's [[Nightmare Fuel|sick twists on their gags will do to 'em]]. Somtimes, a Monster Clown won't even do ''that'' much... they just ''look'' like a clown, without any of the jokes or working in a circus or going to kids' parties. On the flipside of it, [[wikipedia:John Wayne Gacy|John Wayne Gacy]], one of the most famous serial killers in the United States, worked part-time as a clown - the AP [[Critical Research Failure|once used a stock photo of Gacy for National Clown day]].
A subtrope of this is [[Enemy Mime]], while a villainous clown [[Played for Laughs]] instead of fear is a [[Villainous Harlequin]]. A related and overlapping trope is the [[Depraved Kids' Show Host]] related. Clowns' ghastly white makeup may put them into [[White Mask of Doom]] territory. Contrast the [[Non-Ironic Clown]]. Supertrope to [[Juggalo]].
{{examples}}
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* In ''[[American Dad]]'', Roger overlaps this with [[Evil Teacher]] in his H.J. Rimmens personality, being a teacher at a clown school. Right off the bat, he admits to using mind games and emotionally abuse his students into becoming clowns, adding that 60% of them will be [[Driven to Suicide]] by the end of the semester. Of course, [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain|seeing as this is Roger we're talking about]], he’s not very good at being either type of villain, and eventually loses his permit to teach clowns. A [[Flash Forward]] scene shows him as a [[IT| Pennywise]] [[Expy]] gunning for revenge against Steve, only to [[Epic Fail|get stuck in a storm drain while doing so]].
* In the ''[[Star Trek: Lower Decks]]'' episode "Mining the Mind's Mines", the psychic mines initially try to tempt the Lower Deckers [[The Vamp|by creating illusions of their fantasies]]; when the mines malfunction, however, they switch to illusions of their nightmares, which includes Klingon clowns with with bat'leths for arms. While this does not specify ''whose'' nightmare this is, ''all'' of the ensigns flee in terror.
* The
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