Psycho circus

by RAF KATIGBAK

There’s an old German joke that goes, two cows are standing in a field. Suddenly, from behind a bush, a rabbit leaps out and runs away. One cow looks ’round a bit, eats some grass and then wanders off.

Okay, so maybe that’s actually a British joke about how Germans are not supposed to have much of a sense of humour. Well guess what? It’s not true. Germans are hilarious; have you seen their haircuts?

So here I am finding myself with a week in Berlin, and yes, I’m laughing at Germans. But don’t make me out to be a total jerk for cracking jokes about how Germans tie their shoelaces (in little Nazis) or how German Chinese food is great, but an hour later you always get hungry for power. The fact is I’m not laughing at them, but at them and us Quebecers.

Some of you longtime readers may remember a column I wrote back in November 2005 in which I enumerated the ways in which Berlin and Montreal were sister cities (cheap rent, laidback vibes, large artistic community who is largely broke) and a few ways in which Berlin was, in my opinion, relegated to Montreal’s “lesser, uglier sister, who you usually introduce to your friends as being adopted.” These drawbacks were mostly 1) their ugly language and 2) their shitty food. Well, I’m proud to say, I’ve changed my tune. Since I’ve returned, I’ve discovered the beauty in the German language (I assure you it has nothing to do with the fact that the lovely lady I’m travelling with is of part-German origin) and the glory of warm schnitzel on a rainy Berlin Monday. Yes, I have fallen in love with our twin city, but not in that creepy Olsen twin love kind of way.

In fact, Montreal and Berlin are more similar than I had noticed on my last trip. As I said, like Montreal, rent in Berlin is cheap. This allows a certain genus of humanity to flock to the metropolis seeking shelter from the judgmental eyes of mainstream society. These are free spirits who believe that earning a living to buy an expensive house or large screen plasma TV is a waste of time. People who believe society shouldn’t tell them how to live their lives, how to dress or how to act. These are the dreamers of dreams, the blessed souls with a vision not only of what the future holds, but what the future will surely be. That’s right. I’m talking about circus people.

What is it with Berlin and Montreal and circus culture? For some reason, there is a disproportionate amount of unicycles, jugglers, stilt walkers and general freaks in both our cities. In the few days I’ve been here, I’ve counted no less than three operational carnivals set up within the city limits. Posters of Cavalia line the streets and top hats seem to be de rigueur amongst the scuzzy, goateed youth that litter the cafés.

Is it our shared love for theatre, for the unbridled expression of that youthful wonderment and childlike innocence so crucial in our formative years? Or is it that we’re both just really, really, cheesy?

Has it always been like this? Could it be that this is one of the disadvantages of our modern age, where we can communicate and interact with people across the globe with a click of a mouse? Is circus cheese culture spreading like a virus around the world? If it were, wouldn’t this be the smoking gun that anti-globalization activists should be busting out to end the debate once and for all?

“And yes, your honour, while we can agree that globalization increases economic prosperity as well as opportunity, especially among developing nations, enhances civil liberties and leads to a more efficient allocation of resources, how does that forgive the rising popularity of the Insane Clown Posse, and the fact that devil stick sales are increasing exponentially?”

Ask yourself: is that the future we really want for our children?

Riff-Raff@sympatico.ca