A funny taste: Clowns and Cannibals

Abstract

The risk of being consumed by a clown is as high as the risk of being eaten by a cannibal. However small it might be, both play a major role in our cultural imagination. They are particularly popular in personal union: as cannibal clown. Cannibal clowns distinguish themselves by their bestial laughter that is armed with pointed teeth, and engage in eccentric cascades of violence. Exploring the cultural history of these creatures since the 19th century, this paper employs Baudelaire’s and Elias Canetti’s theories of laughter to clarify what cultural work laughter does once it becomes a threat of eating. It seeks to illustrate how the figure of the cannibal and the cultural emblem of laughter – the clown – intertwine and demonstrate what such braiding has come to mean in their faces: s/laughter.