How Hamilton Fits Miranda

Not Lin-Manuel Miranda himself specifically, although Alexander Hamilton’s life obviously speak to Miranda in a big way.  No, this is like my “How Hannibal Fits Fuller” post from awhile back.  Here, I’m looking at Miranda’s past works, In the Heights and Bring It On, and looking for elements and themes that are found in Hamilton as well.

Obviously, Hamilton’s immigrant story has huge parallels with In the Heights, particularly with Kevin and Abuela Claudia.  All three characters overcame a lot to become Americans, though Hamilton certainly seemed the most eager to “get out” of his impoverished circumstances in St. Croix; Abuela was much more conflicted about leaving.  Also, all three had many people making assumptions about what they were capable of.  “Immigrant” is the go-to dismissive adjective for other Founding Fathers when they clash with Hamilton, their way of othering him and trying to make him “less-than.”  Hamilton, though, wears the label with pride, and he and Lafayette both enjoy showing off just what immigrants can accomplish in their new country.

The “young, scrappy, and hungry” patriotism of Hamilton and the other revolutionaries is, on a much larger, grander scale, similar to the ragtag Jackson High squad going up against the well-established “Truman girls” in Bring It On.  Both groups of upstarts are taking on richer, surer, whiter opponents (come on – you know King George III would fit right in Eva,) and they know they’re outmatched in every statistical way, but they keep fighting because they don’t know how to give up.  In a way, the neighbors on In the Heights are in a comparable position; whatever antagonists they have are offstage and indistinct, faceless figures of business, politics, and urban development trying to gentrify them out of their homes.  The fight isn’t is direct or overt, but for them, fighting simply means to stay, to keep from pulling up stakes.

Family is vital to all three shows.  In the Heights has the most heavily-emphasized biological-family bent, with the story between Nina and her parents driving one of the major plotlines.  In Hamilton, we see this best in the ferocity of Angelica’s devotion to Eliza:  “I love my sister more than anything in this life, / I will choose her happiness over mine every time.”  Such a simple line, but it packs such a punch in the context of the show and characters.  But as RENT would say, “Friendship is thicker than blood,” and each show definitely celebrates the families you choose yourself.  The Jackson squad is absolutely a family, as are the Heights neighbors (Usnavi and Abuela?  Forget about it,) and Hamilton gives us brothers-in-arms Hamilton, Lafayette, Laurens, and Mulligan, not to mention Washington as Hamilton’s/the country’s surrogate father.

A final important piece is the idea of legacy.  Hamilton is obsessed with “build[ing] something that’s gonna outlive [him].”  In a smaller way, the Jackson cheerleaders want to make their neighborhood proud, working together to create something bigger than themselves.  And most interestingly to me, Burr and In the Heights’s Usnavi both struggle to preserve legacies they’ve inherited.  Both are orphans (along with Hamilton himself,) and at times in both shows, the two young men feel rudderless, like they’ve been tasked with carrying on something important but don’t know how.  Burr says, of his parents, “When they died, they left no instructions, / Just a legacy to protect.”  In turn, Usnavi’s “left [him] with these memories like dying embers from a dream [he] can’t remember.”  It’s such a specific thread in both characters that resonates so strongly, and I’m really intrigued by it. 

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (2015-Present)

Maybe this is an odd post to write since, to date, I’ve seen exactly one full episode of Trevor Noah’s Daily Show (a fact I plan to remedy posthaste.)  I haven’t been a regular watcher of The Daily Show – or any other news-media satire show – in years.  I always loved The Daily Show and The Colbert Report when I used to watch them, but they just fell off my radar after college.  Working full-time at a mentally-demanding job, sleep became a bigger priority than these shows.

In recent weeks, though, I’ve been dipping my toes back into the news-media satire pool.  Thanks to a few choice tip-offs from The Mary Sue, I found my way to John Oliver’s YouTube channel for Last Week Tonight and have been highly susceptible to getting sucked down that rabbit hole of “okay, just one more clip…”  I plan on checking out the full Last Week Tonight the next chance I get, as Oliver’s in-depth, fastidiously-researched explorations of his topic at hand.  But anyway, clips of his program having been priming me for getting back into The Daily Show.

I can’t say for sure what rock I’ve been living under, but although I knew that Trevor Noah was the new host of The Daily Show and had of course caused some media buzz with the immediately-obvious ways that he’s not John Stewart, I somehow completely missed the fact that he was from South Africa.  Luckily, I stumbled upon it earlier this week and was intrigued enough to turn to YouTube once more.  Very happy I did; it only took a couple evenings of watching clips from Noah’s version of the show for me to try out a full, live episode. 

Is he John Stewart?  Of course not, and he shouldn’t be.  John Stewart is John Stewart, and someone new coming in trying to be that is only going to disappoint.  He’s still ironing out a few early-run kinks – he fumbles a bit in his line reading at times, and his interview skills have a ways to go – and so, when he’s compared to a 16-year veteran of comedic commentary, he’s naturally going to be more unpolished.

However, he’s also sharp, funny, imminently watchable, and bursting with potential.  I like his stance as someone experiencing American healthcare, Republican debates, etc. for the first time, someone looking in on the insanity that Americans have, to some extent, grown accustomed to because it’s all they know.  Sometimes, that third-party perspective is just what’s needed to make the “you do realize how crazy this is, right?” point hit home.  And as a person of color, he’s also experiencing American race relations for the first time, which brings a really neat shade to race-related stories.  South Africa, obviously, has its own minefields where race is concerned, but the nuances are so different, and Noah’s perspective is great.  Plus, I like that he seems to come at the show from a generally-optimistic angle.  Even with aggravating topics (like blatantly Islamophobic statements from presidential hopefuls,) he’s more likely to shake his head at the awfulness and expose the ludicrousness of it all than get incensed.  He has a real talent for pointing out hypocrisy in a wry, biting manner.

Overall, it still feels very much like The Daily Show that I remember (many of the same writers who worked with Stewart remain,) but it’s developing a new voice and looking at old issues from a different vantage point.  I’m sold – I have a feeling Trevor Noah will only get better, and I’m excited to watch him get there.

Favorite Characters: Dr. Bruce Banner a.k.a. The Hulk (The Avengers)

I haven’t felt any sort of strong yen to see the Ang Lee Hulk film, and Marvel’s own solo Hulk movie with Edward Norton, while fine, is definitely one of the weaker Avengersverse offerings.  The Hulk they have now, though, as played by Mark Ruffalo in the Avengers films, is terrific.  Given everything Marvel has on the docket at the moment, my desire for a Ruffalo-Hulk solo franchise has cooled – there’s just too much else for them to do (but they still lose points for not giving me my Black Widow movie.)  But a major draw for The Avengers and Age of Ultron is the chance see the MCU’s Bruce/Hulk in action.  In this case, the third time was definitely the charm.  (One Bruce-related spoiler for The Avengers.)

The Bruce we meet in The Avengers isn’t a man who’s constantly living in fear of his own potential to lose control – at least, not openly.  Unlike the Norton film, we don’t see Bruce wearing a heart rate monitor, working on his Zen, and spending big chunks of his screentime trying to keep it together.  At this stage of the game, Bruce has done all that.  Even though keeping the Hulk in line is still part of his 24/7 to-do list, he’s reached the point where he doesn’t have to outwardly fret about it.  He may joke about the wisdom of anyone putting him on a Helicarrier, but he also affirms that he wouldn’t be there if he didn’t know he could handle it.  And handle it he does – he takes all of Tony’s prodding and needling (part scientific curiosity about the Hulk, part testing Bruce’s control, and part Tony being Tony) in stride, and he clearly gets tired of others tiptoeing around him and generally acting like he’s a vial of nitro glycerin.  He can even put on an act and pretend the rage is taking over when, in truth, he’s rock solid.  The others, having heard the accounts and seen the footage of the Hulk in action, can’t imagine what his “secret” to all-day calm is.

I love that – I love seeing Bruce so in control.  First, it places him in a much greater position of strength, allowing him to focus on something over than keeping a lid on the Hulk and actually giving him a chance to contribute to the mission.  Since Bruce is more than just a giant rage-monster and is in fact a brilliant scientist, this is nice to see.  Second, it makes it that much more devastating when he inevitably loses it.  This isn’t a guy on the edge, barely crawling to the finish line at the end of the day (at least, he doesn’t look like it; we don’t know what’s really going on in his head/heart.)  This is a guy who’s got it figured out, who’s come so far, and there’s no question about how awful it is for him to slide all the way back down again.

And of course, The Avengers also manages what I think is crucial for Bruce’s ongoing incorporation with the team:  it finds a way to handle the Hulk.  Not that there aren’t still incidents of the Hulk running amuck and tearing the place down.  That, I’m sure, will always be part of the character, and it allows for fandom fantasy match-ups like Hulk vs. Thor or Hulk vs. Iron Man.  However, the franchise offers us a Hulk that, while still volatile, is at least fairly… what?  Wrangle-able?  In certain situations, anyway, the Hulk can join the fray and be aimed generally at the bad guys, so he can be a part of the fight without the rest of the Avengers (and Bruce himself) worrying about how they’re going to keep him from killing them.  This alleviates some of weird tug-of-war in stories about the Hulk.  Because, I mean, the main thing fans generally want to see from the Hulk is high-octane destruction, when that’s the last thing the Bruce himself wants.  If we win, he loses, you know?  So, it’s nice that the MCU is able to let us have a bit of our cake even as we’re eating it.

Hamilton: Songs 16-20

As it happens we’ve got mostly short songs today – hops, skips, and jumps to get us to the Battle of Yorktown, which closes out this post.  A couple of slower numbers, as well as one with probably some of the fastest rapping in the entire show.

“Meet Me Inside” – I like that, while Washington is definitely on Hamilton’s “side,” Hamilton has clashes and disagreements with him as well.  Here, we see Hamilton’s kneejerk defensiveness on the importance of honor, as in reputation, while Washington is mature enough to realize that honor is about what someone does, not what others say about them.

Best lyric:  “These men take your name, and they rake it through the mud.”  - “My name’s been through a lot, I can take it.”

“That Would Be Enough” – A soft, lovely number for Eliza, in which Hamilton starts to realize just how much he has to live for.  His youthful, romantic visions of “dying like a martyr” start to dissolve as he listens to Eliza’s more modest wishes for their future.  The song takes the “look around” theme from “The Schuyler Sisters” and shapes it into its own recurring motif.

Best lyric:  “And if this child / Shares a fraction of your smile / Or a fragment of your mind, look out world! / That would be enough.”

“Guns and Ships” – “Everyone give up for America’s favorite fighting Frenchman!”  I love Lafayette (even before Hamilton, I always thought he was a neat figure from the Revolution, so I was delighted to find that he’s featured so memorably in the show,) and this is a great song for him.  It’s such a fun, rousing number, with raps that are just insane in their speed and intricacy. 

Best lyric:  “Hamilton! / No one has more resilience / Or matches my practical tactical brilliance.”

“History Has Its Eyes on You” – More of Washington just being awesomely on-point – this relationship is so wonderful.  The song is drop-dead gorgeous, and we get a sneak preview (quoted below) of the beautiful “who lives, who dies” theme.  I like how this show has history running through its veins, not just in the fact that it is historical, but in that the characters recognize what important times they live in, and that what they do is shaping the future.

Best lyric:  “Let me tell you what I wish I’d known / When I was young and dreamed of glory:  / You have no control:  / Who lives, who dies, who tells your story.”

“Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)” – Our last big battle number (obviously, since we’ve made it to Yorktown.)  The camaraderie is top-notch, Hamilton’s “take the bullets out your gun” bit is superb, and I’m in love with Mulligan’s verse here.  He’s used a bit sparingly throughout the show, but he’s always used incredibly well, hitting you with the full force of his personality every time he’s onstage.

Best lyric:  “Immigrants: / We get the job done.”

The High Sign (1921)

I’ve decided that it’d be nice to go back and do fuller reviews of some Buster Keaton projects that I previously covered as parts of a set, like Top Five posts or write-ups on his TV work.  At the very least, his independent shorts provide plenty of fodder for discussion.

A down-on-his-luck Buster cons his way into a job at a shooting gallery, where his fancy trick shooting (literally “trick” shooting – it’s all fake) earns him two brand-new, diametrically-opposed occupations.  He’s initiated into the notorious gang the Blinking Buzzards, where he’s tasked with assassinating a wealthy man:  the same man who’s just hired him as his bodyguard.  Since Buster is 1) not really the murdering type, and 2) smitten with the man’s daughter (because, duh,) he sets his protect his mark like no assassin has before.

The High Sign is the first short Buster made on his own, though it’s not the first he released; he didn’t think it was up-to-snuff as a first impression for himself as an independent filmmaker, so he held back its release until after he made One Week.  I’d say that was the right choice.  While this short is fun, it’s slightly messy, and not the instant classic that One Week is. 

In some ways, Buster is still finding his footing here.  The film leans more heavily on elements that don’t feature prominently in much of his work.  For instance, some of the intertitles feel a little self-consciously overwritten, like the alliteration-laden intro to the Blinking Buzzards.  Other jokes, though, are more in line with Buster’s sensibilities – “tight as a fourteen collar on a sixteen neck” is a terrific description of a miser.  The High Sign also uses lots of “cartoon gags,” literally impossible bits of business thrown in just for the joke.  People can be hit-or-miss on the more cartoonish stuff, but while they can seem a bit out-of-place, they still mostly work here.  Buster painting a hook on the wall and then hanging his hat on it is an iconic moment. 

There are also places where the gags don’t build as organically as they should.  It’s fine to take comedic detours, but they need to feel like they follow one another.  In this short, there’s an amusing enough little tangent of Buster helping customers at the shooting gallery that, while fun, would have been much better placed before he joins the Blinking Buzzards.  Once he’s been given his orders, the plot really should be heading in the general direction of August’s house – it feels like we lose momentum a bit.

This is all pretty nitpicky, but I do like the short.  It has a ton of great gags in it.  The newspaper gag is a classic, and several of Buster’s go-to devices all already on display and in fine form.  There are a few fantastic circular gags that come back around on themselves, the dog-powered(!) contraption Buster rigs up to trick people into thinking he’s a crack shot is pure Buster, and you just know he had a blast designing (and then running, jumping, and climbing through) all the trapdoors/revolving panels/secret exits at August’s house.  We get a nice early cop gag, featuring a fantastic off-the-cuff disguise – oh, Buster.  Plus, just for fun, there’s a brief cameo from Al St. John, part of the Fatty Arbuckle crowd.

Warnings

Slapstick violence and a bunch of light gunplay.