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The Greatest Showman (2017) is a musical film centered around the life of American showman and notorious con artist P.T. Barnum. As a fantastical rendition of Barnum's "Greatest Show on Earth," the film glamorizes the American freak show, hiding many of the ugly truths that underlined not just the life of the mastermind behind it, but the act of making a spectacle out of disability and difference. Conversely, the film eagerly celebrates what is considered to be unorthodox, and proudly reclaims what it means to be a 'freak.'
Romanticizing P.T. Barnum & the Harsh Realities of Freak Shows
Romanticizing P.T. Barnum & the Harsh Realities of Freak Shows
The freak show, whose origins date back to the 1500s, is not a creation of P.T. Barnum; however, he certainly popularized the attraction, as it quickly became a staple of entertainment in the Victorian Era. The film details his journey from rags to riches, where he takes the hefty risk to open up Barnum's American Museum in New York. The audience initially roots for the showman and his plight, as the opening montage sheds light on his poor upbringing and forbidden love. As he rises in status, he becomes the pinnacle of the American dream, which nearly idealizes his exhibitions. Still, the film doesn't completely excuse the infamous deceiver, as Barnum becomes both the hero and the villain of the story. The conflict centralizes around his ever growing desire for wealth at the expense of those who brought him fame and fortune. The film fails to emphasize his hoaxes and– even worse– disregards the negative ideologies that stemmed from the famous 'freak show' in favor of a romanticized version of the "Greatest Show on Earth."
Clip from The Greatest Showman (2017), directed by Michael Gracey
The film alters the age of Charles Stratton, presumably to avoid criticism of Barnum involving child exploitation. Stratton was actually younger than 5 years old when he began performing for the showman.
Disability is defined as a "social and cultural condition attached to bodies and behaviors that are seen as non-normative and deviant" (Imada). People with disabilities are often transformed into spectacles through acts of enfreakment, where they staged and distanced from societal norms for consumption. The hiring scene, found on the left, partially paints Barnum as a type of savior for the "freaks" placed on display at his museum. Although he takes a candid approach to recruiting his attractions at first, he quickly shifts to a perception of admiration. The film contrasts Barnum's acceptance and the attitudes of the other characters who reject each individual, such as Charles Stratton's mother or the men who call Lettie Lutz (known in real life as Annie Jones) a "freak." The individuals are found in situations marked by poverty, and are visibly ashamed of their disabilities. By recruiting them for his show, Barnum seems like an ally, and his self-benefit is only suggested through his white lies and charisma. The fast-paced scene doesn't give the audience a second chance to process the names that have been given to these performers, titles such as "Dog Boy" and "Tattoo Man," that either make their disability their sole identifying feature or animalize them.
Beyond the brief implications of greed, the film overlooks the consequences of framing the disabled body in a particular manner, as well as the extent of Barnum's exploitation of his performers. Joice Heth, Barnum's first popular attraction who is completely disregarded by the film, was an enslaved African-American woman who the showman claimed to be the 161 year-old nurse to George Washington. He dehumanized her, claiming "she was actually a machine, made up of whale bone and old leather," and placed her dead body on display in the form of a public autopsy. Freak shows had disastrous repercussions for the black community, as the exaggeration of racial difference and subsequent animalization led to the perpetuation of white superiority. Through the staging of his performers, Barnum participated in the creation of a racial hierarchy and dehumanization of blacks in America.
William Henry Johnson, famously known as "What is it?" or "Zip the Pinhead," was an African-American freak show performer who was thought to have microcephaly. Barnum staged his possible intellectual disability as animalike and inferior, displaying Johnson as the potential "missing link between and beast." Racial enfreakment had ideological consequences: if a human could be animalized, their subordination could be justified. By presenting Johnson as an animal and ultimately degrading his personhood, Barnum indulged in scientific racism, defined as the use of manipulated scientific data that designates whites at head of the biological hierarchy (Imada). The litograph advertisement to the left further emphasizes a black and white divide, as Johnson is placed at the center and is surrounded by white onlookers. The performer is dehumanized through the title of his exhibit, "Man Monkey," as he loses all means of personal identification in efforts to make him appear more animal than human.
George and Willie Muse, whose stage names are "Eko" and "Iko," were displayed by Barnum as "his original monkey men." His name for the two men is one of several reflections of racist ideologies within Barnum's exhibits. The Muse brothers were forced into the circus life, as they were kidnapped at a young age from their hometown of Truevine, VA. Once Barnum was able to integrate them into his show, he capitalized off of their albinism, creating wild backstories for the brothers, such as originating from a planet on Mars. Regardless of the tagline, George and Willie were painted as anything but human. Their given title of "Sheepheaded Men" animalizes African features such as their dreadlocks. The promotional image to the left indicates that one of their performance names comprised the term "cannibal" which dehumanizes the brothers and separates them from civilized society. The animalization of black performers reinforced the ideology of white supremacy and the subhuman status of African Americans that manifested in the Jim Crow south. The brothers' albinism would have captivated white audiences, as their racial ambiguity also troubled the logic of enslavement (Imada). Freak shows and the staging of non-normative as well as racially different bodies became a means of comparison and reconciliation of societal conventions.
These performers were left out of The Greatest Showman in efforts to mask the problematic past of frontrunner P.T. Barnum and the jarring truth behind freak shows. Disabled bodies, which at the time included people of color, were placed on display in order for conventional society to reconcile the muddled binaries disrupted by these extraordinary bodies. The boundaries between white and nonwhite, as well as male and female, were transgressed by the ambiguous beings. Considered some form of a threat to conventional society, these so-called "freaks" were placed under the supervision of those who could control what they represented. However, the "freak show" became a space where diverse identities could be simultaneously be made distinct and celebrated.
Embracing Enfreakment
Embracing Enfreakment
The field of disability studies moves the extraordinary body from a perception of deviance to one of purpose and meaning (Imada). Although freak shows carry the potential for the ridicule of disability, these performances also provide a safe space for the union of divergent identities. The song, "This is Me," which is considered the anthem of the film, provides a nuance to the tale of P.T. Barnum and his "freaks." As I was researching Barnum's "Greatest Show On Earth" and how truthful the film adaption was, I stumbled across comments that emphasized that film, as a means of cultural production, was meant to be fictitious and fantastical. I came up with a somewhat contradictory response. It is our responsibility as viewers and consumers of culture, especially narratives with a complicated past, to educate ourselves in order to prevent the repetition of similar injustices in the future. We cannot ignore P.T. Barnum's exploitation of disabled bodies or promotion of racist ideologies. However, the film isn't simply about the infamous showman– the extraordinary bodies become the heart of the story. Perhaps The Greatest Showman is not meant to centralize on Barnum's immorality, but to positively transform what it means to be a "freak."
"This is Me" is a song of commemoration for those who have been made to feel different by societal convention. The anthem transforms the film into one that celebrates acceptance and pride for one's identity. The scene stages a visible distinction and distance between disabled bodies and normative standards by pitting the group of "freaks" against a society of white elites who do nothing but stare. By painting the performers as a powerful entity, particularly against the army of torches and pitchforks, The Greatest Showman provides a positive representation for those with disabilities. The freak show transforms into a space where extraordinary and ambiguous bodies are celebrated instead of ridiculed and antagonized. Real-life performances "featured cross-dressing characters as star attractions," when those who defied gender norms were often criminalized in other public spaces. San Francisco, for example, policed those who were perceived to be in "a dress not belonging to his or her sex" (Sears). The photographs above show performers Omar Kingsley and and Vesta Tilley dressed in a manner than challenged the conventions of gender during their time. Unlike the images and advertisements from Barnum's show, Kingsley and Tilley are not being compared or staged against people who conformed to standards. They are presented in a state that felt natural to them, where they could be true to their identities and perceptions of themselves. Through the celebration of disability and the diversity of identities, the duality of freak shows is revealed: although these performances may invite unruly stares, they provide a sense of unity and recognition amongst those who society deems deviant.
Contemporary Freak Shows
Contemporary Freak Shows
The Greatest Showman is a critical film in the way that it brings freak shows back into the conversation of popular culture. As these attractions largely faded into the past, the fantastical adaptation of "The Greatest Show on Earth" inevitably resulted in modern-day enthusiasts. The resurfacing of the stories of both P.T. Barnum and his performers furthers the education surrounding enfreakment, a practice that has been remolded into different contemporary forms.
I vividly remember my first trip to Venice Beach, specifically the bright orange sign for the freak show on the boardwalk, which featured a two-headed turtle, giant rat, and a large cyclops. There were no human beings in sight on the advertisement, which caused me to believe that traditional freak shows were a thing of the past. However, now that I have revisited these performances, I have learned otherwise. Todd Ray's Venice Beach Freak Show was transformed into a reality TV series in 2013, which featured performers with all kinds of talents and "non-normative" appearances, amongst them "The Indestructible Woman" and "The Mystic." The promotional image for the series is shown to the left alongside a photograph, titled "Congress of Freaks," that features Barnum's performers. What I found to be a striking difference among the images is the way that the "freaks" are presented. The individuals of "the Greatest Show on Earth" are lined up in neat rows and displayed in a manner that facilitates a focus on their disabilities, almost as if they are specimens to observed. In comparison, the performers of Freakshow are huddled together in a way that creates a sense of unity, as if they are some form of a family that happens to have members with unique qualities. Comparing the photographs gives rise to the change in the dynamics of the freak show. Extraordinary bodies and abilities are not only celebrated, but bring people together.
Reflection
Reflection
Before Humanities Core, I didn't give much thought to methods of "othering." I was aware that certain groups of people could be manipulated to be viewed as different, but I have become more informed about the ways that society declares a being "deviant" and makes it evident to the public eye. It is essential to become educated about these issues in order to dismantle the dominant, negative ideologies that have stemmed from misuses of enfreakment. Studying acts of scientific racism and how it relates to freak shows and human zoos has demonstrated that racism is ingrained in several aspects of society. Addressing the wrongdoings of negatively staging disability and racial difference must involve confronting uncomfortable images and installations that disrupt long-held prejudices and preconceived notions of those who trouble the standards of society. Avoiding these types of confrontations due to the fear of dissonance or change simply allows false ideals to continue. In compiling this research, I attempted to create an opposition between old and new, as demonstrated by the contrast of monotone photographs from the old age of freakshows and lively images and clips created in modern-day. As the current generation feels compelled to educate themselves and embrace new, inclusive ideas, the capacity for change is evident.
This quarter I found myself to be more curious. As I became increasingly interested in history as a narrative, the manner in which it is created and evolves became a fascinating idea to me. The investment I had in the content we explored this quarter facilitated a deeper analysis and subsequent development of ideas. As I sorted through various primary and secondary sources, as well as academic sites and sources of information, the idea of completing a large scale research project in the future became less daunting. The website project enabled me to add my own contribution to the scholarly topic, as well as explore aspects of the content that are personal and important to me. Throughout the quarter, I have written pieces that I am personally proud of, and have gained back a lot of confidence in my writing abilities. I am very appreciative of the ways in which Humanities Core has changed my worldview, as I find myself engaging in the principles of cultural studies everytime I watch, read, or view something new.
Sources Not Linked
Imada, Adria, "Freaks and Entertainment." Lecture. University of California, Irvine. February 16, 2021.
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