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Hamilton is artistically incredible. It sucks you in. It's innovative. It builds on decades of hip-hop and throws it squarely in a place—the theater—where hip-hop has been ignored.
That's why it's a powerful form of myth making.
And why the myth it tells is dangerous.
That's why it's a powerful form of myth making.
And why the myth it tells is dangerous.
The myth Hamilton tells is one of an immigrant kid building on his brilliance to move up the ranks, make something out of nothing, change the world. It frames the US like any other colony fighting for its freedom. It calls upon the sensibilities of those waiting for their "shot."
As one sits through the bars and beats one—especially those of us who grew up poor, who are ourselves immigrants—becomes Hamilton. We identify with him. And it's powerful. The negotiations of family, desire, of standing up for our self-worth even when it is difficult.
So what is left out of this myth? The continuance of slavery. The ways patriarchy was central to conceptions of freedom. The ways the ideas of liberty weren't equally extended. The other peoples (including indigenous people) who fought for the US and were later ignored.
Hamilton tells a liberal story of an amazing nation, founded by immigrants and brilliant pioneers who had the opportunity to fight for their freedom.
And it does so with Black/Brown faces/idioms that prove the liberal myth that "anyone" can make it.
And it does so with Black/Brown faces/idioms that prove the liberal myth that "anyone" can make it.
It's hard to deny that artistically this is one of the most groundbreaking musicals in history. It pushes the theater to do things the theater was never shaped to do in the Western world.
And also, art is political. And the theater has historically been a site of power.
And also, art is political. And the theater has historically been a site of power.
To me, any conversation about Hamilton has to hold all these complexities. It is groundbreaking. It is artistically brilliant. It draws you—especially Black and Brown people and immigrants—into the narrative.
And, the narrative it tells is a liberal myth of US exceptionalism.
And, the narrative it tells is a liberal myth of US exceptionalism.
What do we do with that?
I'm not entirely sure. But a first step is being honest about history and its ghosts...
I'm not entirely sure. But a first step is being honest about history and its ghosts...
Some texts that re-read the US's "founding" narrative:
Gary Nash's *The Unknown American Revolution* which speaks about all the people who fought against the British—Black folk, indigenous folk, women—and were ultimately denied rights after the war. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/291231/the-unknown-american-revolution-by-gary-b-nash/
Gary Nash's *The Unknown American Revolution* which speaks about all the people who fought against the British—Black folk, indigenous folk, women—and were ultimately denied rights after the war. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/291231/the-unknown-american-revolution-by-gary-b-nash/
Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States" which was one of the most influential texts of the 20th century challenging persistent notions of US exceptionalism. https://www.harpercollins.com/products/a-peoples-history-of-the-united-states-howard-zinn
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz' "An Indigenous People's History of the United States" which re-reads the narrative of the nation from the perspective of indigenous peoples and their struggle against White settlers.
http://www.beacon.org/An-Indigenous-Peoples-History-of-the-United-States-P1164.aspx
http://www.beacon.org/An-Indigenous-Peoples-History-of-the-United-States-P1164.aspx
A recently published text, *A Black Women's History of the United States* by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross that flip the entire dominant narrative of the US and center Black women and their stories in the history of the nation. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/567157/a-black-womens-history-of-the-united-states-by-daina-ramey-berry-and-kali-nicole-gross/
Finally, for now, Sylvester Johnson's *African American Religions, 1500-2000* which uses the vantage point of religion to theorize/historicize about the construction of nation-states, capitalism, settler-colonialism, and anti-Blackness. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/african-american-religions-15002000/A7DC79FADCFB22F4D3B9D95238805116
