The Greatest Showman

Hi Guys,

I just posted a serious post but now I want to talk about something that I am loving. The Greatest Showman. It is an original musical that came out on Boxing Day and I have seen it three times in the cinema. I went with my family, I went with a bunch of friends and then I went by myself and I just love it. This post is probably a little bit useless now, if you want to see it in the cinema because, at least where I live, it is starting to leave the cinema or has already left it, but you can get it when it comes out on DVD, which I can't wait for. :):):):) And when I went to see it with my friends at the cinema, two of us knew all the lyrics already and we were just singing along and it was amazing. (No one else could hear us because we were sitting away from the other people in the cinema.) 

In case you have no idea what I am talking about, the Greatest Showman is based on the story of PT Barnum, the man who invented the circus and also the whole idea of show business. It has an amazing cast: Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Keala Settle (who sings This is Me), Zac Efron and Zendaya. Before I say anything else, I think that it is safe to say that the film is LOOSELY based on his life. Yes, they talk about his wife and his children and the circus and the fact that he found 'unusual' people but, at the same time, they smooth over a lot of details. PT Barnum was about 60 when he started the circus and also the circus was not the best place, morally, in that sense. In the circus, animals and people had to endure horrific treatment and they were excluded from society for being different. If you want to see an accurate representation of the treatment of people who were different and shunned from society, I think The Elephant Man is a better film but, at the same time, I don't think that the purpose of this film is to accurately represent his life. I think that the point is to celebrate difference and uniqueness and PT Barnum definitely did that.

The soundtrack is the best bit, without a shadow of a doubt. In fact, even critics that don't think the story line is solid or believable, (although, personally I have no problem with it) admit that the songs are great. They are the kind of songs that you just want to start singing the minute that you leave the cinema and, once you have learnt the lyrics, they just have so much meaning and are so emotionally charged.

The theme song of the film is 'This is Me' and Keala Settle sings it and it is so beautiful and the song actually won a Golden Globe, earlier this month. And below is a video in which I think she sings it best:

And this one is amazing as well. 

So check it out, if you like musicals and hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I did :D

Clare 

Mayim Bialik: Being a Feminist in Harvey Weinstein’s World

Hi guys, 

I just wanted to share this article. It was published last October but I only came across it recently and I think that it is a very interesting read. A lot of people criticised Mayim Bialik, (who plays Amy Farrah Fowler on the Big Bang Theory, an American sitcom) for what she said but I personally agree with her. 

Hopefully, the exposure of Harvey Weinstein and the subsequent Time's Up campaign will show sexual predators that people are not going to let them get away with this abuse anymore and victims of sexual abuse and harassment will know that they can talk about their experiences, as this has not always been the case. Recently, Simone Biles spoke up and said that she had been sexually abused by the US Gymnastics Team doctor, Larry Nassar so it seems like society is slowly creeping towards the right direction, although there is still so much to do, in a world where the objectification and abuse of women is still so common.  

Anyway, you can check out the links below. 

You can read the article HERE

You can find out more about the Time's Up campaign HERE

Clare