It Analysis: Why Pennywise is Actually a Good Clown 

When I was finally old enough to articulate why clowns unnerved me, I could only admit that no one is really that happy. At least the sad clowns are honest.

I'll add one extra detail; the scary clown trope really seemed to grow in popularity after the news of John Wayne Gacy broke. This, I believe, is what alerted the American public to a clown's potential for danger and it's something profesional clowning has never fully recovered from.

"They're confronted with the unfairness of life before they're too old to believe they can't do anything about it." The raw power of that line alone.

This was a great analysis, I loved how you delved into the original intent of clowns and how it was sort of diluted overtime. But the fact that evil clowns like the Joker and Pennywise really do underscore the ignorance and ambivalence of so many grown people, actually stays true to the heart of clowning, was mind blowing, I can tell you put a lot of work into this. You deserve way more attention but I look forward to more

This is the person we need breaking down analyzing the movies today.

"They're confronted with the unfairness of life before they're too old to believe they can't do anything about it" goes so insanely hard

Your point about Pennywise’s caricature of the casual cruelty of adults is honestly what sold me on this take. If someone had asked me what I thought Pennywise’s angle was before now, I’d have said something to the effect of “the monster has an alien, arguably infantile concept of human behavior. What it understands is terror. Terror requires a baseline of familiarity/safety from which to build tension and fear, so a clown acts as an almost impersonal vehicle for a mechanical extraction of fear from the most potent and vulnerable subject: a child.” I dig your historical grounding of clowns as a cultural fixture, though I think the desensitization-to-current-events angle is a bit of a cop out given the era the story was originally written. I think there’s a bit more innate darkness in the lived experiences of the members of the Losers Club. The town has already shown them a real version of casual cruelty in their varying forms isolation, alienation, and abuse. I think you could argue that Pennywise sees Derry as an easy place to camouflage itself and simply embody a more focused, predatory version of what already exists.

As someone queer, your analysis on clowns being a parody of adult life and pennywise taking that to the most grotesque extreme made me think of Richie as a gay character in a _whole_ new light. I think... and ok stay with me here... non-queer society is unsettled by us for a lot of the same reasons they're unsettled by clowns. We're seen as a distortion of "real" adult life, at best as silly people playing pretend who can be humored to some degree, and at worst dangerous, particularly towards children. Much of the culture we've built to cope with this is very clown like too. I mean we literally have a long history of meeting in underground clubs wearing over the top costumes to satirically play act the adult experiences we weren't allowed to aspire to. Richie is a comedian, yet he runs his career into the ground being unable to find it in him to escape the invulnerable safety of crude humor. Richie says his fear is "clowns" to cover up that Pennywise is actually taunting him about his sexuality, but I don't think he's lying. It's just that he's afraid that in the eyes of everyone he's ever known, _he_ will be the clown, and not in a way he can carefully control.

"They're confronted with the unfairness of life before they're too old to believe they can't do anything about it. And that lack of adult practicality is what makes them powerful." I don't know why this line hit me the way it did, but it's absolute fire. Growing up sucks, dude.

Your conclusion resonates. Something horribly tragic happened in my life. Thereafter, i got a good close look at which people in my life are true friends. That’s valuable, yet i’m not sure if i think i’m better off, for knowing that a huge percentage of people in my life have the empathy of a sack of cat litter. Some of what you said here really hit home. As for me, i’ve always fought the clown. Certainly since my life changed, but also before, i have been one who didn’t run from others for going through bad times or for expressing uncomfortable emotions. It has been pretty saddening to see how little most of the people around me are interested in being on the team, fighting that clown. It’s not like i’m doing any better than anyone else, i’m a human being and people are complicated. But it is deeply important to me not to run away from my people when they’re in an hour of need. Always has been. But i think that’s table stakes for being a trustworthy human being. Thanks for the thoughtful video. 10/10

Dude I freaking love this to death! This is probably the best theory that has to do with IT out there! You definitely deserve a LOT more people watch this and subscribe to your channel this was very well done!

"As slack-jawed and BOVINE as the adults of DAIRY seem to be..." I see what you did.

I think one reason why people don't like clowns is that they interact with the audience. Not only breaking the fourth wall, which is kinda unnerving on its own, but also making fun of the audience member they interact with. As a bullying survivor (I use that word intentionally) I understand people having hangups about being made the butt of the joke, especially after they interacted with someone else in good faith.

i think pennywise is genuinely funny

Hello, as a Mexican this speaks a lot to me. Thank you. Entertainment should not be limited to a group. Clowns should be celebrated. See bigtop burger as a great example of what clowns could be in a fun way to everybody.

Bill Skarsgård was perfectly good as Pennywise. Man, he's an dreamy actor.

I remember seeing on the news when It 2017 first came out that there was a clown-only screening that someone hosted. You had to be a professional clown to get in and you had to dress up, and you got exclusive access to the clown-only after party. Sounded like a riot. I wish I was a clown.

I've always adored clowns, never understood why people find them scary, and I believe the only reason Americans seem to find clowns scary is entirely because of the movie It. I never saw that movie as a child but my cousin did and she grew up scared of clowns. Horror movies have a tendency of taking harmless things and suddenly make them a threat, it's why little girls with long hair covering their faces all of a sudden became scary after The Ring. To me it feels like there's no logic behind it other than a movie making us feel threatened by something that isn't supposed to hurt us. Also I would like to add that I also grew up with Mexican tv and a very famous Mexican clown I grew up with is called Cepillin, I had a tape with his music and every birthday my mom would play his version of Las Mañanitas. So yeah that's probably why I love clowns too lol

Such a refreshing change to hear a movie analysis from a perspective you've never even thought of. Excellent job.

The entertaining and scary aspect of the clown is the excessive emotion, the hyperbolic looks and reactions. They're unpredictable. They're manic. That's why Curry was both funnier and scarier than Skarsgaard (thought both were good).

One more thing about the book, which almost is impossible to transport in firlm without making the movie incredible dark: Pennywise is evil and your explanation of it is point on. But there are also the adults in Derry (and the older teens), which are absolutely disgusting in their behavioral nature when it comes to community and social empathy. It is almost as if the approximation with which Pennywise is trying to mirror human behavior, is again a very presize parody of the actual adults, something clowns have meant to mirror and exaggerate historically.

It sounds like clownery as a form of humour would go amazing with jokes about working in an office

it's nice to find other clown apologists out there, and as a clown lover i have long avoided the it films, i think you have convinced me to give it a chance.

the clown just evolved into the standup comedian is all. the jester has always been and will always be there to point out the elephant in the room.

As I saw your clip of Stitches the Clown halfway in, I wanted to just say that stitches was also a terrific clown, but only after he died. He never dropped the clownery for a moment

Why hasn't this Video/Channel got 700 Hundred Billion Views and Subscribers? I mean you really did a Fantastic job on the subject of clowns and the reasoning behind the whole concept of everything in this video. I for one, have always liked Clowns. Whether be the multiple archetypes seen in numerous Tv shows, Movies, Cartoons,and Comics. Or just the flat out "Scary Clown" on the prowl. Lol Anyway thanks for making this video, even though there are other videos like this one. But I think you really hit the nail on the head on this one with Historical Facts and Valid view points as well. Have a nice day and take care.

"the more you train yourself to ignore, the more complicit you become in any bad thing that happens around you" - I'm on a binge of your old videos, and they are just so consistently good and interesting.

this is SUCH a good analysis. loved how the 2017 made the history of the town significant, as it shows how easily people inherit and slip into apathy throughout atrocities and time. will be thinking about this for days, thank you

5:17 this might be the best video essay channel of its kind on the platform. Holy s you're a freakin' good writer n analyst.

The child singing mid video was absolutely perfect. Super unsettling and great

this is very powerful and well made

I'm late to the party, but this channel is awesome.I've been binge watching the hell out of it.

Órale!! 2:41 Cepillín represent!! Mariana love how you get the Mexican cultural discourse in these videos!

This channel is underrated! People need to stop clowning around and subscribe...

Scary/interesting movie clown recommendation: "Balada triste de trompeta", a Spanish horror-fantasy-historic-over-the-top-nightmare. Absolutely love it.

this is such an amazingly succinct analysis of clowns and IT, like holy hell what a tight script! and fantastic editing! thanks for your work!

excellent video -- glad I found your channel

I think Pennywise is a fantastic clown. I mean, I burst out laughing the moment he ate Georgie's arm.

I don't know much about Latin American tv but this would explain why clowns are so popular in Helluva Boss.

When I think Evil Clown I still think Boris Johnson

I Just stumbled across your channel today - and Im HOOKED. And the fact that you ended this with an Anthrax track from my childhood just makes me like you even more! You work is really on point and your delivery is smart, funny and authentic. Bravo!

This is a good video to help adults who are afraid of regular, professional clowns to understand their fear and possibly recover from it.

Omg your takes on literally everything are amazing 🙌🏻

I always wondered as a kid what Pennywise would do to a kid who feared eternal darkness and oblivion, where one grows increasingly mad as a disembodied consciousness with no external input. Thanks to a death in the family at an early age, less than satisfactory explanations from trusted adults about what 'happens' to people when they die, and an exposure to Metallica's song One due to my older sister's kick ass taste in music. I still kinda chuckle darkly to myself imagining him fixing me in his hypnotic gaze and going "Fuck. A philosopher. You guys really know how to ruin a good time. I don't do abstract concepts".

The 2017 version left me asking the question, “What’s scarier, a mass murderer or the society that produces them?”

Excellent analysis and hope to see more from you. Appreciate the research that goes into this.

I love your channel so much! Great Video Essay!

So much hard work put into this, I applaud you friend! Although for me it’s literally the aesthetic that creeps me out.

This video is great! Very interesting perspective on Pennywise, really changed my viewpoint! Also awesome channel, hope it grows a lot bigger, you deserve it!! ^^

Check out the movie "Balada Triste de Trompeta" (The Last Circus in english) from 2010 its a dark comedy set in Francoist Spain in the 70s and its about two circus clowns going murderous towards each other over a woman they desire. Their conflict is a metaphor of the Spanish Civil War and its fallout. At the start of the movie the protag's dad goes in battle still in a drag clown costume. Then later when he himself snaps he makes an improvised clown costume using a priest's clothing and hat. Brilliant underrated masterpiece that also uses clowns for satirical/provocative purposes.

I'm so glad I found this channel, from your AOT video to this. Now I understand why clowns make me upset.

It's been A WHILE since I last saw someone saying "I don't hate clowns"! As I said in another comment, US's culture bleeds into other parts of the world with different histories (it can be seen in our view of racism as of late, to take a "morally" good example over a bad one, since we non-US citizens are learning from movements like Black Lives Matter) and it truly feels like our collective view on clowns is no different. So yeah, I think you being at least half POC and having seen other parts of the world besides the US absolutely benefits your essays. So glad of having discovered you.

This is weird to me because I feel like growing up in Mexico I always saw kids being afraid of clowns and I never thought about how our culture sees clowns, but this video made me think about it more and I think the reason why kids of my generation were scared of clowns was because of USA influence, aka, It, which was popular when I was a kid. So really we were passed down the “fear” of clowns by Americans through hollywood

i am a HUGE it fan. this is beautifully written!

OH NO PLATANITO hahahaha never thought I would see him here lol

RU-vid recommended your 2022 Thing video. I was instantly impressed, subbed, and clicked on this one. Fantastic writing and presentation. Can't wait to view the rest. Keep up the great work!

6:08 yes! The reason I liked It '17 a lot was cause they shot Pennywise less like a ghost story and more like a monster movie. Just this big horrifying harlequin xenomorph toying with you like an orca with a seal.

,,Bad disguise..." Pennywise: Am I a joke to you ? xD

very well researched!

Something I think makes clowns creepy is the same thing that makes old media like VHS, reel to reel film etc fit in horror. It's antiquated and therefore associated with memories only. Like, the only "genuine" clown feels like something old and dead or something

Wow now I know Pennywise is actually a good guy

I'm at a show, I realize, "Oh no, there's a damn clown?" -- that's the extent of fear I suffer with clowns, the fear of being bored to death.

This was a lot of fun! Im a clown and don't perform for children. The horror/monster clown is interesting to me, and I think part of why lots of my mentors are very against using traditional clown aesthetics. Some of my favourite clowns bill themselves just as 'comedy' and never wear a nose to avoid assumptions or associations. I'm neither for or against it but I'm it's interesting to think of how this niche performance discipline interfaces with the pop culture conception - I can't think of too many others with this exact issue. Maybe I need to try embodying the 'evil clown' for a bit. Do you have much of thought of bouffon and how that factors into all this?

beautifully written

Intelligent and concise analysis! I'm subbing and looking forward to binging your content!

Man you really did your research, these videos are so underrated. Maybe its because you also make them scary lol. 10/10 genius writing

Woah ! This is a really good video. I loved it.

I watched two of your videos and I was convinced to subscribe. Dang, I love you analysis. Your "The Thing" video was the first one I watched. I waited to subscribe after seeing your second video to see if you really could bottle lightning. Yup. You can.

Another thing to consider is the use of white face paint. In Japanese culture, white is the color of death. In the bible, death rides a white-green horse. The only people besides clowns with faces that pale are corpses (and people with albinism, who are often treated with suspicion). So, to see someone with such a deathly skin tone acting so lively might, subconsciously, be an unnerving juxtaposition for a lot of people.

"But Doctor, I am Pennywise!"

Haha awesome video and outro

I was never scared of clowns and I remember reading an interview that Stephen King's inspiration for Pennywise came up when he met a Ronald McDonald actor seated in first class smoking a cigarette and ordering a gin tonic. That would have the opposite effect on me XD Seeing a clown drinking booze and smoking would show under that makeup he's human and just indulging his vices.

I'm also not afraid of clowns because I watched The Big Comfy Couch as a kid and the main character is a clown. Her name is Loonette. I also went to the circus a lot. Also I'm a disney fan. The same idea of not knowing whose in there applies to Costume characters like Mickey Mouse. It might be even worse because some blob could be in there

That's actually a very good video.

I love learning to look at something in a new way, thanks.

I rly like ur content. Keep making more!

My I dont find clowns scary because I love the idea of. them u really captured that thank u =)

Man ur story is good I probably like it Soo much

Hell yes. I love what you said towards the end, about how unchecked learned apathy through oppression that affects us all (though to what degree depends on your marginalization) as we grow up can make us *all* ignore when someone in our community needs help. We're taught even in caregiving, where it is literally my job to care, to treat the individuals I look after with suspicion. It's vile. And fuck that. I will always do my best to fuck up that clown.

I’ve always loved clowns.

As someone who has been told I'd never actually do anything with life and am now training to be a medical police officer I can say that I will never loose my drive to help another and in meny ocatioms I have helped somebody when everyone just ignored them

Now I need to look up harlequins

Thank you for not doing the "Curry is better than Skarsgård meh meh meh" or the other way around... unlike movies like The Thing which you've already covered the "It" remake and the original are both awesome films and I do get a teeny tiny bit annoyed when people try to compare them as which one is better because there's so much more to consider like what was the horror genre like doing the time of release and the budget of the movie... now I am a huge fan boy of the old It and absolutely love Tim Curry in any and everything he does. But just like people comparing movies to books, some films are just not directly comparable. Anyways thanks so much! Loving this channel. I just found it this morning and i'll def be binging all your work for the foreseeable future!-SLD

As a Mexican I have to say that the clown with his own show talk is an extremely dark humoured stage comedian, he has been cancelled a bit haha

Really great videos - it's a shame that you've been toiling in obscurity for the past few years because these are analyses that deserve to be seen. You've got another subscriber now at least ;-) Hope the algorithm is kind to you going forward!

So upon watching this video and a few of your other videos and clown tangents, I’m now legitimately curious hoe one of my favorite evil clown movies rates. What about “Killer Klowns from Outer Space”? Also for the record I too unironically love clowns, be they funny, scary, tragic or even sexy, eg Harley Quinn and that chick from Phoenix Wright… both of whom are interestingly enough combinations of multiple different categories

I've really taken a long journey when it comes to clowns. I used to hate them... a hate bred from fear, on the heels of one of the most notorious serial killers in the history of the world, fueled by dozens and dozens of poor, mediocre at best depictions of clowns and ignited by the first IT film. And of course, propelled on, engendered for decades, by samesuch depictions of terrifying clowns across movies, television shows, video games, and even books for a long time. That said, my opinion on them has shifted over the years. And I don't really know where it ended up. I'm not really afraid of clowns anymore, but I'm also not really much afraid of anything in fiction; I seem to have crossed too many lines by watching scary movies while I was growing up and permanently burned away that fear. On the other hand, modern clowning is almost a lost art form, especially here in America. As you said, it's basically relegated to putting on silly performances for children, and not much more. And you don't need a costume to do that, or craftsmanship, or skill, or really to care. You just need to get hit in the face with funny things, and sometimes trip. But at some point in the last 10, maybe 15 years, I had seen enough clowns, crossed enough clowns paths, seen and read enough interesting clowns to... I don't know, change my mind? From IT, to the Joker, to Krusty and Sideshow Bob, to Terry Pratchett writing what I can only consider The Clown--the definitive, perhaps divine Ur example of the entire host, there's been a wealth of interesting clowns to study and think about. And I guess at some point I've come to be... entertained? By clowns? I don't laugh, it's not funny; I don't flinch, it's not terrifying; I don't recoil in disgust, or shift a little in my seat out of misquiet. I don't know, I can't really explain it. Just when I see a good depiction of a clown, something inside me is satisfied. Maybe it's the tiny little adult soul within me, the small and cynical part of me watching this insane world just unfold and slowly burn away, realizing once and for all at long last that this isn't some weird person in makeup and a strange costume, but some kind of weird mirror. Maybe that part of me finally sees the point.

I wish I could like this video twice.

The first clowns that scared me were the ones in Dumbo

The audio levels are a bit on the low side. But great video nonetheless!

Interesting perspective..

Wait u have 199 subs? Lets make it 200! And u should have more subs!its as if u are doing a podcast!

Good.

After watching both renditions of IT!, I've determined that the 1990 version was much better. I loved the book, and the movie was well done and held to the book very well. I think the main thing is, practical effects vs. CGI, and Tim Curry pulled off the comical and evil sides better. IMHO

Anthrax.

A-MA-ZING!

I love pennywise💕🥰

"Even Bill's parents seem too consumed by their own grief to notice they still have a kid to raise." Is that almost a direct quote from the book? Cause I've read it only in spanish, but it sounds familiar. Bill and Richie's scenes were always my favorites

My personal take on clowns is that adults (more so than kids) find them loathsome because they represent one's loss of social status. Clowns are inherently ridiculous and unworthy of respect, and yet they're always smiling and laughing and making other, more serious people the butts of their jokes. In this way, the clown embodies the fear that we, ourselves, have lost so much dignity that even the people we hold in contempt are jeering at us. There's nothing more humiliating than being successfully disrespected by someone you despise.

When I was small, and I saw adults with gnarly metal t-shirts, the designs would stick in my head and make me anxious/afraid. I ended up becoming a crusty metal teen, and a huge Anthrax fan... point is, I think I killed my clown.