PT Barnum was one legendary American circus owner and he is known for his works all across the globe. Hugh Jackman was successful in showing PT Barnum’s life through his movie “The Greatest Showman” which released recently. The movie is all about songs and dances. It gives us an impression that all was good with PT Barnum.
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Barnum was also known for his promotional skills. He is known for his famous act of leading 21 elephants across the Brooklyn Bridge to prove to the people that it was safe. The act was inspired with the thoughts to promote his circus as well. The movie is also now been criticized to capture only good moments of his life. As a matter of fact, PT Barnum had also many gray areas which the movie has not showcased. It is said that his human and animal stars lived very troublesome life.
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Here, in the picture, Lavinia Warren was shown who married Tom Thumb. Tom worked as an entertainer at the circus. Tom was only 33 inches tall. Tom’s family is shown in the picture. Both of them were dwarfs. There was one entertainer who was more than 7 feet tall. Her name was Anna Haining Swan Bates.
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It is also said that it Barnum who created this myth that because of its thick skin, elephants could not feel pain. And, this was used as a premise for treatment of animals with cruelty. There was an incident when he imported nine elephants, which included a calf, from Sri Lanka in a very cramped ship. The space in the ship was so limited that the animals could breathe properly and could not take a single step. It was tragic that one of the elephants had died when the ship reached America.
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The elephants which were imported from Sri Lanka had to undergo a lot of pain and torture at the circus. They also used a torturous burning method against the elephants. The elephants were also used to be hit by sharp bullhook, a huge rod equipped with a sharp stainless steel hook, to train them for cry. This act had created a tradition among all the circuses around the world. This act of animal cruelty continues till date.
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Barnum and Bailey is in the habit of handling its elephants with bullhooks till the time they were phased out of the show. The circus was also penalized by more than £200,000 for animal rights violations in the year 2011.
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Barnum was also a known teetotaller who also led temperance movement. But, his star elephant, Jumbo, was also famously known for his act of drinking entire keg of beer in single sitting.
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It was not only the elephants which suffered at the Barnum’s circus and museums. He once grabbed nine Beluga whales which were displayed at his Museum in New York from 1961 to 1865. Two of them were kept at the basement tank which was full of fresh water. He had also added a great amount of salt to create sea like conditions. The second pair had died immediately despite all the arrangements.
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As the whales were dying, Barnum also used it as marketing strategy. He announced, “As it is very doubtful whether these wonderful creatures can be kept alive more than a few days, the public will see the importance of seizing the first moment to see them.”
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The PETA vice president Lisa Lange already said that the animal rights charity had met with the production team of “The Greatest Showman.” She said that they had already requested the production team to not project everything as good.
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“Romanticising a man caused so much pain and suffering is irresponsible and normalizes animal abuse. It boggles the mind that Hollywood is glorifying a man who got rich by exploiting people with disabilities and whose mercenary and merciless treatment of animals paved the way for over a century of violence and abuse,” she said.
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Lisa is of the view that it was actually Barnum who created the legacy of chaining, whipping and beating the animals in circuses all across the world. However, some of Barnum’s human attraction were treated better in comparison to animals.
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There was a human attraction called Zip the Pinhead, who is also called as 'The What It Is? He was a dwarf who suffered from a disease called microcephaly. Because of the disease, his head was tapered at the top. Barnum used to tell the punters that Zip the Pinhead was a missing link between man and ape. As a matter of fact, he was born as William Henry Johnson in New Jersey. As he was born in poor family, his parents handed him to circus in return of some money.
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Also among his exploits included Joice Heth who was partially blind and partially paralyzed slave. He bought him when slavery was banned in New York. He bought Joice for £1,000.
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