The End of the Circus

Evolutionary Semiotics and Cultural Resilience

Professor Emeritus Paul Bouissac (University of Toronto, Canada)

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English

Bloomsbury Academic
21 October 2021

Circus; Sociolinguistics; Semiotics & semiology; Social & cultural anthropology

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The End of the Circus draws on Bouissac’s extensive ethnographic research, including previously unpublished material on the training of wild animals and clown make-up, to chart the origins of the circus in Gypsy culture and the drastic change in contemporary Western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.

By: Professor Emeritus Paul Bouissac (University of Toronto Canada)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 544g
ISBN: 9781350166493
ISBN 10: 1350166499
Pages: 264
Publication Date: 21 October 2021
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

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 Vidûshaka 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

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.

Reviews for The End of the Circus: Evolutionary Semiotics and Cultural Resilience

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 Könyöt, 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 *