American Juggalo

American Juggalo

Earlier this week, Brooklyn-based filmmaker Sean Dunne released American Juggalo, a documentary that examines the subculture surrounding Detroit horrorcore rappers Insane Clown Posse and the group’s Psychopathic Records roster. As Dunne explains in his synopsis for the film: “American Juggalo is a look at the often mocked and misunderstood subculture of Juggalos, hardcore Insane Clown Posse fans who meet once a year for four days at The Gathering of the Juggalos.”
The subject matter Dunne set out to document is by no means new ground. Many journalists and filmmakers before him have been equally curious about the world of Juggalos (for better or worse). So curious, in fact, that fascination with ICP’s clown-faced minions has spurred what seems to be a new beat: Juggalo journalism.

Last year, for example, Village Voice staff writer Camille Dodero wrote an in-depth piece titled “Live from the Insane Clown Posse’s Gathering of the Juggalos,” in which she shelved the snark normally associated with any talk of Juggalos and provided a sober (and at times frightening) report on the subculture and “The Gathering”:

For 96 hours in mid-August, Psychopathic Records transforms HogRock Campgrounds into a shantytown psycho-porn amusement park. The privately owned property spreads across 115 acres of Cave-In-Rock, Illinois, an Ohio River–traced village that “has a history of violence as long as your tattooed arm!” and a tradition of sheltering “river pirates, smugglers, counterfeiters, ghosts, and some of the nation’s first serial killers!” (Both are blurbs, now deleted, from the “Site Attractions” page of the official Gathering website.)

Forbes Magazine