Bibliographic Info:
Title: Hamilton
Creator: Lin-Manuel Miranda
Director: Thomas Kail
Production Company: Walt Disney Pictures
Streaming Service: Disney+
Release Date: July 3, 2020
Genre: historical fiction, historical nonfiction, musical, romance, politics
Format: film
Awards: 2021 Primetime Emmy winner for Outstanding Variety Special, 2020 People’s Choice Awards winner, 2021 Webby awards winner for Events and Live Streams, and 2021 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards Critics Choice Award winner, among many
Age Level: PG-13
Plot Summary: Hamilton is an exploration of the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. It begins with his friends, family, and enemies recounting his impoverished early years and arrival in New York City in the late 18th century as the American Revolution is starting to take shape. The young, ambitious Hamilton is a verbal prodigy and quickly inserts himself into the war of ideas, while hoping to participate in the actual war in order to improve his station in life. He becomes friends with the Marquis de Lafayette, a Frenchman who is lending his support to the Americans, and meets young Aaron Burr, a brilliant but cautious law student, who becomes his friend and nemesis. Hamilton is hired by General Washington to be his assistant, but initially kept from the battlefield.
He meets two well-to-do sisters, Eliza and Angelica Schuyler, quickly wooing and marrying Eliza, but we see through flashbacks that Angelica deeply regrets standing back and handing him over to her sister. Hamilton is aggressive and combative, supporting his friend Laurens to duel with a critic of General Washington. Towards the end of the war he finally has his chance to ride into battle and the chorus sings a joyful and mournful song about the new era that is ahead of them.
After the war, Hamilton and Burr complete their law degrees and frequently clash over the fate of the new republic. Hamilton writes dozens of impassioned essays supporting the new Constitution and is eventually asked to join President Washington’s cabinet as his Secretary of the Treasury. He frequently butts heads with other cabinet members, particularly Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State, over his ideas about debt and finance. After Washington steps down eight years later, his enemies are out for his blood. A clandestine affair is revealed and derails his presidential ambitions, and after the death of his son in a duel, he and his wife become estranged. They eventually reconcile, but his lifelong grudge with Burr comes to a head and he is killed in a duel. The various players in his life muse about his importance, ambition, and the idea of narrative.
Author Background: Born in 1980, Lin-Manuel Miranda grew up in Manhattan with a passion for hip hop and theater. He attended Wesleyan University and wrote a Tony-award winning musical about the Latinx neighborhood of Washington Heights called In the Heights (Britannica.com, n.d.). While on vacation, he read Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton and decided to write (and star in) a hip-hop musical about Hamilton’s life. It was a massive success and while it has gone on to tour around the globe, a film was made of the original Broadway cast (hence this review). He has gone on to write scores for multiple animated films (Moana, Encanto), and has continued to act in and direct several films. He received a MacArthur fellowship in 2015.
Critical Evaluation: Every teen I know is a bit obsessed with the Hamilton soundtrack; this production finally allowed those not lucky enough to see the show in person a chance to watch the choreography and acting come alive, as well as introducing it to younger viewers who missed it the first time around. Miranda is a certified genius (he’s even a MacArthur fellow) who, while not Gen Z, has tapped into that generation’s genre-busting abilities. An incredible revisioning of history, gently bent to Miranda’s vision and cast with typically overlooked performer’s of color, the play examines power and jealousy, lifelong relationships, and ideals. The songs are informed by hip hop, classic Broadway, and even opera. The film is not simply a wide-angle view of the Broadway show; it builds upon it and creates something new, showing close-ups of the performers at key moments and zooming out at others. While a live performance is something special, this offers viewers something they wouldn’t be able to see in the theater, making it an excellent complement to the audio soundtrack and the theater performance.
Creative Use for a Library Program: Set up a Hamiton-style “rap battle” debate. Participants will be assigned a debate topic at the beginning of the event and paired off to write their raps defending their position. Performances can be recorded and added to the library’s YouTube channel.
Speed-Round Book Talk: Think history is boring? Think again! Lin-Manuel Miranda’s fast-paced hip-hop musical will capture anyone’s imagination and have you wonder who will tell your story?
Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation: Hamilton is such a cultural phenomenon it’s hard to imagine a serious challenge, although there are some PG-13 scenes involving infidelity, death, and a number of F-bombs, so it is not meant for younger children (though it didn’t faze my 6-year old)!
Reason for Inclusion: While there has been some discussion about the glossing over of some aspects of history, Hamilton is still groundbreaking and important. This is a chance for teens to access what is truly a phenomenal show for free!
Want more? The original Hamilton cast shares backstage shenanigans:
References
Akbar, A. (July 1, 2020). Hamilton review — Broadway hit is now a breathtaking screen sensation. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/jun/30/hamilton-review-disney-plus-lin-manuel-miranda
Britannica.com (n.d). Lin-Manuel Miranda. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lin-Manuel-Miranda
Green, J. (n.d.). Hamilton [movie review]. Retrieved from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/hamilton
imdb.com (n.d.) Hamilton (2020). Retrieved from https://m.imdb.com/title/tt8503618/?ref_=m_ttawd_tt
Wired (n.d.). The Hamilton cast answers Hamilton questions from Twitter. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFaUY3OAzow
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