Comments on: Accusations of Reverse Racism on Hamilton: An American Musical https://contemporaryracism.org/3215/accusations-of-reverse-racism-on-hamilton-an-american-musical/ An academic blog about whiteness, implicit bias, and systemic racism Sun, 17 Jun 2018 16:37:09 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: Taylor Beckman https://contemporaryracism.org/3215/accusations-of-reverse-racism-on-hamilton-an-american-musical/comment-page-1/#comment-773 Sat, 22 Oct 2016 20:30:58 +0000 http://contemporaryracism.org/?p=3215#comment-773 The point of casting calls in theatre is to attract a certain group of people that the casting director is looking for. Oftentimes, agents will send their clients that fit that “type” for an audition, but with open casting calls it is a little different because anyone without an agent can audition for them. I think the choice to specify that the casting director was looking for non-white actors matched the vision and goals for the play. I agree with you that the impact of the musical rides on the fact that the actors in the leading roles are people of color. The themes and values that created the United States of America still shine through which is a credit to the universality of this story.

To touch upon Jess’s question, Hamilton: An American Musical, does not explicitly advertise itself as a musical that focuses on diversity, but I do not think it needs to. The fact that the cast is comprised of primary people of color should not detract people from seeing the show. Most people who can get a ticket to the highly coveted show know that it was written by Lin Manuel Miranda and he oftentimes writes musicals where racial issues come into play (i.e. In the Heights, Bring It On, etc.) If White people do not want to see it because of the diverse casting, then that is their choice because there are plenty of people who want a ticket to the show that will happily take their place.

]]> By: Sofia Montgomery https://contemporaryracism.org/3215/accusations-of-reverse-racism-on-hamilton-an-american-musical/comment-page-1/#comment-770 Fri, 21 Oct 2016 19:34:25 +0000 http://contemporaryracism.org/?p=3215#comment-770 I believe we talked about this in class that reverse racism is not actually a thing. Of course, marginalized groups can be prejudiced, but not racist, as it would imply that these same marginalized groups are benefitting from the system – when they aren’t. If theatre rules state that “non” anything is discrimination, then I can understand why it would be a problem. However, I completely agree that Miranda is trying to make a point and a very powerful one, at that. The casting call could’ve been worded differently, because I also agree that auditions should be open to everyone – but, Miranda has the final decision in who he wants to play certain roles. However, I can see the other side too because why should marginalized groups have to fix or moderate their language in order to please white people? This reminds me of the white girl (whose name I do not remember) got rejected from a university and she sued, because she claimed it was racist. It makes me wonder if the people who complained about the “seeking non-white” were from white people.
I also have a unrelated question: I’ve never seen Hamilton and probably won’t, but I know that I’ve only heard about it from white friends and I would like to know how Hamilton is actually advertised. I just wonder if it was advertised in a way that made it clear that the cast was diverse (i.e., you know the cast is diverse for Dreamgirls and The Color Purple), would as many white people want to go and see it?

]]>