Trump fan or not, I think everyone can agree Donald Trump is not afraid to speak his mind. What he gets away with no other candidate would even dream of saying or doing. Its really quite remarkable, actually. Clinton, on the other hand, knows exactly what to say...but has a little bit of trouble saying it convincingly. Hamilton has Clinton's same problem, so Burr advises him to "talk less; smile more" (Odom Jr.) in the song "Aaron Burr, Sir."
In the song, Hamilton seeks Burr for advice on winning over the public (which he eventually doesn't even take). Burr basically tells him that talking less- and worrying less about what he is saying- will actually help him out. The public wants to see a friendly and approachable candidate, or in other words, someone who appears to be just like themselves. Nobody really pays attention to what someone is saying unless they are first comfortable with the speaker's appearance. In this way (though friendliness might be issue), Donald Trump is able to captivate his audiences and win them over. Hillary Clinton can all to often appear unapproachable or fake, and therefore runs the risk of losing the interest of her audience even if what she is saying is legitimate. Trump is obviously taking Burr's advice, while Clinton could learn from the popular Hamilton song.
When looking into this subject, I found a funny website showing people's reactions to one of Clinton's speeches via Twitter. On the site, https://www.buzzfeed.com/ellievhall/literally-stop-telling-women-to-smile?utm_term=.ydOopO7jE3#.qqBy9QY13k, post #4 is particularly pertinent. Most of the posts are unfortunately negative, but at least some of them showed how something as simple as a smile can affect a performance.
Fan or not, Hamilton can subtly teach today's political leaders how to handle their speeches. Just as the musical makes a historic event into a modern show, its messages are timeless and applicable today, as well.
Works Cited:
Hall, Ellie and Tasneem Nashrulla. "Men On Twitter Kept Telling Hillary Clinton To Smile As She Delivered Her Speech." BuzzFeed, 29 July 2016. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
Odom Jr., Leslie, Burr. "Aaron Burr, Sir." Hamilton: An American Musical. Avatar Studios, 2015. Audio.
I've never seen Hamilton but its an interesting metaphor! Try to use the hyperlinks instead of leaving a URL, but other than that its great!
ReplyDeleteI really like how you connected the show Hamilton to politics now, it was very creative and entertaining. In terms of the URL you give us in paragraph 4 I am unsure of how to, but I would hyperlink it! Really great content and I look forward to reading more of your blogs!
ReplyDeleteI really do find your statments intresting and realeveant to both the musical and to modern day politics. I have been lucky enought to see Hamitlon and I am pretty much a berd for anything Hamilton reltated. I even have and Arron Burr sitcker on my laptop. I like your comparsion of Clinton and Hamilton, they both always have a good argument but sometimes have trouble saying it convincingly. After all it took a very long time in the revolution to give Hamilton a command instead of just being his personal secretary. Both canidates can learn alot from listening to the realeveant arguments presented by Miranda. Lets hope that neither of them throw away their shot and that this election will be almost as great as the election of 1800.
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