Circus: Magic or Monster?

Inspired by a comment @rossenpavlov made on an article of mine, and by a recent event that made the news in my country, I decided to write a little piece about what goes on at a circus at night, when the "curtains close" (well, in this case, the tent).
Some events that were born from the very invention of circuses and that, sadly, seem to be persisting today.
The little news story that burned up Romania (literally), a few days ago was that due to a fire at a famous circus (told ya, literally)some beloved animals died, especially due to smoke inhalation, but a few were also burned alive, which naturally caused the common man and especially animal rights activist, to speak their discontent.

Oddly enough, this was not the cause of the incident...
Source: http://www.dfiles.me/circus-ring-of-fire.html

But little joke aside, the Parliament took this especially serious it seems, because soon it passed a law that... and I'm not joking now, forbids the participation in circus acts of all VERTEBRATE animals - wow, that's one hell of a restriction, maybe that's why the Parliament is so "respected" in our country, but, seriously now, you know what that means, right?

Exactly, it's time for Insect Circus, everybody! Prepare your binoculars!
Source: https://www.tes.com/lessons/O5ues31g9I8EOA/insects

OK, given the law and the idea of "Insect Circus" (I'm gonna trademark that!) are both equally ridiculous, there's one of them that won't pass, and that's the Insect one, so basically, for those who were circus enthusiasts, which is, let's be honest, pretty few people nowadays, the hope of actually seeing a circus again is non-existent.

But we're here to talk about what happened when circuses not only still did exist, but were also still popular, I mean before the technological boom of the last 60 years or so, you didn't have much to do beside go to the circus, a concert, and the occasional movie.
Actually, as this fellow steemian pointed out, the first movie projections were actually performed in circuses, and that was at the height of their popularity, the early 20th century.
Back then, animals rights were basically unheard of, so the regular beating the various creatures of the entertainment world were put through was pretty much ignored, but, the real tragedy was that, back then, circuses also contained acts called "freak shows", where humans, this time around, and humans with crippling diseases or deformities at that, received the same kind of abuse as their animal counterparts once the show was over.
A very shocking example of the nightmare of the circus world can be seen in a pretty unpopular animated adaptation of the first guro manga in history: Midori Shoujo Tsubaki (Midori, the Camellia Girl). Despite being unknown to many, even anime fans, this movie let you see in an incredibly explicit way what the "freak shows" were like...

THIS is what the nsfw tag was for...
Source (youtube thumbnail): watch?v=98-dXUu6yf0 (paste the link if you want to see all of it)
And, actually, a much older movie adaptation, this time a live-action one, simply called "Freaks", from 1932, was made at just the right time to show the secret face of circus and actually incorporate some of the last surviving performers of the freak shows. Besides the plot, revolving around the greed for the top performers money, the movie can also be seen as a documentary, as it includes many scenes of the living performers as they do their various acts, the most amazing one being, most likely, when Prince Randian, "The Living Torso", lights a cigarette with only his mouth:

Anyway, the bottom line still was that, no matter how talented, every "Freak" was treated exactly like their cruel nickname: being humiliated by their "able" coworkers, underpaid and abandoned once they served their purpose... So, what crossed my mind was that, in order to abandon all the fuss that circus plays are still getting, a relatively simple solution, and an end to cruelty is possible. (NO...Not the Insect Circus, dammit).
Given the lightning speed at which VR is advancing nowadays, a Virtual Circus would be the best way to ensure a circus-like experience, without the controversy, and everyone would be happy!
So, whatcha waiting for, you big VR companies, make it happen!

Pictured: The only hope for circus fans.
Source:https://www3.oculus.com/en-us/blog/gear-vr-is-now-shipping-and-oculus-concepts-is-live/
'Til we meet again!