The ācircusā is everywhere, you just have to look.
The article is conflating two separate things. One is the treatment of animals, which makes me think of the Patton Oswalt routine :
So weāre losing animals deprived of their natural habitats. That seems like a win.
The rest is acrobats and clowns, etc. Iām down with the people half of things. Cirque du Soleil seems to be doing just fine - trumpeting āthe end of circusesā seems laughably premature.
Sorry but I canāt agree. Perhaps there was once a āgolden ageā of the circus when the animals and performances inspired awe and wonder but that disappeared years ago. Now itās nothing more than a blatant money grab and exploitation scheme to get you to buy $40 sparkly flashlights for your whiny brats and overpriced junk food and plastic trinkets that will get tossed into the trash by weekās end.
I say good riddance to the circusā¦and take the Whatever-On-Ice shows with you!
I waffle about the animal acts, they are amazing to see and I will never forget watching the bears balance on top of balls when the Moscow Circus toured the states but their lives are not great on the road and it makes bad zoos look like the good life.
But you know what was even more amazing, the horse riders. The acrobats, the clowns, the trapeze artists, the jugglers, the ringmasters. They were great as I got to see it before glasnost etc, and the bulk of the good performers left for Vegas.
I yearly went to Circus Flora while I still lived in St. Louis. The shows were wonderful fun and their namesake elephant was a rescue and is now happily retired. But all the human talent in the show was wonderful as well and why I went.
Yes the Elephants and large animal acts are amazing but I dunno anymore. It isnāt a real good life for them.
ETA
The last circus I went was Seattleās Circus Contraption which was a small one ring show that was circus/burlesque. Definitely not for the kids but great performances. No animals.
I have yet to fork over the $$$$ for Cirque Du Soliel but I do want to go.
The above mention Moscow Circus while a āBig Showā was one ring and that amazed me so much more than the American Ringling Bros etc type show.
While I may somewhat miss the large animal acts they need to go and I donāt feel bad about that.
Thatās a great description of the circus. The end of torture-driven elephant display and performance canāt come too soon. Itās horrifically barbaric, and the pre-nostalgia for it in this post is creepy.
Bye circus, donāt let the animal cruelty hit your ass on the way out.
The Zoppe family circus comes to our city once a year, and we go every chance we get. Its a one-ring circus, and all the acts are performers with amazing skills. The kids love it, youāre so close to the action, its nothing like the huge circus enterprises, and a much better experience. Go see your smaller local circus when they come to town!
Donāt forget to add Orca shows, dog fighting and bear baiting to your kidās bucket listā¦
I remember the big circus, and the elephants were as iconic as the Ringmaster and the trapeze artists. But I was a kid, and didnāt understand a lot about the world, though even then I felt sorry for the lone and lonely bear and our small local zoo. I think we can remember the wonders of an age without wanting to go back to the bad parts. I donāt want to visit a victorian style zoo, with tiny cages. I donāt want to see a show that harms elephants or orcas. And as to spectacle, I think the animal-free Cirque shows Iāve seen have been even more spectacular than the cheezy big top shows I saw as a kid.
Is BoingBoing seriously shilling for the circus and glossing over the horrendous treatment of all of their animal performers? Unless iām missing some kind of very subtle sarcasm, i think this is a genuine post.
Iām all for going to the circus, but not for the animal shows. Human performers alone are exceptional, thereās no room for animal cruelty in this day and age.
Wait, what?
You beat me by seconds, as usual, Dr. Futura. Damn you time travelers!
Dunwoody!
Man, Peter Jackson has fallen on hard times.
Yeah, I dunno about you, but no way when I was a kid could I afford to travel to where Cirque du Soleil performs. And if I was blessed to live in/near a city they traveled to, I couldnāt afford the tickets.
But yeah, if you have enough money nothing is dead.
Itās pretty disgusting to see an endorsement of fleeting personal enjoyment at the cost of animal cruelty here.
āTheyāre outlawing slavery in a couple of years, so make sure your kids get the joy of working your slaves hard while they still can. Theyāll remember it always.ā
Check for the small local shows. Like the the mentioned Zoppe and Circus Flora affordable and great fun. Plus there are no nosebleed seats.
Bingo!
Could I borrow someoneās time machine?
