Who Tells Your Story?: ‘Hamilton,’ the Film, Hits Disney+

On July 3, 2020, Disney+ released the award-winning Broadway hit Hamilton. In case you’re not aware of this global smash hit that was written and starred playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda, it depicts the life of Alexander Hamilton (one of the founder fathers of the United States of America) and the blueprint for the U.S. Constitution. Sound boring? Typically, right? Nothing from the pen of Lin-Manuel is boring. This two hour and forty minute musical casts primarily of Black, Latinx, Asian, and other POC actors. The musical is wrought with hip-hop, nods to RnB, jazz and all of those concepts of Black culture that a lot of folks can’t wait to devour. That’s what made Hamilton so popular and revolutionary. A Black and Brown cast schoolin’ folks on U.S. history using hip hop and dance. It’s almost a blueprint for 90’s and early 2000’s concepts for urban educators, but thankfully nothing like Dangerous Minds or it’s hip-hopera predecessors. Also, I’m a big ass fan. The timing isn’t lost on me. Hamilton dropped the day before America’s great simultaneous barbecue, better known as the Fourth, the 4th of July or Independence Day. Hamilton’s entire first act is set in the precipice of the Revolution. Alexander Hamilton, a Caribbean born orphan, is making a name for himself. Sick of being a secretary, he has big dreams for America. He wants to fight in the war to help America gain its independence from England. The play depicts much of Alexander Hamilton’s mindset for America and include…