Reaction Paper: The Greatest Showman

Everyone loves a good musical. From the catchy songs to the conversations that result in
sudden outburst of singing and dancing, musicals are made to catch the attention of the
audience through entertainment but also contain a message behind every lyric and movement.
The Greatest Showman, starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Zendaya, and Michelle Williams,
tells the story of a man named P.T Barnum and his journey to become “the greatest showman”.
Directed by Michael Gracey, this film is made to retell the life of Barnum and how the Barnum
Circus came to be while incorporating the use of music but also including scenes that display all
kinds of emotions (love, anger, sadness, joy). The Greatest Showman is a remarkable film that
uses its platform to show and send messages to the audience of the importance of achieving
dreams, having self-love through difficulties, showing loyalty and the significance of rising up
after a fall.
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The movie starts when the young Phineas who saw himself being a ringmaster in the mirror.
Because of his father’s work as a tailor Phineas met Charity, The daughter of Benjamin Hallet.
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Phineas and Charity became friends but their time together was not too long because Charity
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was sent to finishing school so they started writing letters to communicate with each other.
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During this time, both of them started to have romantic feelings for each other and when they
became adults Phineas married Charity and was blessed with two daughters.
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Charity was satisfied with what they have but Phineas wanted to have more and so he fooled
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the bank to loan him money using the ship registry that he took from the old company that he
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worked for as collateral to buy a wax museum. The museum had little to no customers and their
family expense were getting to them. His daughters suggested that he should show something
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“alive” so he hired “freaks” to perform in his museum. The show was a big hit and was getting
more and more customers each day but at the same time, protesters also increased. Phineas
did not stop here and hired Phillip Carlyle who was hesitant in joining but agreed in the end in
the condition of taking 10 percent of the show’s income. Carlyle was attracted to Anne
Wheeler, a trapeze artist and an acrobat. After some time, Phillip found a way to invite the
whole crew to a party with Queen Victoria. During this time, Phineas met Jenny Lind who was a
great singer. He convinced her to perform in America and having him as her manager. Phineas
started to distance himself to his old crew while his family longed for him. During their tour, Lind
started having romantic feelings for Phineas but turned her down resulting to Lind quitting
during there tour. This made Phineas to return home early only to find his circus burning, Phillip
badly injured and his family leaving him in the following day.

Phineas went to a tavern while feeling depressed and was spotted by his old crew. Though

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feeling betrayed, his old crew still accepted him and now motivated Phineas went to his wife to
med their relationship. Now with his crew back and his family with him, Phineas started to do
their show once again with the help of Phillip as his partner. After some time, Phineas gave full
responsibility of the circus to Phillip so he can focus on his family. For me, the movie is great
with a lot of singing and dancing. Unlike most movies that show these things, the characters are
“freak” which work their way to be accepted in their community by the means of showing their
“irregularities” in the circus. The characters having their own talent and unique traits are the
things that made the movie unique and fun to watchOne example of this is the protagonist of the
film Phineas Barnum who is the ringmaster and also the owner of the circus lived with his father
when he was a child. They were very poor and lived a very hard life which contributed to the
death of his father possibly during winter. Phineas was creative to the point that he could think
of creating a show that shows “freaks” and earn money from it. This is also evident when he
sold used newspapers to earn money for his survival in the harsh world. In my opinion this
made him long for success and fame and also made him work hard even though a lot of people
was against his show which was evident when protesters started showing up in his circus.
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One trait that was evident in Barnum was the way he wanted to be superior which is seen when
stood in his table and he shook hands with O'Clancy which would later be called the Irish giant.
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Another moment where his trait is evident is when he negotiated with Phillip Carlyle. Instead of
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calling him a partner he instead called him an over compensated apprentice and gave him only
10% of share from the profit from their circus. For me, Barnum being persuasive, creative and
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knowing the hardship of life makes him a good entrepreneurAnother character worth mentioning
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is Charles Stratton. He was the first “freak” that Barnum hired. He is a short man that lived with
his mother. Being too short for a normal human being, his mother tried to hide him when
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Barnum asked where his son is. When Charles Stratton was hired in the circus, he has a stage
name known as “General Tom Thumb”. He rides a horse and dresses like a soldier which
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closely resembles Napoleon Bonaparte who was a famous military commander in France. Just
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like all the “freaks” in the movie, at first, he was shy, but Barnum persuaded him to show
himself to the audience and this made him enjoy what he was doing which is clearly opposite to
how he lived his life. For me, Charles being part of Barnum’s show made him brave and a little
bit cocky which is evident when he was talking to the Queen of England. The toy soldiers in his
room is an indication that he dreams of becoming a soldier one day but unable to be one
because of his height.

Seeing Charles having this dream but becoming a performer to act as a soldier made me realize
that in the world we live in, a person cannot do everything that He/She wants but there are
certain things that only that person can do. For me Charles Stratton’s height and dream of
becoming a soldier makes him unique. These things are also what makes him the only
character who can act as “General Tom Thumb”Lettie Lutz also known as “the bearded lady”
is also a character that has a unique trait which is her beard and her beautiful voice. Lettie

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 works as a Washerwoman. While washing clothes, she sings but hides herself from her co
workers and the people around her because of her beard. When Barnum approached her, she
asked him to leave but instead Barnum exposed her, and she became conscious of herself. She
asked Barnum to leave her alone but was moved when Helen, the daughter of Barnum gave her
the flyer that was calling for “unique persons”. This made her join Barnum’s circus. At first, she
hesitated to show herself and hid behind the curtain, but Barnum persuaded her to show her
talent. Through the whole show, she sings very good and she gained confidence with herself
even though some people still degrade her for having her beard. For me, Lettie’s situation of
having a beard while possessing a beautiful voice is a great combination because her talent in
singing is very good which attracts people and at the same time she has a beard that surprises
everyone. Having this situation can also mean as her beard being mistakes and her singing as
good deeds. Her great singing can overcome the negative attention of her beard which makes
the people around her recognize her as a person with a great voice rather than a girl who has a
beard. Though not one of the freaks, one character who is also unique is the partner of Phineas
Barnum in the show business, Phillip Carlyle. A playwright that had a good life and came from a
wealthy family, Barnum persuaded him to join the circus as his apprentice with a ten percent
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share from the income of the show.
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After some time, Phillip was the one taking care of the circus while Barnum was on tour with
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Jenny Lind. Phillip tried saving Anne Wheeler who he thought was still inside the burning
building and this caused him to almost die if not for Barnum saving him. When he recovered
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from his injuries, he agreed to help Barnum build the circus making them partners. After some
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time, Barnum entrusted the whole circus to Phillip, so he can focus on her family. For me, Phillip
is a person who plays safe because when he saw the expenses of the tour that Barnum wanted,
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he confronted him and told him that it would be too risky. A unique thing about Phillip is him
choosing to go with the circus rather than living his life as one with the regular people. This
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made him lost everything that he had. This is evident when he was confronted in the theater by
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her parents and him rejecting their advice to know her place. For me, Phillip’s actions try to tell
us that we should follow our dreams, not what others want us to be because we are the ones
that own or life. Not other people. For me, the Greatest Showman tells me that uniqueness is
something to be proud of and we should never hide it, instead we show it to the world. Things
that was given to us should be treasured and most of all we must be happy with what we are
and who we are. The characters with their acts, traits, uniqueness and their life are what makes
the movie “the greatest showman” a great movie. Combining music and dancing with the
peculiar characters, it is a one of a kind movie that can both inspire you and at the same time
entertain the audience.

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