Historically and transculturally, who we now label as “clowns” have served a variety of purposes under an even more varied plethora of titles- from the African pygmies known as Dangas in the royal courts of the Egyptian Fifth Dynasty, to the Heyoka of the Dakota and Lakota tribes, to the evil coulrophobia-inducing Pagliacci and Pennywise-esque characters- but they are all comic performers, descendant from the jester/fool archetypes in some monarchical cultures (ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome), but also of the trickster in others (Dakota and Lakota).

From an intercultural perspective, the clown blurs the lines between performance and reality, intention and accident (or instinct), tradition and empiricism, and (especially recently) between comedy and horror. The clown is a cultural mirror, and their mask- usually white, whether painted or prosthetic- allows for the audience’s (society’s) projections. In a culture such as that of the Lakota and Dakota, this projection encourages an ever-evolving self-reflection both on the cultural and individual levels. A continuous challenge of values by the Heyoka keeps the community in check, constantly reminding them that tradition and status quo are not extrahumanly-established, status-neutral, do-no-evil forces controlling the chaos of life, but something defined and given life by their practitioners, and when necessary can and should be violated for the sake of those practitioners. Sometimes that sake is pure comedy, but never to induce fruitless fear, and always for the greater good of cultural evolution.

Apologies, but I could not maintain my REST IN POWER and GOFUNDME page, psychologically nor physically speaking. If anyone who is interested could work with me to keep it up, I would be extremely grateful.

I see tens of crowdfunds every week for families in Falasteen, Sudan, DRC, and impoverished (especially queer) peoples across the globe… it would mean a lot to me to be able to promote them as much as possible, but I don’t have the time or energy to do it alone. Much love.

Ares Ellis, senior in film studies at USC, filmmaker and academic writer, pursuant director, professor, and lawyer. I want to be both a filmmaker and researcher, fusing my skills in both fields for my art and ongoing education. Since sophomore year in high school, I’ve been interested in independent research (especially during the COVID lockdown), and when I realized during my final high school years that I should focus on filmmaking more than lawyering or writing novels, film studies presented the perfect segue.

Interestingly enough, many of the pursuant filmmakers at USC hate my major’s classes- of which other SCA students only have to take a select few- claiming that cinema studies classes were essentially useless and redundant (including men complaining about unlearning the male gaze!), and they just wanted to hop right into practice. If this characterizes part of our future generation of filmmakers- especially considering this is USC of all places- then it’s my mission to try even harder to counteract these sentiments. How dangerous that is: to produce art without unlearning the harmful beliefs you could be reproducing, the biases with which you could be (re)creating, and the destructive system you’re clearly invested in upholding! Any psychologist (or critical thinker) could tell you that art and creativity expose some of our most primal beliefs and notions, about others and ourselves. Anyone working in this studio must be open to unlearning these self-destructive notions as well.

The “serious clown” moniker is from a friend back home. He said “you’re like a serious clown,” and I thought… that would make a dope production company name. And here we are! If you’ve made it this far, thank you and kudos, cuz I talk a lot.