Tuesday, November 24, 2009

From Jim Cole


3715689259_198b0cc014, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.


Blog readers...are you getting sick and tired of the news media constantly comparing every sensational murder trial, celebrity divorce, and other high profile media events to a CIRCUS? I as one who loves the circus and it's people (well most of them) am very offended when I see this. It implies that the circus is a chaotic, dis-organized, corrupt and sleazy event.

To me as a circus fan, circus is a hobby. But to those of you who have made your living in circus, and may have a family heritage that goes back several generations in circus, this mis-use of the word CIRCUS must be very insulting . Such as:

Jon&Kate Plus 8: Just in time for circus's final act
Toronto Star
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS I have thus far managed to entirely avoid the public circus of domestic dysfunction that is – and now, thankfully, hopefully, ...



White House turns terrorists' trials into a circus
The Tennessean
Now, we risk turning what should be a formality before an execution into a circus sideshow. The only conceivable reason to keep Mohammed and his accomplices ...



Casey Anthony's traveling circus Barnum would be proud
Examiner.com
AP Photo of a traveling circus; This circus with it's elephant and clowns has nothing on the…



Let's get some comments on this please.

Jimmy Cole

Posted by Buckles at 11/24/2009 07:27:00 AM

23 comments:

Buckles said...

Kenneth Feld was once quoted in the Press as being offended when the United States Congress was referred to as a "circus".
Stating that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was well organized, smoothly operated, successfully budgeted and continually showed a profit.

24 November, 2009 07:43
Casey McCoy Cainan said...

"It implies that the circus is a chaotic, dis-organized, corrupt and sleazy event"

Mr. Cole,
I am not agreeing with the use of the word as such. However, haven't you been to enough shows to see all of the above covered? The better ones I have worked for were at the least chaotic and some what dis-organized at times. And well, the worst run a gambit from sleazy to corrupt (over selling a venue with phone tickets or FREE tickets with a 10.00 service charge that you can't read at the bottom does count as corrupt and sleazy rite?)
I love the circus business, but stereotypes don't just come from nowhere.

24 November, 2009 07:44
Jimmy Cole said...

There is currenty a project being discussed within the CFA to possibly send a news release to the Associated Press and other mainsteam news media organizations that would inform them that their mis-use of the word CIRCUS is very inappropriate.

It is very important that we hear from others with their opinions on this.

Also, well said Mr. Feld!

24 November, 2009 07:53
Anonymous said...

Congress cannot be a circus, it doesn't have animals and they don't perform in a ring. For the same reason, the typical Soleil presentation is not a circus, but it does provide great entertainments.

The inference in comparing the arbitrary functions of a legislative body with a ring show is that the circus is chaotic, unplanned and looking all busy at once. This we know is entirely untrue; the circus has a pre-planned program, each act in order, with scripted elements, music and action. Does Congress hve a script or score? They do schedule votes, debate and such.

In the 19th century, the pulpit ranted against circus people because the preachers judged them to be accomplishing no worthwhile purpose or function, making no goods and providing no service. That had changed by the time of WWII, when the federal government determined to keep the shows going because they buoyed up spirits on the home front. If the circus could continue, that meant the future was secure.

In preparation for the media release objecting to the improper use of the word "circus," I'd recommend searching the origins of the term in the Oxford English Dictionary as well as in Google and Google Books. Be certain of what you say before objecting to another's use.

Are you willing to enter into a debate on the difference between a "circus," by long-time definition, and an "arena show" that lacks rings, and the implications thereof?

You might also check into what it takes to alter word usage, from formal definition to slang.

Have the pronouncement not just lodge the objection to alternative meaning, but also accomplish another purposeful action in advocating for the circus. Good luck!

24 November, 2009 09:32
Anonymous said...

I too am offended, as a Circus Fan and for all our many friends who have been "with it and for it", in many cases, for generations.
Nothing in this world is perfect, but I'll take the Circus any day before the plethora of pandering poop that permeates everywhere else.
I also apologize to all you showfolks; in the past I have seen and heard the media referring
to all sorts of sordid things as "a circus" and sat there and cursed out loud at the TV. It is way overdue for me/us to get off our butts and start writing and calling the media and doing something about it...and my compliments to Mr Feld, he should be quoted more often and thank you Jim Cole for what I hope is a great big wake up call.

Paul Gutheil

PS Just heard a note on the news that some outfit did a poll in NY State......71% of those polled felt that the NY State legislature needed a radical overhaul and 11% felt it was broken beyond repair. I'm wondering how long it will take to drag Circus into the followups.



Paul Gutheil

24 November, 2009 09:50
Anonymous said...

Buzz words like "circus" seem to come and go in the public's eye--and particularly in the media. I.e., remember when celebrities use to live in "tony" apartments and wore "tony" clothes to "tony" nightclubs?

As a former TV and newspaper reporter, I can assure you that the media will use "circus" to refer to sporting events, city hall squabbles and the tours of today's singing idols. It is a part of our everyday lexicon that may, or may not, fade into the background.
In the meantime, I fear that trying to encourage people not to apply "circus" to non-circus activities will continue to be as frustrating as pleading with your 2-year-old grandchild to "stop sucking your thumb." I'm not sure we have an adequate pacifier to substitute for "circus."
How's that for a "turkey"?
Happy Thanksgiving, all.
Lane Talburt

24 November, 2009 10:08
Mike Naughton said...

The media started using the phrase in comparison, as in "...as a three ring circus".

With the demise of three ring shows the phrase got cut to just the word circus.

Isn't it sad that these reporters don't have the brain power to come up with another adjective?

They should demand a refund on their college tuition, someone in the English department ripped them off.

Suggestions to the suggestion-less, in the spirit of the Thanksgiving season:

Congress is a circus --(now find a word)

Congress in feckless.
Congress in malfunctional.
Congress is in a state of frenzy.

Anyone, anyone?

24 November, 2009 11:32
Mike Naughton said...

Ask the reporter and editors at the NEW YORK TIMES...

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/business/media/asktheeditors.html

Let's ask them.

24 November, 2009 11:51
Anonymous said...

While one group of circus fans/performers is castigating the media for misappropriating the term "circus," another will be seeking media support for local circus dates and pro-circus-animal campaigns. Reporters and editors are just as independent-minded as circus producers. And just how many dust ups have you won lately against the owners?

Lane

24 November, 2009 15:34
Anonymous said...

THe whole of government is run more like a carnival "shell game!!Public servants they are called but in reality "paid shills!!"
The circus has always held a special place in my life.Congress is a bunch of bottom feeders .Eating off the fat of the land while telling us to sacrifice.

24 November, 2009 15:59
Buckles said...

I remember the politician making his first campaign speech, "I never made a dishonest dollar in my life!
All I want is a chance!"

24 November, 2009 16:59
Anonymous said...

Paul,
Nice alliteration.
Bob Kitto

24 November, 2009 18:42
Curator of the Unusual... said...

Sportscasters always crack.."He made a "Circus catch!".."...Are we going to bombard ole' "Verne Lundquist" with Letters of discontent also???....
Jim Zajicek

24 November, 2009 18:51
Curator of the Unusual.. said...

Mr. Anonymous...

A "Shell Game"???...
More like a "Razzle"...
no matter what numbers Politicians pull-up..whether for Taxes..or otherwise...they Never add up to a "winning-combination"....

Jim Zajicek

24 November, 2009 19:13
Casey McCoy Cainan said...

I wonder if 100 years ago Circus fans were B!@#$ing about the use of "Jumbo" and "Nut" as adjectives,,,LOL

Honestly, I think we are at a point in circus history were we should be glad to see the word "CIRCUS" printed in any context...

24 November, 2009 19:23
Randy Peterson said...

I agree with Casey,And Jim,
we all whine about tree huggers,and political corectness,and if we all start whining about how the word CIRCUS is used we are no better than them!!
Randy Peterson

24 November, 2009 21:00
Jimmy Cole said...

It's not so bad when a sports reporter writes about a basketball player making a spectacular shot and calling it a "circus act". But when a despicable act like a terrorist bombing or the murder of an inocent child is compared to a "circus"...that is going way too far!

If the media wishes to draw a comparison in the entertainment world...then compare such events to the "Jerry Springer Show".

Jimmy Cole

24 November, 2009 21:18
Wade G. Burck said...

Zych and Casey,
Well said!!!!!!! This whole deal has been sounding like an Obama Whine Fest.
Wade Burck

24 November, 2009 21:29
Jim Zajicek said...

Jimmy Cole...

I Blame it all on the "Funsters"...apparently The problem you speak of stems from the confusion Reporters veiwed watching the Ole "Fire-house" gag, or perhaps the "Dentist" gag...Buckles...could versions of the time-honored "Atomic-Hairgrower" also be a culprit???..

24 November, 2009 23:09
johnny herriott said...

How about the usage in referring to some small time, not so neat event being referred to as a "dog and pony show". Wonder where tat ever came from. I always wanted to announce our dog and pony acts,[almost 100 years of Herriotts] as just that. Seems that in old days Gentry Bros. and others were very popular American entertainment. Just saw daughter Laura with Loomis Bros. and was amazed at how big a hit the dog riding on the pony is. Can't beat it. tried and proven. Iam so proud to be from a "CIRCUS FAMILY DOG AND PONY SHOW'". I believe Sue Lenz and Florrie Stephenson will bear me out.

25 November, 2009 08:47
Jimmy Cole said...

Yes, there is some circus terminology that has made it's way into our popular vocabulary, and we should be proud of that.

But using the word "Circus" when we are talking about the trials of the 9-11 terrorists and the murderer of a small child is so very WRONG!

25 November, 2009 10:16
David Carlyon said...

Historically, the use of "circus" to mean wild confusion emerged in the late 1800s, as an allusion to the overwhelming sights and sounds of the new, giant three-ring circuses. Like most slang that survives, it was concise and readily understood. That makes it a testament to the importance of circus in America. Everybody had seen those giant spectacles, and been overwhelmed by the riot of action, so everybody knew what it meant to say “it’s a circus around here.”

(“Dog and pony show” derives from the same era, when smaller shows with no animals but dogs and ponies entertained in places too small for Forepaugh, Coup and Barnum, and the Ringling boys to go.)

Around the same time, “playing circus” also came to mean an orgy with prostitutes. Circus had originally been rowdy adult fare but by the late 1800s, it had transformed into what we know now, something sweet and innocent for the whole family. Flipping that wholesome meaning on its head, which slang often does, “circus” then also came to mean a grand spectacle in a brothel.

Of course this can be offensive but language usually develops despite complaints. Look at how many slang terms appear in other comments to Jim’s posting, none of them in their original meaning but still making their point: rite, the press, media, poop, idol, shell game, bottom feeder, tree hugger, whine fest.

25 November, 2009 14:36
Anonymous said...

To towners, a Circus may seem like a mass of confusion, but to Showfolks, everyone knows exactly what they are doing and where they need to be. The media usually arrives AFTER the news has been made and tries to make up for it! Case closed!
:-)
Cindy Potter

25 November, 2009 17:35

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