As a lover of both music and Hugh Jackman, I walked into the movie theater with adequate hopes for “The Greatest Showman.” However, although Hugh Jackman was astonishingly attractive, I was disappointed.
This film paints P.T. Barnum as a man who may not show appreciation for the “freaks” in his show initially, but eventually comes to celebrate and care for them. This is my biggest issue with the film. P.T. Barnum may not have been a bad man, but he was not someone who celebrated the differences of those in his show. He dramatized those differences and exploited the “freaks” for his own monetary gain. In 1835 Barnum bought an elderly, female slave, Joice Heth, for $1,000. He greatly exaggerated both her age and background, stating that she was 161 years old and a nurse for George Washington. With these fabrications Barnum exhibited the poor woman, gaining about $1,500 per week.
This man marketed people as freaks who had been mocked their whole lives for being different. Displaying and dramatizing the oddities of these people only increased the stereotypes surrounding different ethnicities, appearances, and races. A movie that celebrates a man who has only contributed to the conflict surrounding race and ethnicity should not be glorified as a masterpiece.
The falseness surrounding the plot of the movie is enhanced by the fake sounds of autotune and the visual effects of CGI. The music is undeniably catchy, but all of the songs sound the same and are very obviously autotuned. Altering the performers' voices to the point of an unrealistic perfection only disgraces their natural singing ability, making the movie even more artificial. What contributes to this as well is the stampeding of badly animated elephants across the screen and the sugary bright colors throughout the film.
There is a plethora of people infatuated with this movie. A movie that falsely celebrates a selfish man and encourages disingenuousness. It is concerning that we have come to a time where people can indulge themselves in such insincerity, choosing to ignore the issues hidden behind the sugar-coated wonderland.
