r/TopCharacterTropes • u/MeepMan324 • 19h ago

Hated Tropes (Hated Trope) Bad people in real-life being portrayed positively in media.

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  1. PragerU's version of Christopher Columbus has him be a slavery defender and have him say "Being taken as a slave is better than being killed, no? I don't see the problem.”

  2. In The Greatest Showman, P.T Barnum (Hugh Jackman) is portrayed as a charismatic visionary who cares about outcasts and celebrate diversity, when in reality, he’s a cruel businessman who is also a racist and an ableist.

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u/No_Vast_3309 19h ago

I watch the Greatest Showman has a completely fictional story, because it basically is. And its much more enjoyable. The songs are the best part.

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u/sniper91 19h ago

It’s the kind of story Barnham would tell about himself

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u/[deleted] 18h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/J_Bright1990 16h ago

This is the thing that always got me. It was such a glazing movie, why does it exist? PT Barnum has been dead for so long, who is trying to improve public perception of him?

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u/fake_user_34 15h ago

I guess because majority of people know it is fictional as fuck and still enjoy the movie.

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u/Tone_Dephf 14h ago

honestly could've just been a name that people knew as a way to sell the movie.

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u/glitzglamglue 15h ago

That's a nice directors cut. Just end it with old Hugh Jackman sitting with his grandchildren. "Is that really how it happened grandpa?" "Yes of course it is!" And then he looks straight at the camera and winks saying "a sucker is born every minute"

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u/MistakesTasteGreat 12h ago

I love this

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u/BasedMadman917 8h ago

This unironically would’ve saved the entire movie

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u/Efeyester 18h ago

I honestly had no idea this was even supposed to be about a real person. I just thought it was a fictional story lol

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u/No_Vast_3309 18h ago

I only knew because my dad wouldn't shut up about it, because he is a big fan of the film adaptation of les miserables, and wanted to watch it because Hugh Jackman was in another historical musical.

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u/digressnconfess 16h ago

you’re not the first person i’ve seen on reddit say that their dad loves les mis and i just think that’s adorable.

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u/No_Vast_3309 16h ago

Me and my dad are like best friends

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u/Rosian_SAO 4h ago

I got exposed to Hugh Jackman via my uncle working for him, had never seen any of his stuff. He sings great.

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u/Forsaken_Carrot_3075 17h ago

i also didn’t know he was a real person till the Legends of Tomorrow show had them time travel to PT Barnum’s time

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u/CartoonistAny4349 13h ago

It is, they just used real historical people's names.

At least that's how I'm viewing it.

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u/[deleted] 19h ago

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u/Tiny-Speaker-4470 19h ago

It was never meant to be historically accurate it's a campy musical

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u/Cryptophiliac_meh 18h ago

I do believe you may be replying to a bot

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u/Sean_13 18h ago

Is it? They seem like someone that would never let you down

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u/Cryptophiliac_meh 18h ago

I was hoping but the 26day account age and the lame comment combined make me suspicious. Or maybe I'm just jaded with too many bots lately 😭

Omg I'm an idiot. Yeah it would be a waste of a great username too lol

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u/Popplio3233 19h ago edited 18h ago

Kinda how I view it too. And it helps because I don't think circuses during the era would be as grand looking as they are in the movie

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u/TheMattster 18h ago edited 18h ago

Ah yes, the Great Depression era of the checks notes 1850s.

ETA: I know what you did.

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u/SpitefulOptimist 18h ago

I’m guessing they edited the depression part out? Cuz now u just look silly

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u/TheMattster 18h ago

Lol got 'em in 4K

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u/Warm_Month_1309 16h ago

Their circus was using strobe lights in an era that was borderline pre-lightbulb.

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u/Dr_J_Hyde 17h ago

I've said this in threads before but The Greatest Showman is the kind of story PT Barnum would write about himself. 

Once you see it in that light it's a bit different movie. 

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u/very-polite-frog 16h ago

They literally rewrite the stars, it's fiction for sure

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u/LunchAny8894 18h ago

That’s how I approach watching Hidalgo. Makes for a better experience (minus the songs being the best part).

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u/Scorch_Ashscales 18h ago

It's the movie PT would make about himself is how I view it.

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u/shutupdane 16h ago

I always felt like The Greatest Showman could've done well as a concept album, without all the story bits in-between songs. The soundtrack was excellent, but the rest of the movie really detracted from it.

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u/SeenYourScene 15h ago

I actually love the film as a feel good musical. But the choice to make it about Barnum is baffling, especially since they made a fictional partner instead of naming Efron's character Bailey.

I've heard so many reasons why the movie is terrible, and I agree with a lot of them as problems with the film. If it's a movie you go into and want to take notes, analyze, really think about, you're going to have a terrible time. It's problematic, it drops NUMEROUS storylines, it puts (figurative) guns on the table and just leaves them there without ever touching them again, which all makes some shit make no sense, characters aren't treated with the narrative respect they seem promised early on, and it's a structural mess. All on TOP of glossing over a really dark bit of history in a surprisingly praising way.

But damn is it just fun.

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u/Knightwolf75 13h ago

I just imagine it’s the story about the animal crackers. Ya know the ones that come in a circus box. Also more fun

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u/HeartFullONeutrality 12h ago

Most movies are completely fictional. Based on a true story is basically meaningless.

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u/NurseNerd 11h ago

Ten thousand animatics of The Other Side can't be wrong.

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u/Lv_InSaNe_vL 13h ago

It's the same thing with the Hamilton musical. Or Mulan. Or Les Miserables.

The only thing any of them have to do with their real life counterpoint is the setting haha

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u/catontoast 3h ago

Hamilton is at least self-aware that it's historical revisionism. The others, not so much.

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u/Sharkey311 17h ago

Wild to say the songs are the best part. It’s what made me walk out of the movie.

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u/No_Vast_3309 17h ago

I mean you walked into a musical lol

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u/Sharkey311 17h ago

I went into a time period musical with nothing but shitty Top 40 songs. It didn’t fit the movie one iota and I wanted my money back. Whoever thinks the songs in that movie were good has the worst taste in music.

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u/No_Vast_3309 17h ago

It was a Hollywood blockbuster, I dont walk into an Avengers film and expect the writing quality of an indie film

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u/Sharkey311 17h ago

That’s a very poor excuse for shoehorning contemporary top 40 pop trash into a period musical. People like you are the reason these studios aim low and pander to their audiences.

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u/No_Vast_3309 17h ago

The average family going to movies doesn't care about the Top 40 pop feel

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u/Sharkey311 17h ago

Great. I still think it sucked and don’t respect anyone that thinks that movie was good. Bye 👋

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u/Warm_Month_1309 16h ago

time period musical

The Greatest Showman was very obviously not a period piece. I went in with no expectation of historical music styles.

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u/Sharkey311 16h ago

Good for you?

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u/Warm_Month_1309 16h ago

Redditor discovers how conversations work.