Keeper of the Clown Bell

My grandmother loved the cinema and in my  adolescence she took me to lots of movies, none of which were G rated pablum served up from Disney or other “child friendly” brain washers but rather adult themed pictures like The Anderson Tapes (1971),  What's Up, Doc? (1972),  The Day of the Jackal (1973)  and Freebee And The Bean (1974). Needless to say, none of the films I just listed could get made under today’s DEI requirements. She loved the magic on the silver screen and taught me to appreciate the wonders rendered on the wall of Plato’s cave. Watching these films as a tween changed my perception of the world and their programming  probably still colors my fundamental views on  cops and robbers ,  transvestites ,  France  and  Babs Streisand . I didn’t know it then but this era was the glory years of independent minded studio backed pictures which came to an abrupt and devastating end with the release of  Star Wars  in 1977. It will take me too long to  explain why the Jedi destru