The Corruption of the Dream
((Contains Spoilers for The Greatest Showman))
As I wrote in my last post, a Dream has the power to shake the world, change lives, and bring about radical change in individuals and society. But the first time I saw the movie, the thought I came away with wasn't the power of the Dream. It was a bit more depressing, but equally profound for me: "It's the story of a Dreamer who forgot why he was dreaming and had to find his way back."
The Dream Can Be A Drug
If you are a Dreamer or have ever loved a Dreamer, you know the fierce pain that comes with the ever-present Dream. As a child, Barnum had "A million dreams," and he held to those dreams through the struggle of his father's death, being homeless on the streets, and even while working the railroad so he could be presentable to Charity. Building a world for them was his Dream, and he was willing to fight for it tooth and nail.
Not being able to realize your Dream is painful. Hunting for how to bring the Dream to Life, to "Dream with your eyes wide open," can be excruciating, especially if you have to ask others to help you.
In Barnum's case, he was fighting against having been told he was a piece of trash his whole life and seeing his family hurt. Charity pinched pennies to keep food on the table, their roof needed repairs, and they couldn't afford to give their girls things that they wanted. So, his schemes became crazier and crazier until he finally settled onto what he was looking for.
He hit his stride, found his joy, and managed to get ahead. He found his niche. He got the big house, could afford the fancy ballet school for his daughter, had the shiny toys, the nice clothes. Everything his family could possibly want, they had.
But with that taste, he lost track of why he worked so hard - to bring magic and joy to his family. He checked off one box, now he needed to check of the next. He wanted to prove everyone wrong. He wanted to show everyone that he was better than they had said he could be. He wanted his wife and children to want for nothing. And he wanted to finally be accepted by society. So, he started chasing ways to attract the media attention he wanted. While he used to "thrive off of controversy," he began to want the approval of the theater critic because "all the snobs read him; he does their thinking for them."
His family was happy, he had a work he loved, he was making a difference in the world. But the addiction was strong. One goal met, why not the next? High on success, he found he wasn't content.
The Dream Can Become Your God
He had to hunt down ways that he could measure that showed him that he was approved of. He met the Queen of England and there met his next distraction -- a beautiful singer who could open doors that all the joy in the world couldn't. So, he follows her. With her her gains the applause that his heart wants.That taste of approval was the next hit of the drug for him. Finally, he forced them, those who had scorned him, who had treated him like dirt, to admit that he had something they wanted. Finally, for just one night, he was more than the tailor's boy with the crazy schemes.
Except, he had spent so long thinking that fulfilling his dream would mean all his problems went away, that he had never come to terms with his wounds, and they still shone through. Suddenly, the unconditional love and blind trust of one of the best women to exist wasn't enough. The people he had formed a family with were people he was ashamed of because they would accentuate the differences between him and the others. The lights became more important than the glow of his children's smiles.
He turned the Dream into the ultimate end, and he lost track of everything that mattered. He couldn't love anyone or anything but the dream. Not his wife, his friends, his children, or even himself. He became so blinded by the lights that he forgot about his children just wanting Daddy. He told himself that he was doing all of this for His Beloved who only wanted Him home with her. He gambled everything on the applause, and he forgot about the humanity he once loved. And when he did, everything imploded.
He pushed everyone away, and then was surprised when everything fell apart. He forgot that he didn't dream to make himself feel better. The dream wasn't for him. It was from him. The dreams lived in him, meant to be brought to life in the world to help build a world of beauty, joy, and hope. And he'd instead turned the dream into the world, turned the dream into his God. When the dream became his God, he lost why he bothered to dream the dream, and everything crumbled.
He lost his circus, his home, and his wife, and his children. Everyone was stripped away from him, and he had to come to terms with who he was. He had transformed from the vibrant dreamer who longed only to bring magic to the world. Instead, he found a man who had told every single person close to him that they weren't important. He'd let the need for acceptance to corrupt his dream. He allowed his scars to distract him from why he dreamed. He'd turned into everything he hated.
He hit rock bottom. And he had to decide if he would fight to regain what he had once had. Or if he would continue to be broken and distracted and lost. And he knew that His Beloved was worth it. So, with tears in his eyes and heart full of humility, he began to mend the wrongs he had wrought.
No, the Greatest Showman isn't really all that true to who Barnum was. But, honestly, I don't care. This here is the story that we needed. We needed a story of a Dreamer that could change the world. But, more importantly, I think we needed a story of how the Dream can be lost.... and regained. The world alternates between telling us that dreaming is foolish and telling us to follow our dreams. But it forgets to tell us that the Dream is as dangerous as it is powerful. That it is easily corrupted if we don't keep our eyes on the goal.
And the world almost never shows the power of repentance, forgiveness, and re-dedication that can make the Dream pure again.
As I wrote in my last post, a Dream has the power to shake the world, change lives, and bring about radical change in individuals and society. But the first time I saw the movie, the thought I came away with wasn't the power of the Dream. It was a bit more depressing, but equally profound for me: "It's the story of a Dreamer who forgot why he was dreaming and had to find his way back."
The Dream Can Be A Drug
If you are a Dreamer or have ever loved a Dreamer, you know the fierce pain that comes with the ever-present Dream. As a child, Barnum had "A million dreams," and he held to those dreams through the struggle of his father's death, being homeless on the streets, and even while working the railroad so he could be presentable to Charity. Building a world for them was his Dream, and he was willing to fight for it tooth and nail.
In Barnum's case, he was fighting against having been told he was a piece of trash his whole life and seeing his family hurt. Charity pinched pennies to keep food on the table, their roof needed repairs, and they couldn't afford to give their girls things that they wanted. So, his schemes became crazier and crazier until he finally settled onto what he was looking for.
He hit his stride, found his joy, and managed to get ahead. He found his niche. He got the big house, could afford the fancy ballet school for his daughter, had the shiny toys, the nice clothes. Everything his family could possibly want, they had.
But with that taste, he lost track of why he worked so hard - to bring magic and joy to his family. He checked off one box, now he needed to check of the next. He wanted to prove everyone wrong. He wanted to show everyone that he was better than they had said he could be. He wanted his wife and children to want for nothing. And he wanted to finally be accepted by society. So, he started chasing ways to attract the media attention he wanted. While he used to "thrive off of controversy," he began to want the approval of the theater critic because "all the snobs read him; he does their thinking for them."
His family was happy, he had a work he loved, he was making a difference in the world. But the addiction was strong. One goal met, why not the next? High on success, he found he wasn't content.
The Dream Can Become Your God
"All the shine of a thousand spotlights,
All the stars we steal from the night sky
Will never be enough
Towers of gold are still too little,
These hands could hold the whole world,
but it'll never be enough."
He had to hunt down ways that he could measure that showed him that he was approved of. He met the Queen of England and there met his next distraction -- a beautiful singer who could open doors that all the joy in the world couldn't. So, he follows her. With her her gains the applause that his heart wants.That taste of approval was the next hit of the drug for him. Finally, he forced them, those who had scorned him, who had treated him like dirt, to admit that he had something they wanted. Finally, for just one night, he was more than the tailor's boy with the crazy schemes.
Except, he had spent so long thinking that fulfilling his dream would mean all his problems went away, that he had never come to terms with his wounds, and they still shone through. Suddenly, the unconditional love and blind trust of one of the best women to exist wasn't enough. The people he had formed a family with were people he was ashamed of because they would accentuate the differences between him and the others. The lights became more important than the glow of his children's smiles.
He turned the Dream into the ultimate end, and he lost track of everything that mattered. He couldn't love anyone or anything but the dream. Not his wife, his friends, his children, or even himself. He became so blinded by the lights that he forgot about his children just wanting Daddy. He told himself that he was doing all of this for His Beloved who only wanted Him home with her. He gambled everything on the applause, and he forgot about the humanity he once loved. And when he did, everything imploded.
"When you are careless with other people, you bring ruin upon yourself."
He lost his circus, his home, and his wife, and his children. Everyone was stripped away from him, and he had to come to terms with who he was. He had transformed from the vibrant dreamer who longed only to bring magic to the world. Instead, he found a man who had told every single person close to him that they weren't important. He'd let the need for acceptance to corrupt his dream. He allowed his scars to distract him from why he dreamed. He'd turned into everything he hated.
"I drank champagne with kings and queens
The politicians praised my name.
But those were someone else's dreams,
The pitfalls of the man I became.
For years and years,
I chased their cheers,
The crazy speed of always needing more.
But when I stop
And see you here,
I remember who all this was for."
He hit rock bottom. And he had to decide if he would fight to regain what he had once had. Or if he would continue to be broken and distracted and lost. And he knew that His Beloved was worth it. So, with tears in his eyes and heart full of humility, he began to mend the wrongs he had wrought.
No, the Greatest Showman isn't really all that true to who Barnum was. But, honestly, I don't care. This here is the story that we needed. We needed a story of a Dreamer that could change the world. But, more importantly, I think we needed a story of how the Dream can be lost.... and regained. The world alternates between telling us that dreaming is foolish and telling us to follow our dreams. But it forgets to tell us that the Dream is as dangerous as it is powerful. That it is easily corrupted if we don't keep our eyes on the goal.
And the world almost never shows the power of repentance, forgiveness, and re-dedication that can make the Dream pure again.
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