thesis statement of the greatest showman

Thesis Statement Of The Greatest Showman

The value of a movie is from the joy and inspiration of it. The movie is one of the best implements for entertaining people, giving them hopes in life or showing them the mirror of their own life. The example of the extraordinary movie is “The Greatest Showman”, a biographical musical movie about Barnum’s life and his Bailey and Barnum Circus.

Essay Example on The Greatest Showman Thesis Statement

“The Greatest Showman” is directed by Michael Gracey, written by Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon.

The movie is inspired by a young man names Barnum, who has the dream about helping unusual- looking people to go out of their comfort zone. They gather and form a unique circus. All through the movie, Barnum’s family is always by his side. From the first day they form the circus until the days when “Bailey and Barnum” becomes famous all over the world.

The movie encourages young people by giving a message: never give up, work hard, and family is always the best place to turn back.

Barnum builds up his fabulous circus from a boring museum. He invites unusual folks to come to his place to perform, and together, they make a famous circus. When Barnum tries to further his reputation to the new world, he cooperates with Jenny Lind and becomes well-known. They make successful performances all over the world. After a while, Barnum comes back with his family and the circus. The achievement of the “The Greatest Showman” is the ability to inspire people with the hidden message at the end of the movie: family is infinity; fame and greatness are temporary.

Proficient in: Communication

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Contemporary, the accomplishment of “The Greatest Showman” is that it gives audiences the chance to see themselves through each character. For example, the “freak” performers represent for those brave people who believe they can cross the limit between being unusual and special; Barnum appeals to people who believe they can change the world and Barnum’s wife is entitled to be a good woman in the family who always sacrifice her life for her…

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Home — Essay Samples — Entertainment — The Greatest Showman — “The Greatest Showman”: Analysis of the Plot, Music and Performance

"The Greatest Showman": Analysis of The Plot, Music and Performance

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Published: Apr 17, 2023

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Analysis of “The Greatest Showman”

The movie The Greatest Showman is a musical tale set in 19 th Century, New York. The main characters, Barnum and Charity, belonged to two different social classes. They became friends but Charity’s family does not approve of their relationship (Gracey et al., 2019). She is taken far from home while Barnum stays back helping his father with the cloth business. After Barnum’s father died, he is left languishing in poverty without a roof over his head. Years later Barnum marries Charity and together they start a family. Barnum struggles with his job that does not pay much but he still holds on to the dream of providing a better life for his wife and children. After losing the job, he starts his own theatre business by bringing together the town’s “misfits”. The business thrives and he can provide for his family. However, his aspirations continue to grow and at some point, he loses himself in his ventures. The main themes portrayed in the movie are love, acceptance, and diversity.

In the movie, Charity and Barnum are first introduced to the audience while in their middle childhood development stage. This stage is characterized by children from age eight to twelve years (Jewell et al., 2019). By this age, a child should be able to grasp the notion of time and money. They should also be able to interact socially with other children and adults. In the movie, Barnum is seen helping his father in trade. Charity, on the other hand, is being taught how ladies ought to behave and carry themselves in society. As the movie progresses, they turn into adolescents and then adults.

The main character, Barnum, is a poor young man struggling to be accepted. Charity’s parents did not approve of their friendship and they often hid to have fun. After his father’s death, he was left alone and at this point, he is often hungry, lonely, and depressed. He had to do whatever it took to get food and a place to sleep. There is a scene where he steals bread and is chased by the vendor. Barnum never abandoned his dream of finding his destiny or writing to his childhood friend who later becomes the love of his life. Barnum and Charity’s children are portrayed as loving and caring. They are socially active and sharp and take part in decision-making in the family. They also have a great relationship with their parents and other people they associate with.

The theory from the lesson material that best relates to the movie is Jean Piaget’s cognitive development. According to the theory, the experiences that children go through are their basis for learning. For instance, learning occurs through assimilation and accommodation and this forms the long-term development change. Piaget classified development into stages that are differentiated by age. The characters in the movie are categorized according to the concrete operational stage. This is where children acquire skills and learn how to apply them in their daily operations. As the movie starts, Charity and Barnum are learning different life skills. However, Barnum’s resilience is what propelled him to follow his destiny.

In conclusion, the movie The Greatest Showman follows the life of a young boy from his childhood into adulthood and how the challenges he faced influenced him in adulthood. An understanding of childhood development gives parents, teachers, and caregivers the necessary knowledge, understanding, and tools in dealing with children of any age. Jean Piaget’s theory comes in at this point to give a clear overview of the different developmental stages that characters such as Charity went through.

Gracey, M., Bicks, J., Condon, B., & Mark, L. (2017). The greatest showman . Twentieth Century Fox. Web.

Jewell, T., Gardner, T., Susi, K., Watchorn, K., Coopey, E., Simic, M., & Eisler, I. (2019). Attachment measures in middle childhood and adolescence: A systematic review of measurement properties. Clinical Psychology Review , 68 , 71-82. Web.

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“The Greatest Showman” by Michael Gracey Essay (Movie Review)

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Characterization

Plot and structure, originality, visual presentation, works cited.

One of the great expectations of 2017, ‘The Great Showman’ received the majority of mixed reviews. Although it was generally positively accepted by spectators and even received some awards, not all critical reviews found positive commentaries for the plot, director, and the movie as a whole (Travers; Lawson; Collin).

Directed by Michael Gracey, the film is a biographical drama and a musical at the same time. It presents the story of how show business was born. In fact, the movie is a story of a visionary who created an amazing spectacle and became famous worldwide. The story begins with depicting the main character, Phineas Taylor Barnum, as a young boy who helps his father working as a tailor. He gets acquainted with a girl named Charity. Although her farther forbids him to come to the girl, they remain friends and marry when they grow older. Later, Barnum works for a trading company until it is closed. He attempts to work for himself and takes a loan to open the museum of oddities, but this idea fails. Still, he continues searching for unique people and renames his show as “P.T. Barnum’s Circus” that performs in America and abroad and becomes successful.

The main character of the movie is a penniless but ambitious young man Phineas Taylor Barnum. His story is that of a man who made himself and achieved everything he desired. His beloved wife, Charity, is another significant character. She is a support for her husband and a keeper of their family. Phillip Carlyle, a playwright, is a character that brought in new ideas to Barnum’s Circus and their cooperation took the show higher level. On the whole, the acting of characters is good.

The plot is not too complicated and quite predictable, which can be considered a weakness of the movie. Still, unexpected turns are not characteristic of musicals. The typical structure is followed. The film opens with character presentation, then the plot develops to the climax, and the final scene brings the movie to the end.

The dialogues are well-written. The conversations are logical and sound natural. However, the major dialogue is found in songs. Some critics claim they are too simple, but still songs in the movie are emotional and suit the scenes where they are used (Hann). Moreover, ‘The Greatest Showman’ was nominated for Oscar for these songs. Thus, music is a strong point of the film.

The movie is sometimes characterized as “a good old-fashioned cornball PG musical,” which does not contribute to its genre originality (Gleiberman). Still, the plot itself attracted spectators and thus has a certain share of originality.

The scenes are both well-played and well-shot. Still, there is some confusion in places where songs enter the plot. Nevertheless, the sequence of scenes is logical and represents the story well. Also, lighting is a significant element of the scenes because it underlines the difference between the show and life.

Critics wonder why the movie became so popular with spectators (Goodman). Still, its visual presentation is perfect and contributes to the plot development. There is enough of cooperation and dialogue between the characters. On the whole, despite many critical reviews, the movie is of great entertainment value because spectators appreciated the plot, acting, and the show.

Collin, Robbie. “The Greatest Showman Review: Hugh Jackman’s Sanitised PT Barnum Musical Isn’t Freaky Enough.” The Telegraph . 2017. Web.

Gleiberman, Owen. “Film Review: ‘The Greatest Showman.” Variety . 2017. Web.

Goodman, Stephanie. “What’s So Great about ‘The Greatest Showman’? The New York Times . 2018. Web.

Hann, Michael. “The Greatest Showman was derided by critics. So why has its soundtrack shot straight to No 1? The Guardian . 2018. Web.

Lawson, Richard. “The Greatest Showman Review: A Faux-Inspiring Musical Than Earns an Uneasy Smile.” Vanity Fair . 2017. Web.

Travers, Peter. “Review: ‘The Greatest Showman’ Is ‘a Shrill Blast of Nothing.” Rolling Stone . 2017. Web.

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1. IvyPanda . ""The Greatest Showman" by Michael Gracey." June 26, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-greatest-showman-movie-by-michael-gracey/.

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IvyPanda . ""The Greatest Showman" by Michael Gracey." June 26, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-greatest-showman-movie-by-michael-gracey/.

Pioneering the Future of AI-Enhanced Storytelling

The Greatest Showman

What happens when you're unclear about what you want to say.

A painful exploration of what it's like when you don't know what you're trying to say, The Greatest Showman well deserves its 55% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

If you want to break that 90% mark, you need a story. You need a Main Character Throughline that brings the Audience into the story. You need a challenging Obstacle Character perspective to shake up the Main Character's justifications. And you need some kind of Relationship Throughline between the two to compliment the conflict everyone experiences in the Objective Story Throughline .

The fact that Showman is a musical is no excuse. Moulin Rouge! is a musical and shines as a brilliant example of what happens when you combine song and dance with a meaningful and complete narrative.

If you like music videos, you'll love The Greatest Showman . If you like meaningful entertainment, it's best to set the filter for 90% and above.

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"Without promotion, something terrible happens...nothing!" - attributed to Phineas Taylor Barnum

"The  Greatest  Showman," directed with verve and panache by Michael Gracey , is an unabashed piece of pure entertainment, punctuated by 11 memorable songs composed by Oscar- and Tony-winning duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul , who composed the songs for " La La Land ," as well as the current Broadway hit  Dear Evan Hansen . The film is made for the whole family to enjoy, and so it leaves out many of the darker elements (explored in the 1980 Broadway musical  Barnum , music by Cy Coleman ). This is a difficult tightrope to walk, but credit is due to Gracey, a perfectly cast Hugh Jackman , and the entire cast, who play this story in the spirit in which it was written (by Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon ). "The  Greatest  Showman" positions itself as a story celebrating diversity, and the importance of embracing all kinds. 

There are those who will see this as a rose-colored-glasses view of what was a pretty exploitive situation. But in a 19th and early 20th century context, the circus and then vaudeville were welcoming places where those who had skills or who were rejected by society could find a home. Barnum put "misfit toys" onstage, saying, in essence, "Aren't they amazing?” (all while filling his pockets. For more thoughts on P.T. Barnum's barely acknowledged influence on American culture author Trav S.D.'s 2005 lecture at the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport, CT  is a good place to start.) Cary Grant , who had a harsh poor childhood, got his start as a tumbler in a vaudeville troupe. Years later he described his revelatory first visit to the Bristol Hippodrome:

"The  Saturday  matinee was in full swing when I arrived backstage; and there I suddenly found my inarticulate self in a dazzling land of smiling, jostling people wearing and not wearing all sorts of costumes and doing all sorts of clever things. And that’s when I knew! What other life could there be but that of an actor? They happily traveled and toured. They were classless, cheerful, and carefree. They gaily laughed, lived, and loved."

That's what "The  Greatest  Showman" captures.

The film starts with the title song "The  Greatest  Show," a show-stopper with repetitive thumping percussion (reminiscent of Queen's ferocious "We Will Rock You"). Hugh Jackman—in red impresario's coat and top hat—takes us on a dazzling tour, with cinematographer Seamus McGarvey keeping the movements fluid, and all the actions connected, plunging you into the center ring. The whole number comes from the brazen heart of showbiz:  Make it interesting! Give 'em something to look at! Make sure you reach the cheap seats!  Barnum croons seductively, "Just surrender cuz you feel the feeling taking over!" I obeyed without reservation.

During the next number, "A Million Dreams" the young and poor Barnum (Ellis Rubin) befriends a well-bred little girl named Charity Hallett ( Skylar Dunn ), and they dream of creating their own destiny. This is the first time in "The  Greatest  Showman" where a character stops speaking and starts to sing instead; the segue is gracefully handled, setting up the artificial device early on. If you don't set up that trope with confidence, it makes it look like you're embarrassed to be doing a musical. By the end of the song, the little boy has become Hugh Jackman and the little girl has become Michelle Williams , leaping and twirling across the rooftop of their tenement, bed sheets on the line billowing to the beat. 

After struggling to establish himself, Barnum launches out on his own, creating a theatre in the heart of New York City. He gathers together people with special talents as well as those with physical abnormalities (a giant, a bearded lady, Siamese twins, a dwarf—who would eventually be known as General Tom Thumb, Barnum's first "breakout star"). The "audition" sequence is extremely tricky, but the tone is set by Jackman's inclusive delight at the parade of humanity before him. It's a moment when ignored people are for the first time really  seen .

Lettie Lutz, the "bearded lady," played by Tony-nominee Keala Settle, with a powerhouse voice, is one of the first to come on board. Settle's performance—her first major role onscreen—is one of the many keys to why "The  Greatest  Showman" is so effective. She understands the spirit of the project, and you watch her transformation from cringing shame to fearless Diva. Her anthemic "This Is Me" is one of the emotional centers of the film. Barnum's business partner is playwright and society boy Phillip Carlyle ( Zac Efron ), with snobby parents who are not only horrified at his "slumming,” but also at his romance with an African-American trapeze artist (Zendaya) who sports a pompadour of cotton-candy pink hair. Their love story, as presented, is tender, pained, and sweet.

Rebecca Ferguson plays Jenny Lind, the "Swedish Nightingale," whom Barnum took on a whirlwind concert tour through America It was his entryway into "polite" society. Jenny Lind's power ballad "Never Enough" makes you understand why Barnum, backstage, falls in love with her instantly, throwing his marriage into crisis. Ferguson may be lip-synching to Loren Allred's breathtaking vocals, but it is her performance that carries. 

Ashley Wallen choreographed the numbers and there are many innovative moments, where she uses the outer environment to inform the movements of the characters. In " The Other Side ," Barnum convinces a reticent Carlyle to join the circus, and as he sings, the bartender puts down shot glasses, swipes the bar with a cloth, all as accents to the beat. The real standout, however, is "Rewrite the Stars," the love song between Efron and Zendaya,taking place in the empty circus tent, when she flies on the trapeze far above him, and he tries to climb up the ropes to meet her. Up, down, they both go, sometimes coming together, dangling above the ground, or sweeping in a wide circle together around the periphery of the tent. It is a moment when the film—every element onscreen—merges and transforms into pure emotion. This is what a musical can do like no other artform. 

One of the deep pleasures of "The  Greatest  Showman" is you don't have to grade the singing and dancing on a curve, as was necessary with "La La Land" (or, further back, to " Chicago ," where quick cuts hid Richard Gere's lack of tap dancing skills.) Hugh Jackman, with his powerful high baritone, got his start in musicals, performing in productions in Melbourne, and then in a hugely acclaimed revival of Oklahoma! in the West End. He won a Tony Award for his performance as Peter Allen in  The Boy From Oz  and has hosted the Tony Awards three times. He is an old-fashioned triple-threat. Film fans may know him mainly as "Wolverine," and there's nothing wrong with that, but once upon a time a song-and-dance man like Hugh Jackman's could sing and dance his way through mainstream Hollywood. He's unleashed here.

So, too, is Zac Efron, who also got his start because he could sing and dance in the phenom that was "High School Musical." His career has morphed into something rather unique, with titles like "Hairspray," "Neighbors," and a hilarious small part in this year's " The Disaster Artist ." He has something that cannot be manufactured, although many try, and that is old-school movie star charisma. Add to that a beautiful voice, plus dancing skills, plus a surprisingly ironic sense of humor, and he's got the full package. It's thrilling to see him in a big splashy musical. He's very much at home. 

Michelle Williams, with anachronistically long blonde hair, has a strong clear voice, and there's something exhilarating about how she tosses herself into thin air, knowing Jackman will catch her. In what could be a thankless "wet blanket wife" part, Williams adds a spunky sense of adventure, showing us the kind of woman who would say "No" to a ladylike society-wife life, and fling herself into the unknown with her man. 

The timing of this release is interesting. On May 21, 2017, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus folded up its tent for good, after 146 years of uninterrupted operation. Rocked by controversy due to criticisms of exploitation and animal abuse, they retired the elephant acts in 2016, but it was too late. Barnum was dogged by criticisms from the beginning. Many of the "acts" were fakes. Barnum actually didn't say the quote most associated with him ("There's a sucker born every minute") but he might as well have said it and his critics despised him for the assumption about popular entertainment and the regular folk who enjoy it. But in the film, Barnum, with a dazzling smile, explains to a skeptical journalist, "People come to my show for the pleasure of being hoodwinked." 

I was hoodwinked by "The  Greatest  Showman." And it was indeed a pleasure. Ringling Brothers may have closed up shop, but Barnum lives on.

Sheila O'Malley

Sheila O'Malley received a BFA in Theatre from the University of Rhode Island and a Master's in Acting from the Actors Studio MFA Program. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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The Greatest Showman (2017)

139 minutes

Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum

Zac Efron as Phillip Carlyle

Michelle Williams as Charity Barnum

Rebecca Ferguson as Jenny Lind

Zendaya as Anne Wheeler

Fredric Lehne as Mr. Hallett

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as WD Wheeler

Paul Sparks as James Gordon Bennett

• Michael Gracey
• Jenny Bicks
• Bill Condon
• Justin Paul

Cinematography

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Barnum's Reality vs. The Greatest Showman: A Tale of Differences

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Work Referenced

• Barnum, P.T. Barnum's Own Story - the Autobiography of P.T. Barnum. Dover Publications Inc., 2017.
• The Greatest Showman. Directed by Michael Gracey, performances by Zac Efron, Zendaya, and Hugh Jackman, Twentieth Century Fox, 2017.

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4 Key Lessons from ‘The Greatest Showman’

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There’s currently two groups of people in the world – those who have watched it and those who haven’t. Some people have even watched it more than once. Top hat sales have soared. Under the duvet, thousands of children are googling ‘how to join the circus’ on their iPads. I’m talking, of course, about The Greatest Showman .   Sniffed at by critics but adored by the public, The Greatest Showman is a musical, inspired by the life of P. T. Barnum. Starring Hugh Jackman , Zac Efron , and Zendaya , it’s a frenzy of color, song, dance, and wonder. You leave the cinema with the buzz of joy and happiness, humming the melody to songs you’ve only just heard. The next morning, you’ll start playing the soundtrack and as soon as it finishes, you’ll put it on again.   There’s plenty of life lessons in the film too. Purpose, meaning, success, family, diversity, and unity are the beams that both the songs and dialogue hang on. Here are a couple of the key ideas that the film provoked for me:   Follow Your Dreams  

  From his early days to the pinnacle of his journey, P. T. Barnum is a dreamer. His deep desire to make something more of his life, both for himself and for the woman he loves, drives him constantly. Part of the success of The Greatest Showman is that it speaks to the part of each of us that has a desire for meaning and destiny.   Remember What Matters Most  

  The writers of the “ Never Enough ” definitely owe some royalty money to King Solomon for this one. Ecclesiastes 2:9-11 says:   ‘ So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.’   In pursuit of his dreams, Barnum forgets what matters most and his original motivation for those dreams. The film poses the important question: what actually is success ? What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose his soul? Succeeding at the things that truly matter should always be in our minds.   It’s OK to Be Different  

P.T. Barnum’s troupe is made up of ‘freaks’ and misfits; those whom society has rejected. The anthemic “ This Is Me ” is their declaration of defiance, the refusal to accept dismissal and instead to celebrate who they are. This song strikes a chord with anyone who has ever felt like they are not enough, like they don’t fit, or that there’s something wrong with them. So, pretty much everyone, right?   Never Underestimate the Power of Film   OK, so this one wasn’t a part of the film, but more a reflection on the experience as a whole. I love going to the cinema, but often I can find my mind wandering from the film to other things.   The whole 105 minutes of The Greatest Showman , I was caught up by what was happening on screen. I didn’t think about politics, money, what I had to cook for dinner, the past, the present, or the future. None of it. I simply watched and enjoyed, drinking deeply from the immersive experience. Was it the best script in the world? Probably not. Was it the most original plot? Nope. But, did it leave me with a palpable sense of joy? Absolutely. For whatever reason, it just made me really happy.   We should never underestimate the power of art, song, film, or words to touch us like that – it’s truly a gift from God.

THE ANALYSIS OF ELLIPSIS SENTENCE IN “THE GREATEST SHOWMAN” MOVIE SCRIPT

• Dian Mariana Banjarnahor a:1:{s:5:"en_US";s:29:" [email protected] ";}

The title of this thesis is The Analysis of Ellipsis Sentence in the Greatest Showman Movie Script . There are two problems of the study in this thesis solved which are, what are the types of ellipsis are found in The Greatest Showman movie script, and how are the syntactical structure of ellipsis found un The Greatest Showman movie script. The data source of this thesis was taken from The Greatest Showman movie script. The theory that used in this thesis proposed by (Halliday & Hassan, 1976) to solve the first problem about types of ellipsis and the second theory proposed by Brown and Miller (1991) to solve the second problem about the syntactic structure. The data in this thesis were collected by using observation method. In order to analyze the data, the writer used qualitative and descriptive methods. The method that applied in presenting the data is formal and informal methods. The result of this study is found one (1) data Nominal Ellipsis, one (1) Verbal Ellipsis and fourteen (14) Clausal Ellipsis.

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The Greatest Showman: A Story of Self-Worth, Equality, and Breaking Boundaries

The Greatest Showman , (Starring Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, and Zac Efron) a spectacular film full of color, music, and dancing carries a message of courage…courage to be your true self.

The story follows P.T. Barnum in the 1800’s as he creates and forms what we now know as the Circus. Born to the son of a tailor, Barnum comes from humble beginnings but knows that someday he will achieve greatness. Yet, when this greatness becomes a realization, he is still unsatisfied. He cannot shake the feeling that he will never be enough because of where he comes from.

In the beginning days of the circus, circus performers were usually what society would call abnormal or even abhorrent simply because they were different. Yet, Barnum creates a home and a safe place for his circus performers. A place where each person feels accepted, and even celebrated for who they are.

The disapproval of society is portrayed throughout the film and a dichotomy of gazes is represented: one gaze representing how others see you, and the other representing how you see yourself. This struggle to break free from the bonds of others’ labels is a strong theme and affects each character. But, the most magical part of this story is that in the end each performer, and Barnum himself, come to realize that the disapproval of others doesn’t matter, as each finds the freedom to love his/her true self.

In the film there is a song, This Is Me , which showcases the circus performers unashamedly expressing themselves and owning who they are, in all their differences and uniqueness. It shows these performers walking through fancy halls of upper class women and men who gaze disapprovingly, they walk through the streets proclaiming “This is me” to the mob of angry onlookers who believe they should not be allowed to show their faces. All the while banding together and raising each other up to find the courage and bravery needed to face those around them.

Throughout the film, as each person finds their voice, there is another person by their side to validate who they are and to raise them higher. And this is the beauty of life. Being given the opportunity to come alongside another human being and encourage their growth and their truth. To validate who they are, to listen to and be aware of their struggles and the walls they have had to climb.

In life there are many times we can either follow what those around us want us to be, look like, and act like, or we can choose to discover our true selves. It is not easy to dismiss disapproval or judgement from others, especially from those you love and care for. Yet, when we have the courage to discover who we truly are, break free from our labels and love ourselves, we give those around us the freedom to the same in their lives.

The Greatest Showman is not only entertaining with big musical numbers and A-list performers, it is a story of the magic that happens when we choose to see ourselves as worthy.

As you watch this film, we encourage you to be mindful. Let yourself be inspired, let the lyrics of the songs speak to your own story, and allow yourself to leave this experience with more grace for yourself and others.

The Greatest Showman: A story of self-worth, equality and breaking boundaries.

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