How ‘This Is Me’ became the new ‘Let It Go’ – the ultimate anthem for the identity politics era

How ‘This Is Me’ became the new ‘Let It Go’ – the ultimate anthem for the identity politics era: The Greatest Showman’s ode to being scarred and bruised but still proud, has taken over from the Frozen hit as the power ballad of the moment. It might even save the Labour party …

From the outside, This Is Me – the unavoidably catchy, rousing ballad of self-emancipation at the heart of the PT Barnum musical The Greatest Showman – is an understandable hit, even to the most cynical. Sung by the circus’s bearded lady, Leetie Lutz – played by Keala Settle – it espouses positive messages of self-emancipation and liberal thought, in the same vein as Katy Perry’s Firework or Lady Gaga’s Born This Way. You can see why this song has become a sleeper hit in our age of identity politics: no matter your race, sexuality, gender or beard quality, you have a right to space in this world. It is moving, in the same way a gospel choir can be to an atheistic crowd.

For anyone who might be feeling down, This Is Me is the new anthem, taking over from Frozen belter Let It Go as the one that everyone, regardless of pipes, can holler with feeling. And like Frozen, The Greatest Showman continues to live a second life in cinemas, with devotees filling seats at sing-a-long versions almost a year after it premiered.

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