The Financial Times a few weeks made the extraordinary appraisal of the man who Today will be the Prime Minister of these Islands, with the headline
Allan Beattie wrote,
There are many comparisons to Boris Johnson to a Clown in the Media, but I think that if we are to compare him in this way , it should be Pennywise the title character in Stephen King's 1986 horror novel It. The character is an ancient cosmic evil which preys upon the children of Derry, Maine, roughly every 27 years, using a variety of powers that include the ability to shapeshift, manipulate, and go unnoticed by adults. During the course of the story, it primarily appears in the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown
In the novel, like Johnson It is a monster that can shapeshift and change forms. Pennywise the Clown is It's most used form., but we are likely to see a very nasty side of him soon.
We should be looking at Johnson as what he is a malignant evil in the pennywise mode and not a a jovial uncle in a Clown Suit.
Calling Boris Johnson a clown is unfair to clowns
Allan Beattie wrote,
You don’t have to read too many profiles of Boris Johnson before you notice a particular epithet recur. People have many and varied opinions about the odds-on favourite to be Britain’s next prime minister. But almost everyone, it appears, thinks he is a clown. It’s easy to see why. The eccentric appearance, at least by politicians’ standards: wild hair, unkempt dress. The exaggerated gestures: windmilling arms, excitable hands. The outlandish props: waving around a kipper at a hustings to illustrate a (completely false) claim about British fishing and Brexit. Mr Johnson has a talent for comic showmanship above and beyond the arch verbal wit typical of British political humour. Yet while the term “clown” is often used as an insult, it is in fact a compliment Mr Johnson does not deserve. Clowning is a noble art form animated by a spirit he does not share. Britain’s community of professional clowns is fizzing with indignation that their calling is thus being traduced by association. Certainly, clowning uses techniques such as exaggerated movement and incongruous clothing, derived from centuries-old European traditions of rambunctious physical theatre. But true clowning is about more than slapstick. Jack Stark, a British clown well known on the theatre and cabaret circuit, says: “Clowns can be clumsy and gaffe-prone, and live in a world of chaos. But how they respond to that world is different. Clowns want to make things better. Boris uses his act to get himself out of troubles of his own making.”
There are many comparisons to Boris Johnson to a Clown in the Media, but I think that if we are to compare him in this way , it should be Pennywise the title character in Stephen King's 1986 horror novel It. The character is an ancient cosmic evil which preys upon the children of Derry, Maine, roughly every 27 years, using a variety of powers that include the ability to shapeshift, manipulate, and go unnoticed by adults. During the course of the story, it primarily appears in the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown
In the novel, like Johnson It is a monster that can shapeshift and change forms. Pennywise the Clown is It's most used form., but we are likely to see a very nasty side of him soon.
We should be looking at Johnson as what he is a malignant evil in the pennywise mode and not a a jovial uncle in a Clown Suit.
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