Word: barnum
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MARKETING FOR THE MASSES: P.T. BARNUM...
...Barnum is known to many as the founder of the Barnum & Bailey circus, or perhaps as the man behind tiny General Tom Thumb and Jumbo the Elephant (whose charred remains and untarnished tail can still be found at Tufts). Barnum was indeed a legend in his time with his constant attractions, frauds and hoaxes. He has become a central figure in any study of American popular culture, and is as much an American cultural icon as the Statue of Liberty or Marcia Brady...
...along with the portraits of famous Americans. Europeans who visited were appalled by the poor taste of the American public, much as they are now reacting to the phenomenon of Court TV. The American public, however, reveled in its entertainment. As Professor Neil Harris explains in his biography of Barnum, American society was extremely puritanical and viewed the theater with antipathy. It infected their pure existence with its lewd storylines and ostentatious glamour. The American Museum was therefore a safe, moral alternative for this puritanical folk...
...Barnum became the proprietor of Scudder's American Museum in 1841, and began to reorganize, advertise and acquire new exhibits. Barnum, above all, was a master of manipulating public interest. His ingenuity in false advertising and scheming ploys hoarded people into his museums. For example, Barnum took great care to select the worst musicians to play "Free Music for the Millions," from the balcony of his American Museum. The horrendous music drove people to seek refuge in the museum for a mere 25 cents each. In his autobiography Barnum says, "I meant to make people talk about my Museum...
...BARNUM MEETS HIS MERMAID...