--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Circus-Circus is what the whole hep…" description: "\"“The Circus-Circus is what the whole hep world would be doing Saturday night if the Nazis had won the war. This is the sixth Reich. The ground floor is..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a22/hunter-s-thompson-278_1971_the-circus-circus-is-what-the-whole-hep_841465.jpg" --- # The Circus-Circus is what the whole hep world would be… ![“The Circus-Circus is what the whole hep world would be doing Saturday night if the Nazis had won the war. This is the sixth Reich. The ground floor is full of gambling tables, like all the other casinos... but the place is about four stories high, in the style of a circus tent, and all manner of…” quote by Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a22/hunter-s-thompson-278_1971_the-circus-circus-is-what-the-whole-hep_841465.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a22/hunter-s-thompson-278_1971_the-circus-circus-is-what-the-whole-hep_841465.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a22/hunter-s-thompson-278_1971_the-circus-circus-is-what-the-whole-hep_841465.jpg) > ““The Circus-Circus is what the whole hep world would be doing Saturday night if the Nazis had won the war. This is the sixth Reich. The ground floor is full of gambling tables, like all the other casinos... but the place is about four stories high, in the style of a circus tent, and all manner of strange County-Fair/Polish Carnival madness is going on up in this space.”” [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A chaotic, grotesque entertainment venue imagined as a dystopian future where fascist culture dominates nightlife. **In simple terms:** A twisted carnival under totalitarian rule. Key Takeaway Beware the rise of oppressive entertainment. Themes politics culture dystopia satire excess Mood cynical darkly humorous critical Type literary political satirical When to use this quote - nightlife - political satire - future speculation - social critique Key Concepts authoritarianism media manipulation consumerism Questions to Reflect On - How does satire reveal hidden societal dangers? - What signs of authoritarianism appear in modern entertainment? A Different Perspective The metaphor may exaggerate for shock value, limiting practical analysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1971](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1971-441/) [Circus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circus/) [Circus Circus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circus-circus-645686/) [Circus Hep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circus-hep-645685/) [Circus Tent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circus-tent-645687/) [Gambling Tables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gambling-tables-645689/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Nazis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nazis/) [Saturday night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saturday-night/) [Style Circus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style-circus-645688/) [Vegas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vegas/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Bazooko's Circus is what the whole hep world would be doing Saturday nights if the Nazis had won the war. This was the Sixth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raoul-duke/bazooko-s-circus-is-what-the-whole-hep-world-would-be-doing-saturday/) [Raoul Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raoul-duke/) > [“One man's freedom fighter is always another man's terrorist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarmila-bose/one-man-s-freedom-fighter-is-always-another-man-s-terrorist/) [Sarmila Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarmila-bose/) > [“1. Bangladesh… In 1971 ... Kissinger overrode all advice in order to support the Pakistani generals in both their civilian massacre policy in East…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/1-bangladesh-in-1971-kissinger-overrode-all-advice-in-order-to-2/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [A film set is all about hierarchy, but I always like to think about the circus. In the circus, there's this real sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/a-film-set-is-all-about-hierarchy-but-i-always-like-to-think-about/) [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) > [A circus here, a circus there; here today, gone tomorrow. Big Brother watching you. Fear eats the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-peace/a-circus-here-a-circus-there-here-today-gone-tomorrow-big-brother/) [David Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-peace/) > [“Once you’re in the circus you’re all in the circus, and of course it turns out that they are real people too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/once-you-re-in-the-circus-you-re-all-in-the-circus-and-of-course-it/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [“I want to climb up the blank blue dome as a man would storm the inside of a circus tent, wildly, dangling, and with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-want-to-climb-up-the-blank-blue-dome-as-a-man-would-storm-the/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I went camping and borrowed a circus tent by mistake. I didn't notice until I got it set up. People complained because they couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/i-went-camping-and-borrowed-a-circus-tent-by-mistake-i-didn-t-notice/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I have no complaints about my path and the places it has taken me; enough complaints to fill a circus tent about other things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/i-have-no-complaints-about-my-path-and-the-places-it-has-taken-me/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [But the soul of touring and the heart of it is basically every day is like putting up a circus tent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-benatar/but-the-soul-of-touring-and-the-heart-of-it-is-basically-every-day-is/) [Pat Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-benatar/) > [“Shan't I take that anshient circus tent?" said he, pintin' to my umbreller, "and lock it up in the safe?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/various/shan-t-i-take-that-anshient-circus-tent-said-he-pintin-to-my/) [Various](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/various/) > [The circus tent was flowing pale in the rain like a fleshy flower lit from within. It seemed to bloom in the downpour. Drops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/the-circus-tent-was-flowing-pale-in-the-rain-like-a-fleshy-flower-lit/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) ## More by Hunter S. Thompson > [“There was also the fact that sending a penniless writer to get $135 worth of beer was — as Khrushchev said of Nixon —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-was-also-the-fact-that-sending-a-penniless-writer-to-get-135/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“Cases of champagne and scotch lay broken in the street, and everyone I saw had a bottle. They were screaming and dancing, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/cases-of-champagne-and-scotch-lay-broken-in-the-street-and-everyone-i/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [No music + Bad TV = Bad mood & no pages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-music-bad-tv-bad-mood-no-pages/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [By disgracing and degrading the presidency of the United States, by fleeing the White House like a diseased cur, Richard Nixon broke the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/by-disgracing-and-degrading-the-presidency-of-the-united-states-by/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [No one holds command over me. No man. No god. No Prince. What is a claim of age for ones who are immortal? What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-one-holds-command-over-me-no-man-no-god-no-prince-what-is-a-claim/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“The person who doesn't scatter the morning dew will not comb grey hairs”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/the-person-who-doesn-t-scatter-the-morning-dew-will-not-comb-grey/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Hope rises and dreams flicker and die. Love plans for tomorrow and loneliness thinks of yesterday. Life is beautiful and living is pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/hope-rises-and-dreams-flicker-and-die-love-plans-for-tomorrow-and/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [If we get chased out of Iraq with our tail between our legs, that will be the fifth consecutive Third-world country with no hint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/if-we-get-chased-out-of-iraq-with-our-tail-between-our-legs-that-will/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [At age 22 I set what I insist is an all-time record for distance hitchhiking in Bermuda shorts: 3,700 miles in three weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/at-age-22-i-set-what-i-insist-is-an-all-time-record-for-distance/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Paranoia is just another mask for ignorance. The truth, when you finally chase it down is almost always far worse than your darkest visions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/paranoia-is-just-another-mask-for-ignorance-the-truth-when-you/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“No doubt they all Got What Was Coming To Them. All those pathetically eager acid freaks who thought they could buy Peace and Understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-doubt-they-all-got-what-was-coming-to-them-all-those-pathetically/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“For several months they'd been drifting toward political involvement, but the picture was hazy and one of the most confusing elements was their geographical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/for-several-months-they-d-been-drifting-toward-political-involvement/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [He wandered into the Newsroom and asked for a job the same way he’d walk into a barbershop and ask for a haircut, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/he-wandered-into-the-newsroom-and-asked-for-a-job-the-same-way-he-d/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [There's no point in getting into politics at all unless you plan to lash things around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-s-no-point-in-getting-into-politics-at-all-unless-you-plan-to/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [There’s a lot of things wrong with this country, but one of the few things still right with it is that a man can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-s-a-lot-of-things-wrong-with-this-country-but-one-of-the-few/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) [Explore all 765 Hunter S. Thompson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) ## More 1971 quotes > [“1. Bangladesh… In 1971 ... Kissinger overrode all advice in order to support the Pakistani generals in both their civilian massacre policy in East…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/1-bangladesh-in-1971-kissinger-overrode-all-advice-in-order-to-2/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“One man's freedom fighter is always another man's terrorist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarmila-bose/one-man-s-freedom-fighter-is-always-another-man-s-terrorist/) [Sarmila Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarmila-bose/) [Browse all 3 1971 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1971-441/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The Circus-Circus is what the whole hep world would be doing Saturday night if the Nazis had won the war. This is the sixth Reich. 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