--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wish that the circuses that were around…" description: "\"I wish that the circuses that were around now felt like they did then. They're not quite as elegant or as magical as they used to be. There was somethi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/francis-lawrence-22344_animal_i-wish-that-the-circuses-that-were-aroun_1248438.png" --- # I wish that the circuses that were around now felt like… ![“I wish that the circuses that were around now felt like they did then. They're not quite as elegant or as magical as they used to be. There was something about the old tent shows, the Big Top, the canvas, the lights, the sawdust, the hay and the animals that's just missing now. Now, it's all…” quote by Francis Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/francis-lawrence-22344_animal_i-wish-that-the-circuses-that-were-aroun_1248438.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/francis-lawrence-22344_animal_i-wish-that-the-circuses-that-were-aroun_1248438.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/francis-lawrence-22344_animal_i-wish-that-the-circuses-that-were-aroun_1248438.png) > “I wish that the circuses that were around now felt like they did then. They're not quite as elegant or as magical as they used to be. There was something about the old tent shows, the Big Top, the canvas, the lights, the sawdust, the hay and the animals that's just missing now. Now, it's all urbanized and maybe a little garish.” [Francis Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-lawrence/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nostalgia for classic circus magic contrasts with modern urban entertainment, highlighting loss of wonder. **In simple terms:** Old circuses felt magical; modern ones feel garish. Key Takeaway Value and preserve cultural traditions. Themes nostalgia culture entertainment Mood melancholic reflective Type observational nostalgic When to use this quote - festival planning - heritage preservation - performing arts Key Concepts sociology artistic heritage Questions to Reflect On - What modern experiences could revive that sense of wonder? - How can we balance tradition with contemporary tastes? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Canvas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canvas/) [Circus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circus/) [Circuses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circuses/) [Elegant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elegant/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [It (suicide) became a possibility like Maybe when I grow up, I will be dead. 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The underlying churchyard was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/it-had-grown-darker-as-they-talked-and-the-wind-was-sawing-and-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Let us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherised upon a table; Let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-us-go-then-you-and-i-when-the-evening-is-spread-out-against-the-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you've ever done something you love and go do something you like, it's like chewing on sawdust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimbal-musk/if-you-ve-ever-done-something-you-love-and-go-do-something-you-like/) [Kimbal Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimbal-musk/) > [Humor is a hole that lets the sawdust out of a stuffed shirt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mckeithen/humor-is-a-hole-that-lets-the-sawdust-out-of-a-stuffed-shirt/) John McKeithen > [Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets, / The muttering retreats / Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels / And sawdust restaurants with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/let-us-go-through-certain-half-deserted-streets-the-muttering/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [All the king's horses and all the king's men can't put the past together again. 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Kilpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-j-kilpatrick/) > [“No matter how good he looks right now, Josh Bennett without work boots & the smell of sawdust is all sorts of wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katja-millay/no-matter-how-good-he-looks-right-now-josh-bennett-without-work-boots/) [Katja Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katja-millay/) > [If you can eat sawdust without butter, you can be a success in the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/if-you-can-eat-sawdust-without-butter-you-can-be-a-success-in-the-law/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [Have you ever tried to split sawdust?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-mccarthy/have-you-ever-tried-to-split-sawdust/) [Eugene McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-mccarthy/) > [I've had my best times when trailing a Mainbocher evening gown across a sawdust floor. I've always loved high style in low company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-loos/i-ve-had-my-best-times-when-trailing-a-mainbocher-evening-gown-across/) [Anita Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-loos/) > [Is it any wonder why Princes & Kings, Are clowns that caper in their sawdust rings, When ordinary people who are like you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/is-it-any-wonder-why-princes-kings-are-clowns-that-caper-in-their/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) ## More by Francis Lawrence > [I never... it's a hard thing: when I think about projects, I don't come off something and go, 'I really want to make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-lawrence/i-never-it-s-a-hard-thing-when-i-think-about-projects-i-don-t-come/) [Francis Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-lawrence/) > [I remember 'Battlestar Galactica' shot at the college that my dad taught at. I remember trying on a Cylon helmet. 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It's definitely one story, but there are two totally distinct and separate scripts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-lawrence/there-are-two-separate-scripts-for-mockingjay-parts-one-and-two-it-s/) [Francis Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-lawrence/) > [All the 'Hunger Games' stuff, we had a fantastic production designer, and he built amazing sets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-lawrence/all-the-hunger-games-stuff-we-had-a-fantastic-production-designer-and/) [Francis Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-lawrence/) > [I think the movie business and film crews are a little bit like the circus, in that we travel around like a pack and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-lawrence/i-think-the-movie-business-and-film-crews-are-a-little-bit-like-the/) [Francis Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-lawrence/) > [Often, adults don't give kids enough credit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-lawrence/often-adults-don-t-give-kids-enough-credit/) [Francis Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-lawrence/) > [One of the big themes - if not the big theme - of 'Mockingjay - Part 1' is the battle of the airwaves. 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