Music and Stories of The Greatest Showman

The Greatest Showman is a wonderful recent rendition of the story of 19th-century showman P.T. Barnum, a family man with a dream. The movie is a musical drama and tells the story through different musical pieces. The movie centers about Barnum and his circus of "misfits" or "oddities", with the music detailing how our differences make us unique and it's a good thing that no two people are the same. The musical piece from this movie I'll be focusing on is "This Is Me", which tells the morale of the story: to accept others regardless of their differences.

The song This Is Me, performed in the movie The Greatest Showman, was composed by Justin Paul and Benj Pasek and released in the U.S. on October 26, 2017. Listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjxugyZCfuw 

This defiant song was written to align with the lessons of the movie and to arouse self-acceptance. This Is Me is a fight song for those who are not generally accepted by society. As the story goes, Barnum brings multiple "misfits" or "oddities" together to form a circus that many people don't agree with because those in the circus are not considered normal. When this song is performed, it shows the circus people standing up for themselves and being proud of who they are, regardless of their differences. 

One musical element found in this song is the structure. This song's structure is so popular because it puts the focus on the chorus. In a joyous D-major explosion, the chorus is noticeably the most satisfying part of the song. The chorus is the part of the song that resonates most with viewers, as they themselves can sing along and take the words to heart. The second musical element found in this song is the massive crescendo, which takes the song from piano to forte, followed by a brief diminuendo before the final chorus. The drastic change puts emphasis on the chorus once again and gives the song the intended dramatic effect.

The deeper message in The Greatest Showman and more specifically, This Is Me, is to accept others regardless of their differences. Everyday, people are judged, told they are different, or just feel out of place. The message behind this movie as a whole, but specifically this song, is to accept others regardless of their differences. This is a very heartfelt song that entices the audience to embrace those who are unique and instills a sense of hope for the future of society.

I personally love this movie and especially this song. I think that this movie had the right actors to tell the story and the music came together very nicely. I love the story behind the movie and the way it's shown throughout the music. I think that this movie is very fitting for teenagers nowadays who often feel that they themselves are out of place. I volunteer with a non-profit organization called HOBY, which promotes youth leadership and development. When this movie was released in 2017, the HOBY organization chose to incorporate it into 2018's seminars across the country. This song was played at multiple seminars and really aided in helping youth feel included and accepted. This will always be one of my favorite movies with some of my favorite music. I just love the story and emotions from it all! 

Sources:

Latter, Jordan. “The Greatest Showman Brings Light to Underlying Meaning of the Circus.” The Current, https://olhscurrent.org/2595/ae/__trashed-2/.

Roberts, Maddy Shaw. “A Geeky Music Theory Analysis of 'This Is Me' from The Greatest Showman.” Classic FM, 31 Jan. 2018, https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/music-theory/this-is-me-greatest-showman-analysis/.

Songfacts. “This Is Me by Keala Settle - Songfacts.” Song Meanings at Songfacts, https://www.songfacts.com/facts/keala-settle/this-is-me.