Monday, May 26, 2008
Circus Boors
The Romans pioneered the theory of governance that all you need to keep the common rabble happy is bread and circuses.
This past weekend I saw three circuses - or reasonable facsimiles thereof - so I'm pretty happy, except for having to deal with all the common rabble.
The best show of the weekend for me was Friday's performance of my son's dance troupe, but that's probably my proud-papa bias talking. The performance was on a theme of "Clowns and Gypsies". It was, therefore, a parody of a circus, which is a bit tough to do considering that circuses are already pretty big self-parodies these days. The professional, adult members of sonny-boy's troupe wound up the show with a moonlit flame-dancing act which I'm sure would wow any crowd anywhere in the world.
So far, so good. The dance performances were at a local arts festival, so we were dealing with arty types. Other than tolerating a few hippies and such, there was no down side to the event.
Next, we headed out of town Saturday to catch Walking With the Dinosaurs. It really is the definition of "fun for all ages". Educational, spectacular.... what's not to like about life-sized robot/puppet/mascot dinosaurs?
Well, I can tell you one thing that's not to like: some of the idiots who go to such shows. They made two separate announcements: "No flash photography". The first time, they tried to be nice and make a joke about it: "It might alarm the dinosaurs, which could have terrible consequences." The second time, they were blunt about it: "For the comfort and enjoyment of other patrons... "
Absolutely nobody listened. I had to shield my eyes from the non-stop blaze of camera flashes from beginning to end.
I did my bit to cow the people sitting within earshot of us.
"After 30 years of stand-up comedians mocking them, you'd think people with cameras at stadium events would get it. Flashes don't work much further than six feet in front of you!"
I complained to an usher and asked why more wasn't being done to enforce the rule.
"We tried the first night, but people just got surly and said 'why aren't you stopping that guy over there?' As it is, it's all we can do to keep people from taking video, which legally is our first responsibility," she said.
Oh well. Other than that, it was a well-mannered mob that cheered and clapped loudly at all the right parts and wasn't too pushy to leave when the show was over.
Not so much can be said about the crowd on Sunday, when we went to the Shrine Circus.
First, a funny aside. Outside the circus was the usual crew of animal rights protesters; probably much the same people as were at the arts festival on Friday. In the past, they protested the wild animal acts and I supported that, especially with regards to the elephant acts, which were never anything but a demonstration of human cruelty.
This year, they kicked up their protests a notch. Now, they're not only against wild animal shows but also domesticated animal shows i.e. horses and dogs. OK, that's getting ridiculous. And, as if to underline the ridiculousness, one of the protesters brought his dog along. I suppose he thought it looked poignant but then objectivity has never been a strong suit of the self-righteous.
The circus itself was an unexpected delight. One of the breathless
demands of the protesters was that circuses reorient themselves to human acrobatic acts. I don't think they are aware (or care to become aware) that many circuses are doing just that. Even this dinky little one-ring show had some acrobatics that were almost literally heart-stopping. I joined my kids in covering my eyes sometimes when the stunts became just too scary to watch.
But then there's the audience...
Needless to say, the average class of person who picks up a $5 Shriners ticket is going to be a few notches below those who buy a $50 Walking With the Dinosaurs ticket. Few members of the audience seemed to, um, have much experience with live theatre, shall we say.
The second - and I mean the very millisecond - that the ringmaster brought the performers out for the final ovation, over half the audience lept to their feet and rushed for the door. I felt so sorry for the performers, standing there bravely smiling and waving as these boors brushed past them without so much as acknowledging their existence.
My wife, the teacher, wasn't surprised: "That's just the way people are these days. No one thinks the rules apply to them anymore. Common courtesy is becoming rare."
But I live in hope. I remember in the 1980s that the boorish practice of talking out loud in movie theatres was much more common than it is now. Two decades of concerted effort by theatres and society at large has sharply reduced that, at least in my neck of the woods. We are still social animals and I remain convinced that peer pressure will eventually reestablish some level of civility.
What do you think?
posted by Mentok @ 5:08 p.m.,
4 Comments:
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At 10:42 a.m.,
Grumps said...
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Right on Mentok - is it the video game crowd or a small-town mentality in the big city that makes people act this way?
I've heard of and seen so many incidences of this kind of behaviour: people leaving a tied hockey game just to beat the traffic; people still leaving on their cell phones at events, even ones that costs $100 per; people coming and going much to the chagrin of other viewers; people who just can't SHUT UP AND WATCH THE SHOW!
These people need to realize that, if they are not completely dedicated to the show they're seeing; they SHOULD STAY HOME and watch Oprah instead. Everyone would be happier. -
At 10:52 a.m.,
Mentok said...
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Yes, I didn't even touch on cell phone etiquette. I'm in a mediation group and there's this one nimrod (er, I mean, beloved brother in Buddha) who always leaves his cell on while we're meditating. I don't think he's really getting the point of it all.
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At 1:00 p.m.,
said...
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about the whole beat-the-crowd mentality, i've abandoned it in favor of a more zen-like be-one-with-the-crowd attitude or better yet, a wait-til-the-crowd-is-gone one. what's the hurry? you'll sit in your seat waiting to get out or sit in your car, either way you're sitting still. : )
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At 3:54 p.m.,
adam said...
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Something is nudging me towards buying a copy of Bill Buford's 'Amongst the Thugs' at the moment - i keep seeing copies in charity shops for pennies. I had it before and as ever lent it out and forgot who to chase up. It's about being in crowd and losing your individuality completely, and is kind of interesting, in a 'nice middle class man slumming it with the oiks' way.
