Juggling With The End Of An Era

At The Greatest Show On Earth:2010

I wasn't one of those children who were frequently taken to the circus. Growing up, my parents took me to museums, the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, zoos and libraries in and around Canarsie. I remember going to an Easter parade and school trips usually included a visit to a theatre to see some type of play or musical that got our young creative juices flowing.

It wasn't until I began working for the Canarsie Courier that received tickets to see Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey's "Greatest Show on Earth," which will finally close its curtains at the end of May.  

I can't even begin to document the problems and adversities faced by circus performers. Animal cruelty, punishment, unfair treatment of tigers, cats, elephants...all which have reportedly led to the decline in ticket sales.

While many animal rights' groups coined this the "cruelest show on earth," I still think it's a sad day when you can no longer take your child to see a show where humans are performing some of the craziest physical challenges. They're taking exciting looking risks most of us wouldn't even try. A fire-eater? A tightrope walker? Acrobats who spend weeks - if not months - honing their balancing skills? Where else can you watch a show that makes you say, "Wow! How did they do that?"

Feld Entertainment has had an announcement posted on their web site that states the "high costs" of performances, along with the decline in ticket sales, has made the show unsustainable to the company. Of course, we all know that it's not just about "times they are a'changing." The more people who protest against the way animals are trained/tortured, the less people are likely to buy tickets to see the circus.

I do question the timing of all this protesting. Let's get real! Many circus companies survived for centuries. Why didn't animal cruelty come to light in the 1950s through the 2000s? Where were all the animal rights activists when the shows began?

Nowadays, with help from social media, videos of cruel treatment is constantly leaked to the public so that we finally get a "behind the scenes" look at how elephants, lions and horses are trained under unfair conditions.
What about the humans? How are those clowns treated? Any allergic reactions to all that paint they have wear on their face? Is the fire-eating man getting compensation for the horrid acid reflux he's probably developed years ago?
While circus performers have their own unions that enforce their rights and provide legal backing, animals don't have the same protection in that capacity. So why don't we just keep the circus about humans and NOT animals?

The handful of times I went to see the circus as an adult, I admired the time, effort, energy and training that went into the show. Even if it seemed unnecessary to whip an elephant in such a way that it would jump on its hindlegs, I was still amazed at the show overall!
Where else can you see so many colors, hear so many sounds, and smell so many foods only served at the circus? Closing the circus not only means the memories that can be made for many children no longer exist, it means the next generation will never know the value of watching a LIVE show performed by individuals who challenged their physical abilities.
They're only gonna be able to view those shows on YouTube. Watching clips of the circus will be tantamount to witnessing a duel from the gladiator days - when REAL brawn and battles to the death existed throughout the Roman Empire! Well, not that barbaric - but challenging performances that once took ultimate skill and practice will be a distant memory and future generations will never see that type of energy again!

Our Brooklyn community saw the beginning of the end when former digraced State Senator Carl Kruger protested a segment of the Cole Bros. Circus which included acrobatic cats being thrown around like rag dolls. The Democrat said it was cruel for an animal to risk its life for the sole purpose of entertainment. Following that wave of awakening about the circus, the negative attention just kept on growing.

No more acrobatics to challenge the masses!

But can a circus survive and draw crowds without any animals in the show? Trapeze artists and magicians perform acts that the average person may never master. I still think a tiny bicycle steered into a circle of flames by a fat clown is hilarious! I know it's "outside the "box" to state this, but the existence of a circus also gives children hope that maybe some day they can be part of a show that travels all over the world. When a kid isn't cut out for college or aiming to obtain a highfalutin degree, what's wrong with the appeal of joining the circus? 

There are plenty of human circus acts - including Cirque du Soleil - that enlighten and inspire the masses. It's sad that the Ringing Bros. performances are now associated with animal cruelty and is no longer the greatest show on earth. Nothing will ever replace it, but then again, that's show biz!