A Postcolonial Reading of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Musical “Hamilton” 2015

Abstract

Lin-Manuel Miranda's “Hamilton” is deemed a cultural phenomenon hailed as an innovative musical that tells the story of America's founding fathers. While “Hamilton” primarily focuses on the American Revolution and the formation of the United States, within the present dissertation an endeavor is made to examine the musical from a postcolonial perspective to unveil its portrayal of history, power dynamics, and cultural identity. Indeed, analyzing "Hamilton" from a postcolonial angle provides an ample understanding of its depiction of colonial legacies as well as its broader significance in the postcolonial discourse. In a rather deeper sense, the analysis reveals the musical's engagement with issues of representation, cultural hybridity, ideological conflicts, and the construction of memory. As such, it allows for an in-depth exploration of the complex interplay between the colonial past and its contemporary implications.