Since Hamilton made its off-Broadway debut in February 2015, the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical has been praised for its diverse cast, while also facing backlash for how it depicts slavery. Which is to say, that it glosses over the fact that the Founding Fathers owned slaves. That discussion has popped again since Hamilton hit Disney+ (minus a couple of swear words), and Lin-Manuel Miranda believes the criticisms are valid.
“I’m late with the Hamilton criticism stuff & I’m clearly biased, tweeted (sic’d) Tracy Clayton, the writer and host of Netflix’s Strong Black Legends podcast, “but… I really like that this conversation is happening. Hamilton the play and the movie were given to us in two different worlds & our willingness to interrogate things in this way feels like a clear sign of change. I totally get the frustration about it being a play about slaveholders that is not about slavery. I’ve felt that in lots of things I watch, but I flex the same muscle I use when I listen to hip hop as a black woman. We enjoy problematic things all the time.”
Miranda retweeted Clayton, and added, “All the criticisms are valid. The sheer tonnage of complexities & failings of these people I couldn’t get. Or wrestled with but cut. I took 6 years and fit as much as I could in a 2.5 hour musical. Did my best. It’s all fair game.”
Appreciate you so much, @brokeymcpoverty. All the criticisms are valid. The sheer tonnage of complexities & failings of these people I couldn’t get. Or wrestled with but cut. I took 6 years and fit as much as I could in a 2.5 hour musical. Did my best. It’s all fair game. https://t.co/mjhU8sXS1U
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) July 6, 2020
For more on Hamilton, including how it highlights hip hop’s potential for storytelling and an interview with Okieriete Onaodowan, click here.