American Horror Story: Cult teaser: Clowns, honey, and analysis
We’ve already seen many different images associated with this new season (premiering in September), but two of the biggest ones are clearly bees and clowns. For the same of this article, we want to try to extrapolate these two things further.
Bees and honey – Why emphasize this? What’s the larger point here? To us, we see it in part representing a large army working nonstop for a singular mission: Producing a product that others enjoy, but also take for granted. You could see bees in some ways as the working class, or the low rung on a caste system. They receive very little reward for their efforts, and they’re stuck in an endless cycle of production until their death. They follow blindly their ruler (the queen), and are almost biologically a cult in many ways.
It also should be noted that honey, the end result of their work, is something that is sweet and tempting. The allure of that may be something that the show is highlighting especially in the poster, which features a woman who clearly has honey on the brain — or, a honeycomb is her brain. She’s given over to the temptation and is fully a part of the hive.
Clowns – They’re funny? Well, it’s not really that at all. To us, clowns are used more and more as symbols of extreme emotions, given that their makeup is often used to express heightened sentiments of fear, hilarity, or longing. The clown in the video teaser is meant to freak you out, as it is seen drowning (in temptation? Maybe) — it also has makeup that is more akin to pain and suffering. While the female clown in the poster may not have their skull attached, there’s still something almost intentional about it. They appear to be in some sort of contemplative sorrow, or they have removed the skull purposefully to get to some of that sweet nectar.
While not all of American Horror Story’s posters over the years are meant to be taken literally, typically there is visual and thematic significant to them. Odds are, clowns and honey will be a part of Cult in some shape or form, even if they are not at the center of the story. Those of you with a keen eye and some attention to detail should enjoy an opportunity to scan for them as the story progresses. Remember that we’ve got a rather excellent cast here, including the likes of Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Billy Eichner, Cheyenne Jackson, and more.
Want some other American Horror Story: Cult teasers?
Then we suggest that you head over to the link here! We’re certainly going to have many more of these teaser analysis pieces between now and when the show returns, so we highly recommend that you check some of these out. (Photo: FX.)
