Blog 3
By Ye Jun Kim
picture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melting_pot
After reading one of the “Singularity in Blue” posts about the musical Hamilton, I came to a better understanding of the little details Lin-Manuel Miranda decided to put in the musical that actually determine the purpose of the musical. The writer of the blog, Evelyna, stresses that never have racial minorities stepped into spotlight, and now that they are coming into spotlight, those watching are not very pleased. She also mentions that a lot of people end up fantasizing about the founding fathers after watching this musical, when the founding father were not people to be fantasized about, in terms of racial equality support.
Evelyna says that Hamilton, “Hamilton is not really about the founding fathers. It’s not really about the American Revolution. The revolution, and Hamilton’s life are the narrative subject,” and explains that the purpose of the musical is to accurately portray the characteristic of the nation, even though we know the founding fathers were all Caucasian. While technically, the majority of the nation has become minorities, Evelyna says this “majority” are pretty inconsequential to the nation’s history. One thing she said that i felt very relatable was that if you are a minority, “You learn about yourself as entirely shaped by outside forces,” which imply that not much impact on the nation’s history until a major event, like the Civil Rights Movement, appeared. Even when events like this rose to the surface, there were tons of opposing sides, talking about assimilation and getting over issues that denounce people of color as less than human beings like themselves.
People of color have ever been the main. Although we are nothing different from the white people, we are always treated differently and with less respect. To accurately show this nation’s composition, Lin-Manuel Miranda makes the important founding fathers people of color. Evenlyna says that, “Hamilton depicts the revolution of which America is proud as one led by people of colour against a white ruling body,” which was a lot like the fights for racial equality. This clearly explains that our fight is no different from the colonies breaking fighting for their rights against Britain during the Revolution.
This article reminds me of my rights as a human being and encourages me to not cut myself off as an outsider just because I am not an American born. America is a nation of the melting pot after all and I am part of that melting pot, therefore, proud to say that I am an American.