The End of the Circus
Evolutionary Semiotics and Cultural Resilience
Published on 9. September 2021
Book
Hardback
264 pages
978-1-350-16649-3 (ISBN)
Description
This book analyses two features of the traditional circus that have come under increasing attack since the mid-20th century: the use of wild animals in performance and the act of clowning. Positioning this socio-cultural change within the broader perspective of evolutionary semiotics, renowned circus expert Paul Bouissac examines the decline of the traditional circus and its transformation into a purely acrobatic spectacle.
The End of the Circus draws on Bouissac's extensive ethnographic research, including previously unpublished material on the training of wild animals and clown make-up, to chart the origins of the circus in Gypsy culture and the drastic change in contemporary Western attitudes on ethical grounds. It scrutinizes the emergence of the new form of circus, with its focus on acrobatics and the meaning of the body, showing how acrobatic techniques have been appropriated from traditional Gypsy heritage and brought into the fold of mainstream popular entertainment. Questioning the survival of the new circus and the likely resurgence of its traditional forms, this book showcases Bouissac's innovative approach to semiotics and marks the culmination of his ground-breaking work on the circus.
The End of the Circus draws on Bouissac's extensive ethnographic research, including previously unpublished material on the training of wild animals and clown make-up, to chart the origins of the circus in Gypsy culture and the drastic change in contemporary Western attitudes on ethical grounds. It scrutinizes the emergence of the new form of circus, with its focus on acrobatics and the meaning of the body, showing how acrobatic techniques have been appropriated from traditional Gypsy heritage and brought into the fold of mainstream popular entertainment. Questioning the survival of the new circus and the likely resurgence of its traditional forms, this book showcases Bouissac's innovative approach to semiotics and marks the culmination of his ground-breaking work on the circus.
Reviews / Votes
This is a rigorous yet heart-felt account of the demise of the travelling circus. Professor Bouissac argues that both its former popularity and present opprobrium reflect the ways that sedentary societies have seen themselves, their travelling others and their relationship with nature. No-one could tell this tale better. * Ron Beadle, Professor of Organization and Business Ethics, Northumbria University, UK * One of the first academicians to explore the substance beneath the glamorous facade, Paul has now produced a volume that reflects his love and knowledge of The Circus and it's participants, in addition to his previous works it delivers a lasting and worthy testament to a noble profession. * David Koenyoet, Clown, Circus writer, UK * The circus can have no better advocate than Paul Bouissac, his knowledge of its history and role in popular culture matched, indeed quickened, by his own experience of having once been part of it. That combination allows him to explain what lies behind the enchantment without ever dispelling its magic. In this, his latest book he describes the Romany contribution to what became the modern circus, a contribution seldom acknowledged, not least by circus folk themselves. Long overdue, too, is his refutation of the claim that animals in circuses are routinely, almost necessarily, mistreated. Yes, abuses have from time to time occurred but so, far more often, have they done elsewhere. And indeed still do, largely overlooked, now that the last trick pony's quit the sawdust ring. Happily, this book recreates for us the joy that was - and is - the circus. In doing so it manages somehow to make it more joyful still. * David Conway, Author of Magic: My Life In More Worlds Than One * In The End of the Circus: Evolutionary Semiotics and Cultural Resilience, Paul Bouissac brings both academic curiosity and personal passion to the care and analysis of this most populist of performance genres at what would appear to be a critical cultural juncture. * HUMOR *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
30 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Weight
544 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-16649-3 (9781350166493)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
08/2021
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic
€32.99
Available for download
Person
Paul Bouissac is Professor Emeritus at Victoria College, University of Toronto, Canada. He is a world renowned figure in semiotics and a pioneer of circus studies.
Content
Acknowledgements
1. Overture: Themes and Variations
Introduction
Whence and wither the 'traditional' circus?
'Death to the circus'
Clowns on the wane
The body: from ritual to spectacle
The human tragedy: "You! Wretched Gypsies!"
2. First Movement, Andante Sostenuto: The Time of the Gypsies
Who are the Gypsies?
Where do Gypsies come from?
Contrapuntal development #1
Being a Gypsy: the bane or bliss of difference
A deeper time perspective
The circus enters history: Was Philip Astley a Gypsy?
The art of survival
Contrapuntal development #2: What is a name?
Our inner Gypsy
An ode to resilience
On the flipside
The evolution of space, time, and cultures
3. Second Movement Vivace Furioso: Animals
A memory
Hunger rules the world
The human animal: the game of life and death
Bear power
The hyena men of Nigeria
Wolves
The death of a tigress
Hunger never stops
From non-animal humans to non-human animals
The cage acts of yesteryears
What is a wild animal?
The antiquity of the animal circus: the elephants
The antiquity of the animal circus: the predators
Wild utopia
Ethos, ethics, and the Peterson effect
A self-defeating strategy
Cultural entropy and semiotic panic
4. Third Movement, Adagio Lamentendo: Clowns
Perplexed clowns
Masks
What is a clown?
A detour to India: the Vidushaka
A modern master: Charlie Chaplin
Two kinds of laughter
The twilight of the clown: off-limit humor
The clown and its discontents
The white-face clown: the waxing and waning of a cultural hero
Black face matters
The crucifixion of the clown
Free speech and the clowns: Is Jordan Peterson a trickster?
5. Fourth Movement, Maestoso Appassionato: Bodies
What is a body?
Modes of survival
Life on the brink of death
Epiphanies
The body brought into play
Greatness and misery of acrobats' bodies
Negotiating one's own body: benefit-to-cost ratio
Bodies unbound
The visceral circus: bodies of fear and desire
Technological evolution and the perception of risk
For your eyes only: Eros at the circus
From ritual to spectacle
6. Coda, Sforzando
Resistance and resilience
The downfall of the traditional circus
The Anthropocene delusion
The reign of anthropomorphism
The return of the hyenas
References
Index
1. Overture: Themes and Variations
Introduction
Whence and wither the 'traditional' circus?
'Death to the circus'
Clowns on the wane
The body: from ritual to spectacle
The human tragedy: "You! Wretched Gypsies!"
2. First Movement, Andante Sostenuto: The Time of the Gypsies
Who are the Gypsies?
Where do Gypsies come from?
Contrapuntal development #1
Being a Gypsy: the bane or bliss of difference
A deeper time perspective
The circus enters history: Was Philip Astley a Gypsy?
The art of survival
Contrapuntal development #2: What is a name?
Our inner Gypsy
An ode to resilience
On the flipside
The evolution of space, time, and cultures
3. Second Movement Vivace Furioso: Animals
A memory
Hunger rules the world
The human animal: the game of life and death
Bear power
The hyena men of Nigeria
Wolves
The death of a tigress
Hunger never stops
From non-animal humans to non-human animals
The cage acts of yesteryears
What is a wild animal?
The antiquity of the animal circus: the elephants
The antiquity of the animal circus: the predators
Wild utopia
Ethos, ethics, and the Peterson effect
A self-defeating strategy
Cultural entropy and semiotic panic
4. Third Movement, Adagio Lamentendo: Clowns
Perplexed clowns
Masks
What is a clown?
A detour to India: the Vidushaka
A modern master: Charlie Chaplin
Two kinds of laughter
The twilight of the clown: off-limit humor
The clown and its discontents
The white-face clown: the waxing and waning of a cultural hero
Black face matters
The crucifixion of the clown
Free speech and the clowns: Is Jordan Peterson a trickster?
5. Fourth Movement, Maestoso Appassionato: Bodies
What is a body?
Modes of survival
Life on the brink of death
Epiphanies
The body brought into play
Greatness and misery of acrobats' bodies
Negotiating one's own body: benefit-to-cost ratio
Bodies unbound
The visceral circus: bodies of fear and desire
Technological evolution and the perception of risk
For your eyes only: Eros at the circus
From ritual to spectacle
6. Coda, Sforzando
Resistance and resilience
The downfall of the traditional circus
The Anthropocene delusion
The reign of anthropomorphism
The return of the hyenas
References
Index