Name: Kristina Cassandra S.

Naparate Date: October 4, 2021

Grade 11-HUMMS (Hybrid)

ORAL COMMUNICATION

NATURE and ELEMENTS of COMMUNICATION (Apply)

“Create a five-minute online presentation of your own favorite scene from an English movie, TV series, or
musical or non-musical stage play. The chosen scene should show how one or more barriers to
communication lead to communication breakdown.”

The movie I choose:

Summary:
The film opens with a circus sequence (The Greatest Show) led by the
famed American showman P. T. Barnum, which then fades to the young
Barnum and his father, a tailor working for the Hallett family. The young
Barnum jokes with a young Charity Hallett learning table etiquette from a
private tutor, earning him a stern reprimand and her a grounding from her
parents. The two meet again later outside, where Charity tells Barnum that
she is being sent to finishing school; Barnum reassures her that they will
not be separated despite this. The two keep in touch throughout through
letters until they meet again in adulthood (A Million Dreams), eventually
going to marry each other, Charity gets pregnant and having two children,
Caroline and Helen. (A Million Dreams (Reprise)) in New York. The family
lives a humble life in an apartment – while Charity is happy with their life,
however, Barnum dreams of more, wanting to offer Charity a life of wealth
and comfort.
Barnum is fired from his job as a clerk at a shipping company after the
company goes bankrupt following the sinking of their trading ships in a
typhoon. Taking a risky bet on an idea, he takes out a large loan from a
bank, deceiving the bank into using the sunken trading ships of his former
employer as collateral. He uses this loan to build “Barnum’s American
Museum” in downtown Manhattan, an attraction showcasing various wax
models of subjects of interest, including a giraffe, elephant, and various
historical figures. Initially, sales are slow; on the suggestion of his children,
he endeavors to search for various “freaks” (people with various physical
abnormalities or extraordinary abilities) to serve as performers for his
museum (Come Alive) – this venture succeeds, attracting a wide audience
and resulting in high ticket sales despite protests and poor reviews (the
wording of one of which prompts Barnum to rename his venture to
“Barnum’s Circus”).Searching for ways to further his reputation and
credibility amongst the upper class, he meets Phillip Carlyle and convinces
him to join his venture (The Other Side) with promises of liberation from
the pressures and various struggles of his life. Upon Carlyle’s arrival to the
venture, he becomes enamored with one of the performers, Anne Wheeler,
an acrobat and trapeze artist. Carlyle manages to arrange for Barnum and
his troupe to meet Queen Victoria, who is amused by them – it is here that
he meets Jenny Lind, a famed European opera singer, who he convinces to
perform in America, with Barnum serving as marketer and manager.
Her first performance (Never Enough) is a success, receiving critical
acclaim, with Barnum deciding to take her on a tour across the US – in the
process, however, he begins to neglect his original circus, to the
disappointment to Carlyle and the troupe’s performers, who begin to feel
as if they are being ignored once more (This Is Me). Meanwhile, Carlyle
and Wheeler struggle with their budding relationship under pressure from
societal norms, which prompts Wheeler to break off the relationship
(Rewrite the Stars). Charity, too, is feeling increasingly isolated from her
husband, who is now away on tour with Lind as she stays home to take
care of their children (Tightrope).
While on tour with Barnum, Lind becomes increasingly attached to
Barnum, making advances towards him; when Barnum declines, in a fit of
anger, she calls off the tour. During the following performance’s curtain
call (Never Enough (Reprise)), she impulsively kisses him onstage in a
moment captured by photographers. Barnum returns home to find his
circus on fire, a result of a fight between protesters and the troupe’s
performers – in the chaos, Carlyle believes Wheeler to be stuck in the
burning building and rushes in himself to save her ; when Wheeler
emerges unharmed on her own, Barnum decides to head in himself to save
Carlyle. The building collapses; no one is harmed, but most of the set and
props have been destroyed. To further Barnum’s struggles, word of the
cancellation of Lind’s tour as well as his public moment with Lind reaches
New York, resulting in not just further financial difficulties from the loss of
income from the tour but also his eviction from his mansion. Dejected,
Barnum turns to alcohol; however, met with his cast, who encourage him
to continue, he resolves to work to build himself back up and rebuild the
circus, this time with him keeping himself down-to-earth rather than being
carried away with his reputation and wealth (From Now On). Meanwhile,
the injured Carlyle wakes in the hospital with Wheeler by his side, the two
sharing a tender moment and resolving to continue their relationship
despite societal pressure. Barnum visits his estranged wife, the two also
resolving to rebuild a mutually trusting, open relationship. After
considerable difficulty finding a bank willing to loan money to rebuild the
circus, the recovering Carlyle steps in, offering to use his shared earnings
from the show to rebuild it; however, as rebuilding the show in its original
location (downtown Manhattan) would be too expensive, Barnum decides
to rebuild it as an open-air tent circus by the harbor. The new, rebuilt circus
is a great success; Barnum decides to hand over the reins of the show to
Carlyle, himself deciding to retire to greater focus on his family and
children.

“How this apply to the communication breakdown or show the barriers.”

-This applies that lacks of confidence, emotional barriers scene of how

they sing the ‘This is Me’ The performers are feeling pretty miserable that
their careers are probably over. But then, they decide to stand up for
themselves and fight back against the local mobs who continue to torment
them. It’s a moment that captures the journey of the cast from unloved
“human oddities” to stars of the stage. It’s the perfect moment for an
anthem of self-acceptance – and bit of character development for the
Bearded Lady. When you want to give up, but remember the things you
encounter the joys, the personality inside of you, and especially the
acceptance of being who you are.
People make fun of you even they didn’t know what pain you’ve holding
inside in your emotions and that’s the action of Physiological barriers.
Hugh Jackman, proving once again he’s one of the most versatile actors of
his generation, stars as P. T. Barnum, a man defined by his endless
ambitious and hustle. We see him as a child starving in the streets and
being rejected by the upper-class, which forms the entire basis for his life’s
work. Barnum wants to be respected by the people who sneered at him.
That’s about as far as the film delves into the character’s psychology.
Anything more salacious or nuanced was left on the cutting room floor.
Barnum is the type of hero that our society champions. He’s charming,
innovative and sees value in people that others overlook. Having faced
rejection and loss as a child, he is a leader who offers tangible hope. He is
loyal to his vision of creating a great circus, and stands by his circus family
even when the people and the press ridicule them. Barnum is humble,
steadfast and an unexpected savior. In the spotlight, Barnum is great.

The film tracks Barnum’s rise in the entertainment world (taking several
dozen liberties with the historical record). He starts a “freak” museum,
which gradually evolves into a massive circus. Barnum recruits midgets,
bearded women, obese men, and other “oddities” for his show. But with
each new success, Barnum reaches even higher, risking losing everything
he has.
The plot is standard biopic fluff. Barnum’s life has been condensed in the
film to give it a cinematic, narrative thrust, but it mostly falls flat. Barnum
just bounces from victory to victory until a laughably contrived disaster in
act three throws him off. It’s hard to get invested in a plot this shallow.
There are vague themes of family, racism, love, ambition, and class
struggle, but they’re so jumbled and half-baked they barely register.

-For me, The Greatest Showman tells me that uniqueness is something to

be proud of and we should never hide it, instead we should show it to the
world. Things that was given to us should be treasured and most of all we
must be happy with what we are and who we are. The characters with
their acts, traits, uniqueness and their life are what makes the movie “The
Greatest Showman” a great movie. Combining music and dancing with
the peculiar characters, it is one of a kind movie that can inspire you and at
the same time entertain the audience.