The People Who Don't like Hamilton
Sep. 23rd, 2018 11:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
itsnotmymindI found this article here, about the people who buck the tide and have reservations about he musical Hamilton. Now we all like what we like dislike what we don't, and I don’t want to convince anyone out of their artistic opinions, but nonetheless I disagree with some of the arguments made, and want to talk about it.
One “Hamilton” skeptic I found via a callout on Facebook was, in fact, my musical theater writing teacher from college, Jay Kerr, who runs (and is trying to sell) a theater in Upstate New York.
“The writing is sloppy,” Kerr said via email. “Rhymes are not true” — some are not exact rhymes, but merely sound similar to rhymes — “and could be if he spent five more minutes. Good writing takes second place to the overall concept.”
I'm no theater expert, but I question that idea the rhymes have to be true for a good musical. In face I think too many true rhymes might make the musical a little cutesy.
Some people felt the "the rap-esque songs felt gimmicky.”. Not arguing there -
I didn't feel the way, but that's very much a matter of opinion.
The slavery issue is another one I can't disagree with. I like the way the show portrays slavery in some ways - i.e. that Hamilton clearly opposes it but as a white guy it is not his priority - but the show does romanticize George Washington. Per the article: “For goodness sake, why are we still venerating these guys?” [Lyra D.] Monteiro said in an interview. “If you had to put all the slaves owned by Washington, Jefferson and Madison on that stage, they wouldn’t fit.”
(For another angle, check out![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kate_nepveu's post on Hamilton here, where she says, in response to Alexander's line "we roll like Moses, claimin’ our promised land", no, not your promised land, not promised to you, not your land, no.. Given what Moses and company did to the people already living in their promised land, it's Biblical appropriate, but I don't think that's what most people are thinking when they hear the line.)
Donatella Galella feels that “Hamilton” offers a “celebratory American nationalism and mythmaking that a lot of people long for. It offers this assurance that if you work hard enough you’ll be successful,” while playing down the systemic obstacles.
I don't agree with this. True, the musical is a celebration of a man who worked hard, overcame barriers, and became hugely successful. But does the mere act of celebrating such a man imply that anyone can be successful if they work hard enough? The open song sure doesn't seem to be saying that:
"The ten-dollar founding father without a father
"Got a lot farther by working a lot harder
"By being a lot smarter By being a self-starter
"By fourteen, they placed him in charge of a trading charter"
A certain percentage of people do escape poverty, due to a luck, smarts, and hard work. The musical does not seem to be implying to me that anyone can do it (most of the other politicians who Alexander interacts with are from a well-to-do- background). Indeed, it says the exact opposite:
"There would have been nothin' left to do for someone less astute
"He woulda been dead or destitute without a cent of restitution"
ETA: Two more notes:
1. Unless I'm forgetting something, I don't think the musical ever makes it explicit that Washington is a slave owner - although it's a significant part of Jefferson's characterization.
2. When they win the Revolutionary War, we get this line that makes me cringe: "Black and white soldiers wonder alike if this really means freedom". No, black and white soldiers did not have the same expectations of freedom from winning the war. No, no.
One “Hamilton” skeptic I found via a callout on Facebook was, in fact, my musical theater writing teacher from college, Jay Kerr, who runs (and is trying to sell) a theater in Upstate New York.
“The writing is sloppy,” Kerr said via email. “Rhymes are not true” — some are not exact rhymes, but merely sound similar to rhymes — “and could be if he spent five more minutes. Good writing takes second place to the overall concept.”
I'm no theater expert, but I question that idea the rhymes have to be true for a good musical. In face I think too many true rhymes might make the musical a little cutesy.
Some people felt the "the rap-esque songs felt gimmicky.”. Not arguing there -
I didn't feel the way, but that's very much a matter of opinion.
The slavery issue is another one I can't disagree with. I like the way the show portrays slavery in some ways - i.e. that Hamilton clearly opposes it but as a white guy it is not his priority - but the show does romanticize George Washington. Per the article: “For goodness sake, why are we still venerating these guys?” [Lyra D.] Monteiro said in an interview. “If you had to put all the slaves owned by Washington, Jefferson and Madison on that stage, they wouldn’t fit.”
(For another angle, check out
kate_nepveu's post on Hamilton here, where she says, in response to Alexander's line "we roll like Moses, claimin’ our promised land", no, not your promised land, not promised to you, not your land, no.. Given what Moses and company did to the people already living in their promised land, it's Biblical appropriate, but I don't think that's what most people are thinking when they hear the line.)Donatella Galella feels that “Hamilton” offers a “celebratory American nationalism and mythmaking that a lot of people long for. It offers this assurance that if you work hard enough you’ll be successful,” while playing down the systemic obstacles.
I don't agree with this. True, the musical is a celebration of a man who worked hard, overcame barriers, and became hugely successful. But does the mere act of celebrating such a man imply that anyone can be successful if they work hard enough? The open song sure doesn't seem to be saying that:
"The ten-dollar founding father without a father
"Got a lot farther by working a lot harder
"By being a lot smarter By being a self-starter
"By fourteen, they placed him in charge of a trading charter"
A certain percentage of people do escape poverty, due to a luck, smarts, and hard work. The musical does not seem to be implying to me that anyone can do it (most of the other politicians who Alexander interacts with are from a well-to-do- background). Indeed, it says the exact opposite:
"There would have been nothin' left to do for someone less astute
"He woulda been dead or destitute without a cent of restitution"
ETA: Two more notes:
1. Unless I'm forgetting something, I don't think the musical ever makes it explicit that Washington is a slave owner - although it's a significant part of Jefferson's characterization.
2. When they win the Revolutionary War, we get this line that makes me cringe: "Black and white soldiers wonder alike if this really means freedom". No, black and white soldiers did not have the same expectations of freedom from winning the war. No, no.
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no subject
Date: 2018-09-23 07:35 pm (UTC)I'm impartial when it comes to Hamilton (I like some of the music, but don't have a burning desire to rush out and watch it), so I can see some of the arguments here, but I can also see your points.
"There would have been nothin' left to do for someone less astute
"He woulda been dead or destitute without a cent of restitution"
Exactly. It's supposed to be laudable. Yes, I suppose it says "by working a lot harder", but you could argue that that just means... you know, he worked hard. Which he did. Honestly, in general I question the idea that saying "hard work" is bad, which I've seen in general among some. Hard work is good. Judging someone isn't good, assuming that one person's hard work will have the same exact results as another person's hard work isn't right, but there's nothing wrong with celebrating hard work.
As far as nationalistic ideas go... the musical is about a Founding Father, so of course it's going to be about the importance of America. But I also think that it was pre-Trump, and that's very relevant. I feel like pre-Trump, people were already concerned about nationalism, but Trump's rise to presidency really gave everyone pause. So maybe the musical seems a little right on the edge to some.
I've also heard that apparently the musical makes Hamilton out to be more Abolitionist than he really was, as Phillip Schuyler was involved in the slave trade, and Hamilton supported it, but I'm not sure.
no subject
Date: 2018-09-24 03:58 am (UTC)Yes - and the reality is, most people who escape poverty do it by being hard-working - and yet many hard-working people don't escape poverty. I don't think the musical is denying the deserving people get stuck in poverty by celebrating Alexander's escape.
It's a very patriotic musical - but it's a patriotism that welcomes people excluded by Donald "Make America great again" trump.
I've also heard that apparently the musical makes Hamilton out to be more Abolitionist than he really was, as Phillip Schuyler was involved in the slave trade, and Hamilton supported it, but I'm not sure.
I don't know enough about he real Hamilton to say - but in the musical, it seems like he opposed slavery, but didn't do much about it. The most he seems to do with it is use it as a point of bitchery against Thomas Jefferson. At the end though, in passing: one of the things Eliza (Phillip Schuyler's daughter, Alexander Hamilton's wife) does after her husband's death is speak out against slavery. Again, I don't know the historical accuracy, but it seems an unlikely thing for Miranda to have invented.
no subject
Date: 2018-09-24 04:14 am (UTC)It's a very patriotic musical - but it's a patriotism that welcomes people excluded by Donald "Make America great again" trump.
YES. Exactly. I think if anything, Hamilton is actually relevant to people opposing Trump. It's patriotic in the way we want to be patriotic.
Yeah, that does seem like a HUGE leap for Miranda to have made...