The (Complicated) Legacy of Hamilton - Lin Manuel Miranda Video Essay
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- Опубликовано: 21 янв 2022
- With releases this year like "In the Heights" (HBOMax), "Encanto", (Disney+), and "Tick Tick Boom" (Netflix), it's undeniable that Lin Manuel Miranda is definitely here to stay. Thus, I have been reflecting on his legacy as a creator and the complexity of what many consider to be his magnum opus : Hamilton.
ALL FOOTAGE / MEDIA BELONGS TO RIGHTFUL CREATORS
Honestly, I feel like Hamilton has fallen into the Hey Ya effect.
Where its overall popularity has completely overshadowed anything it had to say to the point that people usually place themselves into one or two camps ( those who vibe to the songs and the people who bemoan it.
Imo, the musical is far more nuanced then I think some people give it credit for in regards to its portrayal of the founders.
Hamilton is portrayed as a dogmatic status Seeker puneet has end because of his own Pride.
Jefferson and Madison or hypocritical bigots.
Aaron Burr only supports things that win favor with his colleagues and ends up killing his so-called friend.
These are flawed and ignorant people that founded a fundamentally broken country and it's up to us to make something of it.
I think it's fair to say that the show could have done more but considering that Broadway itself is a predominantly white medium and owned by predominantly Caucasian owners, it's unknown how far the cast could have tooken it considering how much scrutiny they got for even attempting to have such a diverse show to begin with
I'd been thinking about Hamilton recently, so I appreciate the nuance, especially linked to cultural contexts I hadn't considered. Thank you and please keep writing/talking. You communicate your ideas in kind, eye-opening ways.
thank you so much! ❤️
I'm iffy on using the Bedchel Test to judge things.
The Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy passes that despite it being about a capitalist pig turning a woman into his own personal sex slave.
At least in Hamilton, it's set during a period were women didn't have much agency or rights ( something that a few of the songs acknowledge)
As for whether or not it's problematic?
History itself is problematic and contradictory but I still think we can learn from the best parts of it and make something better
Women did in fact talk to each other in the 18th century. Hamilton's failure on the Bechdel test is not a reflection of any historical reality.
@@ErikPukinskis but the Schuyler Sisters does just that?
Also the play is strictly about Hamilton and how his actions affect himself and those around him.
Your right
I'm honesty shocked your content doesn't have more views. Thank you for all of this! These video essays are simple, yet educative, straight to the point and very well-explained. I do similar work (but for a spanish-speaking, latinamerican audience). I've learned a lot from watching your content already and your work inspires me to keep going. Your POV definitely helps me understand a lot of the ideas that aren't too clear in my mind about these issues.
Thank you so much! The notion that my videos could be inspiring to other content creators is insane to me, but also immensely heartwarming. I’m so glad you find my channel informative.
(Also, I watched your video on adults and teenagers from a few years ago, it was excellent! keep up the great work)
@@objectiveopinions9989 Yikes, that video is so cringe because I was so young 😭😂 back when I was in denial about making content in my own language. Thank you, though! I hope you keep up the good work. Looking forward to see more of your content ✨
you make really well documented, supported and explained essays that are approachable and interesting from start to finish. that’s not an easy task - you have immense talent! i hope we get to hear more from you. thank you for this
omg thank you sm for the kind words! that truly means alot to me 💜
Your analysis of Hamilton was on point. I definitely enjoy watching your content. Keep it coming 👏🏽
Just watched this musical for the first time on Broadway this week and this resonates almost to a word. Incredible video essay!! Keep up the awesome work, looking forward to more content ❤️
I'm going to see Hamilton live in London next month and I'm so excited to see it. I think you we're spot on and agree with most of the points, specially when you say that there's no way we can analyse any piece of art through binary lens of good/bad. Lin Manuel even said that at "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story", when Eliza say "I speak out against slavery", George Washington nods his head in shame for what he did, or, let's say, Lin Manuel's version of Washington did. I know it's not enough to balance the rest of narrative made to that point, but there are points where even the creator of the show acknowledges the problematics of portraing controversial historic figures, specially when they already come with the status of 'myths'.
As you said, it's possible to enjoy and feel the experience of Hamilton without denying it's flaws, and working in the present to overcome what made the flaws existing in the first place. (sorry for my bad english, I hope I made myself clear)
i love your videos so much. you articulate perfectly a lot of thoughts that many people have but don’t even know where to begin expressing. and you offer all sides of the argument while still not deriving from the point. thank you for challenging peoples minds and giving us the benefit of the doubt when it comes to our capability of understanding and receiving these ideas. also you make these very entertaining, keep it up!
thank you so much! these kind words mean more to me than i can express. truly, thank you 💜
This was so so so well done. I really enjoyed this video and am looking forward to more of what you create!! You were able to somehow articulate all of my feelings about Hamilton that I wasn't able to verbalize myself!
Thank you so much! 💜
this is a great video essay! thanks for bringing your experiences and analysis together in such an impactful way. your Blaccent video was recommended to me and was really good but this one made me a subscriber 😁 looking forward to seeing more!
Wish this video had as many views as your others; just subscribed and absolutely love your work
thank you so much!! that means the world to me. truly 💜
Although I’ve never seen Hamilton, I am a historian and a Latino immigrant. Maybe I could provide some answers or perspectives to the questions you present.
In hindsight, there is no denying that the U.S “founding fathers” wouldn’t be considered heroes judging by modern standards. Yet if you judge them within their timeframe or within their historical context, one could say they were ahead of their time. Slavery is a very complex issue within human history that wasn’t isolated to just North America. Basic historical research into the West African slave trade would highlight the complex factors that played a role, such as tribal rivalries and alliances with European traders. Furthermore, slavery was standard within Europe and amongst Europeans for thousands of years all the way up to and past the French Revolution. African slavery became a more recent phenomena more associated with Colonial European expansion. This was by no means limiting to Europe as Africans practiced slavery, Native Americans practiced slavery, Aztecs, Maya, Incas, Egyptians, Arabs, Asians, etc.
What I’m trying to say is that the complete abolition of slavery is a relatively new concept within the context of human history and in many ways one could argue that it is still very much alive in this new Corporate Globalism.
Yet I also recognize that brutality of American history, as a Latino I am perfectly aware of the horrible impact that U.S interventionism has on our community and am perfectly aware that instead of becoming the beacon of freedom that they could’ve been, the U.S essentially just became another Neo Colonial Super Power. Yet we cannot deny the role that it played in history the impact that their decisions had for our present generation.
Finally, most people are completely clueless about history so another positive of the Musical is that it might have encouraged more people to look back into history and find more about its reality.
There is a lot more to say but my hands are getting tired.. lol
Thanks
I wish you would make more videos this is excellent.
Thank you so much! 💜 more videos coming soon
Your channel is so underrated. Thank you so much for this essay especially.
(For me it the changing context of performative Hamilton exposing Obama as The Showman hiding/masking the truth, and Trump The Snake Oil Salesman selling an oily dream for a specific audience)
this was the best video essay ive ever watched dude
OMG that is unbelievably kind of you to say. thank you very much 💜
I like you. Your videos don’t ever seem one sided. They have a healthy balance. It’s not so black & white. It exists on a spectrum that acknowledges both sides. Thank you for opening my eyes.
Fantastic video. I had just watched FD Signifier’s great one on Hamilton as well, and I love how you each critique the work, but in different ways. As a white guy, I’m grateful to be able to learn so much from Black content creators.
You really went ALL there with the Green Book reference
How has this video not smashed through 10s of thousands of views by now!? Lets get this man the following he deserves! So glad i found your channel. You’re analysis is brilliant and extremely well rounded.
I cringed through most of Hamilton but definitely couldn’t knock the shine and opportunity all those talented actors got as a result of it.
Question is, why cant his production machine be used more to tell OUR stories FOR OUR PEOPLE across the different overlapping diasporas?
Even in the heights has that smell of a white gaze production (a movie about Dominicans in a Dominican neighborhood WITHOUT BLACK DOMINICANS -WHATTTT!?)
Seems now hes been absorbed completely into the white mainstream and has no intent on really doing anything revolutionary with it. The checks got too big.
That's because Broadway is essentially a white medium that has only recently opened up to allow more people in, but even then Caucasians are the ones were funding and going to go see these Productions so the lens is inescapable.
Before LMM came along, the biggest source of Latine representation was WWS and the stereotypes it introduced caused in the Heights not to get made initially because it was presenting a side of Latinos that wasn't known to that White General audience.
It's fair to critique but Lin was one of the guys doing the most when literally no one else was until recently
This may be because I haven't seen it live, but I was under the impression that it wasn't only about Dominicans, but about Latino people in general? Hence "Carnaval del Barrio," there was representation for PR, Cuba, Mexico, etc. Some characters like Benny weren't even Latino, but actually black.
I think if you go looking for problematic, you will find it. I do appreciate your dissection though, and I do think we have a problem of consuming fantasy as fact. I remember interviews years ago from the "Touched by an Angel" star who played Death and how people would be upset if he was on their flight. You have a good point we DO consume fiction and turn it into fact. But, as a thought experiment, you make a throwaway joke about theater students being bad soldiers. How will history view that joke? If you go looking for it, you will find it. Could I find music players who died in wars, and accuse you of being problematic?
Very good video essay!
thank you so much! glad you enjoyed 😌
Amazing job on your analysis of Hamilton and I really appreciate your content. I am super curious on your opinion of K-pop and the cultural appropriation (especially from black culture) and ignorance surrounding the genre.
Thank you for the kind words!! In regard to K-pop specifically, I’m honestly not knowledgeable enough about the genre to speak with any kind of authority on its potential shortcomings. However, it doesn’t surprise me that elements of black culture are being appropriated by it since any mainstream genre of art (music, media, fashion) often relies on the “cool” aesthetic of hip-hop and black culture to appeal to the youth demographic. Again, I don’t know enough about specific k-pop artists to claim that they cross that fine line between admiration and appropriation but the trend is definitely prevalent.
@@objectiveopinions9989 a lot of K-pop/J-pop producers are Black American so there's several interesting dynamics to what's happening there
Hamilton really had a huge impact on me at the time. It was the first time I actually thought about making a difference and fighting my fears.
But it kind of blinded me to the fact that this musical is not PERFECT IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE
It has its own flaws while being beautiful and inspiring at the same time.
The thing that is interesting to me was my first reaction to America that was shown to me,I'm not American and we really don't study much about America in school so I didn't know much about its history.
the picture that Hamilton painted in my head about America was amazing.These honorable and brave people stood against British oppression and colonialism and saved their country.
but when I read the real history of America I found out that it wasn't completely true It wasn't all rainbows and sparkles and it truly had its own dark sides.
I don't think any country is completely innocent of any wrong doings.but the right thing is acknowledging that,accepting that apologising for that,and striving for a better country.
thank you for your video 😊
While I don't disagree with your points, I'm not going to pretend I know anything much abt the founding fathers of America outside of this one musical and the shitty things they did that I know bc this musical got ppl talking abt them.
However, I would like to get side tracked with the brief JK Rowling aside. Yeah, you know Séamus Finnegan? The only Irish character? In the book written by an English woman during the Troubles? Yeah, don't you think it's *weird* how his introduction is him attempting to turn water in to rum? Or that this is the character she decided to have everything blow up in their face and have that be their main plot relevance? Isn't that *funny*?🙃🍊
It IS funny because 1) I looked through my entire copy of the Philosopher’s Stone, and there isn’t a single reference to rum at all, let alone Seamus turning water into rum. I will admit I may have missed it, but at the very least Seamus’s first introduction at the Sorting doesn’t involve alcohol at all, nor does the rest of the scene
2) the “blowing things up” gag was only in the movies. That JKR did not write. Blame the screenwriters for that one
I understand you like to hate JKR, but for the love of god at least hate her for something legit, and not an imaginary theory you read on the internet and didn’t even bother to fact check
Another great video! This one was a complicated topic for me as well, many years ago when I was introduced to it, I was running a Dungeons and Dragons campaign for the younger sibling of my friend. They were roughly 13? at the time, they saw my friends and I playing and wondered if I could DM (Dungeon Master) for them and I agreed, so we would meet once in a while to play and they showed me Hamilton and my first reaction was almost of sure horror, because as a big history buff I NEVER liked Hamilton, and to see a group of roughly 4 - 5 young teenagers argue about who was more like Hamilton, and sing songs that out of context just sounded extremely revisionist and problematic, was very disheartening. This definitely left a bad taste in my mouth, especially because I like rap and was even apart of a local rap group at the time (actually I still technically am!) but eventually I got around to listening to it, and to my dismay I ended up really enjoying the music! Still hated everything else about it, but it was fun to listen to, luckily even with out my provocation many of those kids grew up and were able to take nuanced opinions on the matter, and have become really great progressive people, so luckily no one was stunted by it, but Hamilton will always reside in this strange part of my brain, and remind me the importance of media in the cultural zeitgeist, and why we need more people trying to get more prolific and nuanced ideas out there in the public consciousness you know maybe in the form of some kind of... Video Essay?
As always good job! Can't wait for your next video!
The tricky thing about people is that they themselves are really nuanced, so whenever somebody attempts to make a piece of media related to somebody it typically falls into a dichotomy.
Like if somebody makes a biography of Walt Disney he's either going to be the most magical human being to ever lived or a hungry conservative capitalist who abused and violated every right.
Hamilton at its core is a tragedy about the woes of power and pride, but most people don't really read deep into it Beyond its perceived politics and the beats of the musical.
The subjectivity of arts and humanity is a complicated mistress indeed
This was an amazing video. I watched Hamilton for the first time a week ago, and was initially in awe - I'd never seen anything like it before. I began looking into the background of the show more, and found that there are issues with the show glossing over and romanticizing certain parts of history. I still like Hamilton, I think it's a problem when people take a show as fact without any critical thinking applied. For me, I like looking at different perspectives on this because everyone interprets media differently. I'm white, so probably don't pick up on the problematic stuff straight away which is why I want to look at different viewpoints.
Please consider making more videos. I think your voice is very important
thank you so much! i saw your comments on my other videos and your kind words truly mean the world to me 💜
THANK YOU FOR THIS YOU BOLD AS HELL BUT IT NEEDED TO BE SAID AND I'M EVEN A FAN LMAO
lmao tysm 💯💯
@@objectiveopinions9989 hahaha you’re welcome seriously when I was looking through video essays and I saw your thumbnail with the BLACKFACE I was like oh shit about to get real here
It's hard to decide about shows like Hamilton and Bridgerton, I want black stories without trauma and I get that they're giving POC actors jobs but it's somewhat a symptom of how white the Western canon is imo. Even Lin himself can't escape it, we all want to be part of the white historical canon but at what cost? I don't want to see and relive my trauma for the rest of my life but sometimes seeing Black people just being themselves and not being slaves to the Western canon helps me deal with it. But the problem is I relate to Daphne and Hamilton more deeply than more stereotypical "Black" characters or even characters who have big racial storylines. IDK, I just relate more to white characters because they're more allowed to address more universal themes rather than race. I still get so so so excited over Black characters and I relate to characters like Nina so much as well but whenever IDK it's hard thing for us as POC to deal with especially growing up being interested in literature and history and loving period pieces which are mostly white. The struggle with the trauma porn of Black stories is something I've talked about and dealt with my whole life. I didn't even relate to Black movies growing up but now I do, but I still have to take breaks from consuming most Black media.
And Hamilton is pretty sexist if you think about it. I've always thought so. Thank you for recognizing this. The queer rep is also a mess. I think Hamilton can still be seen as for us though.The psychology of Hamilton and LMM is so interesting, I'd love hear more of your opinions on this as long as it's not invasive. Still, LMM is my idol and he inspired me to write musicals because I never thought we could do it. Also, I'm super tired of white people loving Hamilton and then writing off it's importance once they got bored. I feel like we've all been brainwashed to adhere to the white canon though but these "Black stories'" have got to start seeing us as more than symbols of our pain and treat us like people. IDK,
OOF, your last words.
Wow, this is an incredible take. I love your videos. I went to a performing arts high school in Bethlehem PA, Charter Arts, and I had a really similar experience. I am half Puerto Rican and half Jewish. I feel its important to mention (because I am aware as are many latinx people that Hispanics can be mostly European in their heritage or than can be mostly Africans or native American due to the history of slavery and colonization in Latin America) that my father is mostly African and native American , and my mother is Ashkenazi Jewish, so she is white, and my experience growing up as a mixed POC with Latinx and Jewish heritage was complicated to say the least. Lin Manuel Miranda being Puerto Rican, I questioned why I wasn't super interested or obsessed with this musical in the same way that white kids in my school took ownership of Hamilton and were obsessed with it in ways that made me feel it wasn't made for me. Because of all the neoliberal attention it was given it something felt inherently dangerous to me. Especially having been obsessed with early American history and discovering the works of James Forten, Harriet Jacobs, Phyllis Wheatly, and to learn the history of James Lafayette who's espionage made the battle of Yorktown possible for the American Melita to win, causing the tide of the war to completely change, Hamilton felt fake to me. I didn't understand why we were praising the colonizers of our society who fought a fake revolution when there were black scholars and individuals engaged in large part in that history and have been erased from textbooks and history, largely as it is told. It is such a good point to describe the inability to completely separate the art from the artist in the same way that you cannot separate yourself from your skin. White people are able to separate the art from the artist in a way that I cannot because I will always watch harry potter in the same way I did as a child, it was cool and fun but I did not think for one second that it represented me, or that I could imagine myself living in this entirely white wizarding world. Thank you for your incredible content, I really appreciate your video on Hamilton, and your analyzations are incredibly well thought out.
The reason why Hamilton impact felt as massive as it did is because Broadway is an inherently white medium, so something that was created by people of the culture with the backing of numerous hip hop and R&B artists like Questlove and Jay Z felt like a huge moment of Celebration.
It's something we can see in modern times with films like Black Panther or Crazy Rich Asians which was mostly praised for the diversity of the projects alone.
Hamilton, arguably cause big corporations to see that there's capitalistic gain in pandering to minorities For Better or Worse.
IMHO, it's a double edged sword because representation is undoubtfully important, and in the past the way POC were depicted essentially resulted in how Society various groups, but on the other hand it means that artists have to work within this rigid system which results in a diluted message or overall product
@@desdar100 yes I agree, it is extremally complex as critical race theory and institutionalized prejudice inherently is
@@elianavelez4678 I think the big issue, is that the white supremacy of America has created this domino effect where POC constantly have to prove themselves but never really win the battle so to speak.
Even those that get a seat at the table ( the lin-manuel Miranda's and Will Smith of the world) are constantly fighting an uphill battle to represent, but they can never represent every identity within a minority which causes a lot of infighting.
We should all be at the table from the get-go, but the fighting stops us from focusing on the real issues within the country
I really like the points covered in this video. From the first time I watched Hamilton to now, the idea of it acting like American propaganda never really crossed my mind as a Canadian. Even while watching the video, I was disagreeing with your points, but by the end, I came to align with your position. Even now I still enjoy Hamilton and I cannot fault the creator for using what Americans now see as a fable to push forward a narrative that promotes immigrants in a positive light.
The problem with America is that they see the founding fathers as beings greater than men, to them they are no different from Gilgamesh. The game BioShock Infinite best exemplifies white America's obsession with the founding fathers.
I LOVED watching your video!
If I can add a little grain of salt: we are in a situation of unreliable narrator. This is Burr telling the story of Hamilton from his POV. It make kinda sense to me that slavery is not at the front of this narrative if it’s not in Burr’s mind.
Burr was deemed a feminist for its time, thinking that women could get educated. Making more sense of The Schuyler Sisters for me.
Great video again!
Thank you so much! 💜
this was so well articulated! i remember learning about the founding fathers in US history last year and being like "wow... why didn't they mention how terrible they were in hamilton?" in my head i already had a romanticized version of what jefferson, madison, washington, hamilton etc were like so it was hard for me to comprehend that they were.... not the greatest people. i love love love musicals and musical theater, but i do sometimes feel like it glorifies things that shouldn't be glorified. for example, in the musical lizzie (about lizzie borden and the fall river murders) it tells us about lizzie's life, trauma, and her lover and it makes her seem innocent (it also makes her seem like she was justified in the murders). another one is american psycho (based on the book and later movie of the same name) that kind of romanticizes murdering.
anyways, in a roundabout way of saying it, this was really well done and i definitely agree that hamilton shows an ideal of the past that shouldn't be taken lightly! (p.s.: a revival where it's the thoughts of a bored kid in history class would be so cool)
yea absolutely! musical theater and fictional media in general is so tricky in our lifetime because we naturally want to enjoy it as just purely entertainment, but we also can’t overlook the problematic ways in which the ugly parts of history are glossed over. i’m glad you came to this realization.
also, thanks for the kind words 💜 it means alot
I remember when an Instagram page blew up about LaGuardia high school confessions about the racism students and alumni experienced from teachers and other students.
i saw Hamilton, with my daughter i cannot say that i was a fan ...
Honestly? I thought Hamilton was a commentary on history. Like, saying the story of these historical figures, but through it trying to get out the message that racism and systemic power are still here. This may be because I am very far away from the US and watched the show with other ideologies in mind. Idk. I think Miranda gets too much hate for this.
I actually wanted to comment on this video again because I feel like Jojo Rabbit itself is starting to fall into the "Hamilton territory".
With the recent poor reception of Thor's love is thunder, Taika Waititi's works are starting to be called into question and this one viral review from a Jewish trans woman of Jojo Rabbit really bought things into perspective.
History and people have an odd way of repeating themselves
mm that’s an interesting point. i could definitely see how jojo rabbit might warrant a more scrutinized lens as the years go on.
@@objectiveopinions9989 although I'm not Jewish ( I'm a Nigerian).
The criticism seems to be that it doesn't focus on any actual Jewish individuals from the Holocaust and gives the Nazis a somewhat sympathetic air.
While I do get some of the critiques done at Hamilton and I guess Jojo now, I do feel like the internet doesn't allow for us to have any Nuance discussions about what may be good or bad about them.
We create these dichotomies they don't allow us to really move past whether or not something is good thing or bad thing.
Maybe Stan culture plays a role in this where we just want to enjoy things that seem to be unproblematic yet, don't really want to acknowledge that everything has at least some aura of problematicness to it
i feel like as soon as you take hamilton as a history lesson you loose the meaning of the musical