So I finally joined the majority and got to see The Greatest Showman in theaters. I know, I know. Hugh Jackman's latest film has been in theaters since December 20th. Most everyone has seen it and formed their own opinions. I'd like to say I have a good excuse for waiting so long but honestly I just like seeing movies with hardly anyone in the theater, makes the viewing experience more enjoyable. But any who, I went in to this movie with the highest of expectations. As someone who eats up any and all musicals, I was chomping at the bit to see this movie, eagerly awaiting to absorb the breath taking numbers I have been enjoying from the soundtrack (thank you Apple Music).
Once the credits had rolled and my boyfriend and I were exiting the theater, I was alight with energy and overjoyed with the story that had unfolded before my eyes. As my boyfriend and his family can attest, I was talking about the movie and singing its songs all weekend ("This Is Me" will be the anthem of my soul until the end of time). But as I sat down to write my better late than never review, I came upon dark problems that lay beneath the cinematic story of the "greatest show on Earth". After watching the big screen P.T. Barnum's story unfold, I became interested in the real story because as we all know, Hollywood likes to take a story and fantasize it and what I found shook me to my core.
In an article on Smithsonian.com titled "P.T. Barnum Isn't the Hero the "Greatest Showman" Wants You to Think" by Jackie Mansky, she details the truth of Barnum's start in the world of showmanship. One detail of his dark beginnings that Mansky cites from Barnum's autobiography is where he discusses his rental of an enslaved elderly African American woman named Joice Heth and propagating her to the public. Barnum did not always tell the same story when he had her on display but one he would tell frequently was that she was the oldest woman in the world and was at one point in time George Washington's slave. Mansky discusses that he would keep Joice working 10 - 12 hours a day, eventually leading to her death. Even more sickeningly, Barnum charged a fee and welcomed spectators to view Heth's autopsy, making her a spectacle even in death.
The truth of Barnum's beginnings grows even darker after his time exploiting Joice Heth but Hollywood chose to pick out the highlights of the story to sow together fact and fiction to make a movie that ensures viewer enjoyment. This presents a problem. The film The Greatest Showman presents viewers with a heartwarming story about finding your place in the world. Barnum is presented as an admirable anti-hero and this portrayal sends the message to audiences that he is praiseworthy and respectable when in fact the real Barnum exploited the unwilling and turned involuntary participants into sideshow attractions for him to profit off of.
I commend the cast and crew of the film for creating a soundtrack that will stay in my heart for years to come and fabricating a story that made audiences, including myself, smile. However, I warn readers to look past films for truth and do a little research. Hollywood will put a golden spin on dark origin stories often turning wicked historical figures into golden hearted cinematic icons to turn a profit.
