Hamilton and Legacy

Chatterbox: Pudding's Place

Hamilton and Legacy

Hamilton and Legacy

Let's talk!

Hey folks! Thought I'd drop into the CB as per usual to talk about something that's always intrigued me; Hamilton and its fandom's impact on the legacy of actual historical figures. To note a few things, this mini-debate/chat isn't to talk about the musical itself, but rather our impact on legacies as fans of the musical.

I've always been a little interested in this topic, since the time when I was very active on the CB was also when Hamilton was in its peak. I used to browse animatics on Youtube looking for the best artistic representation of the show I'd come to love. I'd find a lot of Lams animatics, et cetera. After browsing so much shipping, that got me thinking; how do historically-centric fandoms effect the legacy of the real people they're talking about? How can we, as fans of a show, respectfully enjoy the way we consume musicals? 

I'll be leaving a few of my opinions of the topic in the comments, but for now I wanted to leave this post as a question for y'all. Cheers! 

submitted by Icy, age 15, The Forest
(July 6, 2020 - 6:59 pm)

I'm pretty interested in this stuff as well. (I'm not sure if I ever posted on the many Hamilton threads I've seen, but I love the show, too!) Well, many people will probably come to think of Hamilton as a much more important historical figure than past generations have. The whole shipping thing is a bit weird since these were actual people who we're basically treating as characters. Honestly I haven't spent all that much time looking into the fandom so I dunno much about that. I may post more later...

submitted by DoodleGirl, age 13, Earth
(July 7, 2020 - 6:50 am)

I agree with DoodleGirl, though I will add that some of the shipping is actually (sometimes surprisingly) historically accurate. I also think it is important to preserve the distinction between the actual people and the characters that have been created out of them for the musical, because there is a difference. This is a very interesting conversation, and it was a cool idea to start this thread!

submitted by Agent Winter, age Classified, Enceladus
(July 7, 2020 - 8:57 am)

This is such an interesting thread. The musical does adapt some of the characters to it's own purposes, but it also shows a side of some of the characters that people would never think about. For example, most people have always seen Thomas Jefferson as a hero, but in Hamilton, the perspective is so different. It's refreshing to see this new take on Jefferson. It is also definately true that the musical has given Alexander Hamilton a new importance to everyone. People are doing history projects, writing stories, even starting fandoms about this man who has been relatively overlooked before now. The most important part of the show's history, in my opinion, is that it shares a new take on people who have been viewed in mostly the same way for centuries.

submitted by PygmyOwl
(July 7, 2020 - 11:42 am)