12/10 (Tue.) Where is Ronald McDonald?(麥當勞叔叔) (Host: Bernie)

[Bernie Chiu]

Hey guys, long time no see. It's your host for 12/10, Bernie, and we are going to talk about Clown.

Have you ever noticed the famous mascot of McDonald's "Ronald McDonald" disappeared in recent years? Maybe kids nowadays don't even know this character in the first place! The reason that the company decided to make Ronald McDonald appear less than before is public's fear of clown these days. Some people say this "clown phobia" is caused by Pennywise in Stephen King's famous novel/film adaptation "It" and Joker in DC Universe. But what's the origin of this "evil clown" image? And what's the consequences of this phenomena? Let's talk about it!

Here's a great summary about this topic made by a youtuber named 呱吉 (Mandarin). If you don't have much time to prepare, please check this out!
【呱吉】呱吉脫殼屑EP14：你為什麼要怕小丑？

Session 1
good and evil clown experiences
story of Ronald Mcdonald
Retirement of Ronald McDonald
origin of killer clown
Real life killer clown

1. Have you seen the movie "Batman" or "It"? Talk about how you feel about those clown characters in the movie.
2. What's your childhood memory about clown? Have you seen a circus performance before? Did you like Ronald McDonald when you were little?

Session 2
2016 clown sightings
2016 clown sightings
Clown president: 'We don't want to scare people'

1. Obviously those killer clown movie are related to these bad incidents in some extent, but do you think those movie makers should take the responsibility? or who should be blamed?
2. While Ronald McDonald became jobless, many real life professional clown are losing their job too! Can you come up an idea to fix this problem?
3. What's your perception of clown right now? Do you find it funny or scary?

*******************************************************************************************************************************************
Agenda:
6:50~ 7:00pm Greetings & Free Talk / Ordering Beverage or Meal / Getting Newcomer’s Information
7:00 ~ 7:20pm Opening Remarks / Newcomer’s Self-introduction / Grouping
(Session I)
7:20 ~ 8:00pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
8:00 ~ 8:20pm Summarization (20 mins)
8:20 ~ 8:30pm Regrouping / Instruction Giving / Taking a 10 Minutes Break (Intermission)
(Session II)
8:30 ~ 9:10pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
9:10 ~ 9:30pm Summarization / Concluding Remarks / Announcements (20 mins) ********************************************************************************************************************************************
聚會日期：列於該貼文主題內
聚會時間：請準時 7:00 pm 到 ~ 約 9:30 pm 左右結束
星期二聚會地點：丹堤濟南店
地址、電話：台北市濟南路三段25號 地圖 (02) 2740-2350
捷運站：板南線 忠孝新生站 3 號出口
走法：出忠孝新生站 3 號出口後，沿著巷子(忠孝東路三段10巷)走約 2 分鐘，到了濟南路口，左轉走約 2 分鐘即可看到。
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[Iris Wu]

When I was little, I enjoyed watching the funny tricks of a magic clown, and only saw the amazing side of a circus show. Until someday I read behind-the-scenes stories about these clowns and stuntmen, their training, and their daily life. I knew that behind the funny face, there could be deep sorrow. From that on, I did not enjoy circus shows that much anymore, because I wasn’t sure for them it is a torture or pride to perform.

But I do enjoy reading the articles about the iconic character, Ronald McDonald’s legend. I used to work in the IT department of a temp staffing agency. They dispatch “Santa Claus” to malls or anywhere needs a Santa during the holiday season. I wonder if it happened that a series killer were dressed like a Santa, would Santa Claus be banned? I'd like to think Ronald McDonald's fading away mainly is because the kids "have moved on"!

[Luis Ko]

my impression of clown is always not so good. maybe that's because there has never been such circus experience in my life. nor were circus and clown culture in Taiwan. therefore, i don't think they are something enjoyable or funny, though that's the image of them from screen, at least for most of the time. actually the only one or two impressions, for which i can't really recall, i had of them were from Taiwanese movies stared by 許不了and 陳博正, and it seems both of them in the movies were quite pathetic. the other reason i can think of is because of clowns' make-up. it prevents people from recognizing their identities, thus makes them look quite terrifying in incongruous settings, if it's not seen in a circus. guess that's also one of the reasons why clown would evoke the feeling of fear among people after those horrible clown characters showed up.

right, that's just my personal opinion, which makes Iris's Santa question even more appealing to me haa~