The Greatest Showman,
based on a story by Jenny Bicks
This film is effervescent, flamboyant,
entertaining, ebullient, and enthusiastic even if most critics dismissed it.
One of the extraordinary aspects about the
Greatest Showman is the fact that show business was only one aspect of his
tremendous life that is also remembered for a Prosperity Classic he has
written, the quintessential The Art of Money Making.
Reading about this classic, one can get some
different ideas about events depicted in the film, for instance the arrangement
with the greatest opera singer of the day, Swedish star Jenny Lind an incredible
$ 1,000 per night, which might be converted in today’s currency to the tune of
one million dollars…
He made a large profit on that tour, according
to other sources and not the film, which has included tension and some romance,
if one sided, and an outraged singer abandoning the arrangement, seemingly
before the expenses would be covered.
Even for those who are not fans of Hugh
Jackman, like this cinephile, his performance is more than remarkable, the
Australian is effusive, driven, magnificent, very appropriate in the role of
The Greatest Showman.
In a few ways, this musical reminds one of
Moulin Rouge and the latest adaptation of The Great Gatsby, only The Showman is
much better, even if flamboyant, it does not have the extravagance, phantasmagoria
of the other productions that went way over the top in their post modernism.
Phineas Taylor Barnum is one of the almost
perfect models, for he has his flaws, who was an orphan, poor child who proved
he has the elements of Bravery: Courage, Persistence, Vitality and Integrity,
even if he would be accused of fakery, because he did exaggerate the weight of
the “heaviest man on earth” and other aspects of his show that brought under
the same tent so many different men and women.
There were other times, near the middle of the nineteenth
century, and many primitives attacked members of his cast and called them
freaks, in a manner Barnum might be one of the first to give attention to the
different humans, the woman with the beard, the dwarf the extremely obese, dog
boy and so many others.
On the other hand, once he becomes rich and accepted
in high society, there is a repulsive gesture when the team tries to enter the
big hall of ceremonies, where the aristocratic and the rich drank champagne,
only to be turned away by Barnum.
Phineas Barnum falls in love with Charity
played by Michelle Williams, the superb actress who made the news recently on
account of the $ 80 per day she was offered for reshooting some scenes in a
film for which the same job paid Mark Wahlberg one and a half million dollars,
which he has donated for the Time’s Up foundation.
Charity was born in a rich, prominent family
and her father is arrogant and despises the then poor P.T. Barnum, who is bent
on demonstrating his father in law that he can and will be somebody that, later,
throws out the rude parent from the ceremony celebrating his achievement, on
the night of the first Lind performance.
Barnum demonstrates he also has all the
ingredients identified by psychologist as essential for Wisdom: Creativity,
Open- mindedness, Perspective, Curiosity and Love of Learning, as he convinces
Philip Carlyle to become his partner and then the most famous singer in Europe to
accept 20% of the take at the gate and sing for his outfit.
Some quotes from his still magnificent work,
The Art of Money, point out how visionary and ahead of his time Barnum was,
anticipating the discoveries of Positive Psychology that reveal the importance of
finding Your Calling…
By the way, the you to find the job that is best
for you, which will ensure nearly lifelong satisfaction is to identify the activities
that you enjoy, those you are good at and the ones which have meaning for you
and then concentrate on where they intersect, because the endeavors that you
like, are good at and have meaning for you are the ones that would offer the
chance to engage in the dream profession.
“We are all, no doubt, born for a wise purpose.
There is as much diversity in our brains as in our countenances. Some are born
natural mechanics, while some have great aversion to machinery… Unless a man
enters upon the vocation intended for him by nature, and best suited to his
peculiar genius, he cannot succeed.”
There are personal issues in this film that are
connected, but not always, with the financial challenges of losing collateral
when there was one, for initially, the clever Barnum had managed to convince a
baker to provide a loan to start his Show, offering as collateral papers of
property which was located in the South China Sea…deep in the South China Sea,
as the showman explained to his wife.
In the film, one is unsure about the real
story, given the huge financial incentive offered, the Swedish opera singer
becomes enamored or at least very attracted to Barnum, who rejects her
proposition, only to be then framed, with photographs of him kissing the artist
on all the front pages of newspapers.
Apart from this and the consequent clash with
his wife, the Barnum’s American Museum burns to the ground twice- and not just
on the big screen- therefore giving the opportunity to this hero and role model
to prove if and how he can cope with adversity and trauma multiple times during
his life, after the harsh, destitute childhood, he achieves fame and some
fortune, only to see it all in jeopardy a few times.
The film is not just entreating, it is also a
lesson on achievement, hard work, the skills, values and talent needed to reach
prosperity, which is not just wealth, but it comprises a set of principles
epitomized by the Greatest Showman
You can get PT Barnum’s classic
here:
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