By: Kristen English
I am writing this post in regards to the class reading, “A Singularity in Blue”. I feel like the author makes a few extremely compelling points throughout the entirety of the article. I really loved the whole basis of the argument in the piece which argues that the takeaway from the musical should not be the Romanization of the founding fathers, but rather seeing people of color be written into history as they should and be portrayed as the heroes of the story. I really feel like the author had a point when she demanded that audiences refrain from romanticizing the founding fathers after watching the show because it had already been done throughout all of American history. Kids are taught in school everyday that the founding fathers were heroes to this nation and defeated the villain (Great Britain) and came out on top in the end. This is a dangerous narrative to paint though, due to the fact that while the founding fathers did defeat the tyrannical powerhouse of Great Britain, they were also suppressing people of color at the same time. They were leaders in the genocide of the Natives and slave holders to the people of color forced to come to the new nation. Hamilton does a great job at repainting this narrative and depicting it as a triumph by people of color over their previous and current white suppressers.
The idea that the revolution and Alexander Hamilton as a character where just a “vehicle for the narrative, and a tool for conveying the ideologies of the show” is perhaps the most genius thing that Miranda could have done. The American Revolution is portrayed as one of the greatest moments in American history and embodies the American Dream that anyone can have it all if they work hard and persevere. They forget one main aspect in history books however… this dream was only attainable if you were white or from European descent. This is a dangerous and quite frankly wrong way to portray the American Dream, as a large portion of the nation today are people of color or descended from people of color. To have your heritage completely written out of history books or painted incorrectly is such a slap in the face to these cultures and peoples and I cannot believe that there has not been a change to this day.
I really applaud Miranda and the author of this article for shedding light on a topic that has been touchy in the past but ultimately needs to be out in the open. It’s my hope that when people leave the show that they fully understand what the true meaning and purpose was of the casting and lyrics. Ultimately the end goal is that one-day people of color can take back their deserved place in American history and I feel that Hamilton brings us one step closer to that.