The musical’s Hamilton celebrates John Laurens’ dream of building "the first Black battalion" and says, "We’ll never be free until we end slavery." Hamilton’s wife, Elizabeth Schuyler, says in the play's final song that he "could have done so much more" toward ending slavery had he lived longer.
He says in the musical that "we'll never be truly free until those in bondages have the same rights as you and me" but then did nothing to oppose slavery due to his fear of dividing the nation
"It is great theater and bad history,"
I agree
Some historians say Miranda’s musical inflates Hamilton’s antislavery credentials, painting him as a "revolutionary manumission abolitionist" when, they say, he was less progressive on the issue of slavery in real life.
This is a huge problem with the musical because people who historically were not good people are being portrayed as good people
Black artists 24 years ago: “angelic grace, peace, prosperity, and the unencumbered pursuit of happiness."
Overall I think that instead of needing to cast BIPOC as characters that were white to gain diversity, roles should be made to highlight BIPOC and their struggles and successes
Natalie Wood, an actress of Russian descent, played Maria, the Puerto Rican lead in “West Side Story”; until recently, “The Simpsons” featured white actors voicing Black and South Asian characters; and Jonathan Pryce wore prosthetics to transform into a Eurasian nightclub owner in the original West End performance of “Miss Saigon.” All three scenarios mark instances where white actors are thrust into the limelight for appropriating an unfamiliar culture and lifestyle.
I agree with the point that people should just play the characters that look like them but that also begs the question of roles where race is irrelevant like the little mermaid
the unquestioning acceptance of superficial diversity and inclusivity.
this article definitely is making me think and will be a very important piece in our podcast
For one, many consider it an example of color-conscious casting rather than color-blind casting.
This is how I have always perceived the casting, to me it made it seem not as bad as if it was a cast of white people making jokes about slavery
Is “Hamilton'' really that innovative if it fundamentally engages in an absurd form of racism known as color-blind casting?
I chose this article to challenge the ideas in my other articles and proposing a different idea surrounding the perception of Hamilton and the other characters in the musical
10. True: Following the death of her husband, Eliza Hamilton took it upon herself to tell the story of her husband, which also benefited her! Following the Reynolds Pamphlet, Eliza’s story was exploited without her permission. By telling Hamilton’s story after his death, Eliza was able to reclaim her own narrative as well. As a reminder, the Reynolds Pamphlet was published by Alexander Hamilton to clear his name of being involved in political corruption after being blackmailed by James Reynolds. In doing so, he admitted to his romantic involvement with James’ wife, Maria, and thus humiliating Eliza in the process. Another truth to the musical is the depiction of Eliza burning love letters between her and Hamilton, though it cannot be known for certain her reasoning behind this. Finally, in the last song of the musical, Eliza sings of her philanthropy that she became involved in after Hamilton’s death. This was also true! Eliza founded The Hamilton Free School which was the first school in Washington Heights and became heavily involved in helping orphans and widows.
I didn't have much to say about this article but I like the layout of it and I feel like i could use this as a fun game during the interview, im having many ideas from this about things we could do!
On the contrary, John Adams was not a fan of Alexander Hamilton and oftentimes voiced his disdain toward him.
This relates to the first article I read describing how Adams felt about Hamilton
they can put their energies through writing, through challenging the people who are telling you things that you don't like to hear, like Hamilton did,"
I love this message, this is exactly how change happens
as Americans grapple with the legacy of racism.
I agree however politely I think that the people who were still racist then and are racist now are also not smart enough to understand the deeper meaning of the musical and are stopped at the fact that Alexander Hamilton is a latino and Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington are black
"I know that when I see a sign at a protest out in the street that says 'History Has Its Eyes On You,' or 'Tomorrow There'll Be More Of Us,' I know that the language of the show is connecting in a way that makes me incredibly proud," Miranda said, referring to popular lyrics from the show.
The impact Hamilton had was unmatched, people with no acting or musical theater background uniting through music and hamilton being a part of that is insane
color-blind casting
I disagree with the 'colorblind casting" I think casting only people of color for the major roles (with the exception of king george the colonist) was intentional
The condemnation of demagoguery found in The Federalist Papers and theFarewell Address can also be found in Hamilton’s defense of the unpopularJay Treaty.
I want to find more articles discussing the federalist papers and Hamiltons contributions to them i think that is really interesting as well.
Toportray Hamilton as a champion of open borders, as Miranda arguably does, isan overstatement
I agree, however I think in the hollywood/mainstream representations of him it is meant to be dramatic.
the musical perpetuates the idea of Hamilton asa serial adulterer
I don't understand the narrative of serial cheater because he only cheated with one woman even if it was multiple times
Alexander Hamilton has been portrayed as an authoritarian-inclined philan-derer who sought to betray the Spirit of 1776.
I think this sentence summarizes this section really well in addition to the over dramatization of his affair with Ms. Reynolds
Once againHamilton’s extramarital affair with Maria Reynolds provided the main plot-line. Hamilton,
I think this is the least interesting thing about his story, I get that it is the most dramatic though
Hamilton well into the twentieth centur
essentially, Jefferson's perspective on Hamilton was that he was an immigrant traitor and did not belong in America yet alone in government.
eiterating their condemnation of Hamilton’s alleged lust forpower and women. Abigail Adams refused to wear black,
Even in death he could NOT catch a break
Therewas a streak of anti-immigrant sentiment in Jefferson’s hostility to Hamilton,
Jefferson along with Burr and Madison frequently refer to Hamilton in the musical as a immigrant bastard so historically and musical this isn't far off
manipulated an aging, somewhat obtuse Pres-ident George Washington.
This reminds me of whats going on right now in the government and i could make a good podcast connection to current time with musk/trump rn