Look over there that fellow fell!
Ha ha ha! Wait, does it ring a bell?
The last time you were in his place
Did you feel good, did you have a laughing face?
No, I assume. You must have felt bad
To be laughed at, it makes the person sad!
In the olden times, humour was related to negative psychology. Sounds weird, doesn’t it? Well, it sure is a little weird, but not wrong if we listen to or read what people at those times had to say. Humour was often seen as the act of people trying to establish superiority by making fun of other people or by demeaning them. So, this subject was avoided by most of the psychologists at those times considering the negativity it carried with itself.
Fast forward to contemporary times, humour is considered one of a positive personality trait and that which indicates well being of an individual.
In this transition there is some part of the negative impact that still lingers on and that is making fun of others. But again, we have an argument.
What if that activity or act made others laugh? The answer is simple. Even if it makes others happy, if it is done at the expense of any person getting hurt emotionally and sometimes even physically, it is wrong!
Most of us enjoy the misfortune of others, be it a person who falls in front of us or maybe someone with a different accent, we find it amusing and laugh at them, laughing at others feels like a privilege and a source of entertainment. Least do we know that it is ‘us’ who are enjoying, not that person whose day just turned into a bad one or whose self-esteem we just hurt.
Clowning is all about happiness and revolves around the idea of having fun. While practicing this fascinating art, we learn new lessons every time and these are not just related to clowning but turn into life lessons which make us more humble and jolly human beings. One of the most important lesson we learn is - understanding the complexity of that thin line between making fun of others and having fun with others.
Clowning involves creating humour out of situations, things or tricks. This requires a keen observation of all the scenarios happening around us and developing some meaningful interpretations which in turn help us enhance our act and bring those worthy smiles on the faces of others. Those amusing colours, the hair and that red nose are a big part of this and can be considered a part of the act. The appearance makes others laugh and gives us an amusing look. They look so cool and funny... Don’t they? And that is the exact reason these props are used; to have the attention of people on the clown and not someone else.
During this we come across a very interesting scenario, which is when an individual becomes the centre of our amusement. This is a very critical point and leads to two situations, either we have fun with the person or we make fun of that person.
And, this is exactly where we need to bring our knowledge of how to be joyful without hurting someone. A clown makes everyone happy making a joke on oneself and not on anyone else. Making fun of some person can be funny for others but not for that person, No one would like it if you go in front of them and splash water on their face? Would you like it if someone does that to you? Surely the answer is a big NO.
Hence, the clown diverts everyone’s attention to self and engages with the people, entertaining everyone around, enjoying with them and having immense fun with them but not at their expense at any cost. This does not mean that the people are not involved, they always are. There are a few checks we might want to run before we do any activity that involves others, as clowns or normally. Asking ourselves a few questions like, Will it be hurtful to someone? Or will this offend anyone? Am I diverting the attention towards the person or towards the trick? Are we sensitive enough to not make fun of others? We must always remember not to cross the thin line.
Mr Pravin a.k.a Happy Uncle, a clown magician always greets everyone with Happy Birthday instead of hi or hello. This is a great and well-designed word. The greeting does not offend anyone, it immediately brings a smile and creates positive vibes. The best part of this is it leads to a contagious chain of laughter where everyone wonders why this person said Happy birthday, it's not my birthday and finds it funny and hard to digest without a streak of smile.
That is how we have fun with others and not make fun of others. Cheering up people can be a difficult job. But what is the fun if we do not learn something new every-time we make others laugh and smile!
Keep smiling.
Authored by Arsh Aggarwal
Edited by Clownselors
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