For many people, Coulrophobia (the fear of clowns) is all too real. No matter if the fear was triggered by Stephen King’s IT, a childhood trauma, or when serial killer John Wayne Gacy’s crimes became public, the fear is understandable. There is something inherently disturbing about someone hiding behind colorful makeup.
The first episode PBS’ new digital weekly series ‘Origin of Everything’, hosted by Yale Doctoral candidate Danielle Bainbridge, has just premiered on YouTube and Facebook and explores the clowns went from characters entertaining kids to the villain of our nightmares. And we have the episode here to share with you (with the show’s permission).
The series is dedicated to exploring the idea that the past is always present. Every aspect of modern life whether it’s the words we use, the foods we love, the objects that get us through the day, the geographical borders that surround us or even the identities we give ourselves, emerge from the past. Origin of Everything will use a historical lens to unpack how all of these things came about and provoke the audiences to think a little differently about their world. Current episode topics include “Why is 18 Considered an Adult?” “How Makeup, WWII, and Communism created the United States healthcare system,” “The 3000-year history of the ‘#’” and “How Columbus Invented Cannibals.”
This week’s episode is dedicated to scary clowns and with IT premiering in theaters nationwide this weekend it’s perfect timing. “The episode dives into clowns, focusing on both the history of the jesters themselves and, more specifically, how they went from being ubiquitously loved pranksters to the creepy, menacing variety found in films like Stephen King’s It.”
Be sure to subscribe to the ‘Origins of Everything‘ YouTube channel for future episodes.
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