There is already literature out there charting the return of circus and some at least anecdotal information on the arrival of the term Cirque and how it signifies contemporary circus.
But is there info on how circus relates to post-modernism and how its inclusion is part of a wider phenomenon? Low-brow it is... intertextual it is... When traditional circus is presented, it's still referencing itself. When Cirque is presented, it's mixing 'low' (or popular, or non-elitist) and presenting it as 'high'. Like porn in galleries, post-modernism consumes and regurgitates another art form. (does this cheapen it? do i care?)
By becoming Cirque, is it popularising and making circus more accessible to a contemporary audiences or is it trapping it and seeking to exclusivise an art form and bring it into the deliberately elitist world normally comprised of ballet, opera and exclusive galleries. Things you need 'cultural capital' to access.
How did circus come to be here and where is the hungry machine of superiority going next?
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