Mime

Fear is the Mime Killer

I was requested, nay, demanded of, by more than one of my readers (hi ), that I needed to make my clowning analysis pieces into a triumvirate. When I first published this series of clowning essays, I bought myself some time by writing a little clown-adjacent memoir-y piece, talking about my tabor and one specific clowning role that I experienced, with that object’s attachment to the practice. I inserted that one into my clowning discourse, because once I started drafting this third in the sort-of trilogy, I got way deeper than I predicted, and so I needed time to sort all this out. So. 

Here’s the brief (apparently inspirational) paragraph where I mention mimes & my theory of why they’re eerie, from my second clowning deep-dive, on The Fool:

“Related to this concept (along with the Shamanic concepts I introduced in Part 1) is the hatred/fear of mimes. Why? Mimes make things visible that are invisible, and they do things with their bodies that are impossible. This, along with the classic blank-faced mask-like mime makeup adds up to my theory: that people hate mimes because of a version of the Uncanny Valley. It’s just like having a fear of realistic robots or animated mannequins. Same reason people are uncomfortable around mimes. It’s a pet theory of mine, and I’m sticking to it. What do you think?”

After my initial spark of a generative draft, I started nerding out and talking through some fascinating concepts related to this fear of mimes, what mimes are, and what their role is in the wider world of the sacred clown. And so I want to share what I found with you, by showing a few concrete examples of mimes and their particular art first, so you can vividly see what I’m talking about when I talk about mimes, before I go into a bit of critical theory. Ready? 

Do I need to give you a content warning? Nahh, you’ll be fine. Trust me.

Example: Javier Botet

I won’t post it, but go look for Botet’s movement test