When most people think of musicals, their first reaction is either ‘Oh God no’ or something much more positive. Neither of which is ‘wow this is my favourite medium to take in historical facts’. So, why are there so many musicals based on our history – specifically on battles? These musicals usually shed light on a specific hardship or tragedy in conflict, making them essential in the spread of information.
John Kerr and France Nuyen, South Pacific.
One of my favourite musicals is easily Miss Saigon which talked about the thousands of half American half Vietnamese children, dubbed “bụi đời” or the “dust of life”, who were left behind by their fathers in Vietnam when America withdrew from the war. Arguably the most well known musical is Les Miserables, which occurs during the June Rebellion of 1832, during which, there are many deaths of young men wanting to fight for their freedom. 1776 and Hamilton are both based on the American War for Independence, which both mention the slave trade. South Pacific, a musical based in WWII, was controversial for its portrayal of an interracial couple, as indicated by Sara in our first lecture. All of these musicals delve into very tense subjects but are consumed en mass by large audiences regularly.
Lin Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton, Broadway.
One would think that people would enjoy musicals in different genres like comedy and romance, but even I find myself gravitating towards themes of conflict in other media like television and movies. Shows like Game of Thrones and films like Avengers: End Game also centre themselves around combat, and they are some of the most popular in the past few years.
Why do we find ourselves drawn to these musicals that discuss such intense topics?
Perhaps we want to understand the conflict better, or maybe we simply like watching attractive people do anything and watching the battle is a by-product. Does the music help us digest these truths in a softer, more palatable way? Either way, war will always be a part of musicals, and we will undoubtedly continue to create conflict to base musicals off of, and so the cycle continues.
The Final Battle, Les Miserables cast.
Emily Bautista as Kim in Miss Saigon, ‘Thuy’s Death/You will not touch him’
Songs mentioned:
spotify:track:3QMN213mvzjznDFc0inxfq (Bui Doi)
spotify:track:1M89yWdNgTSMr76PU0fIVF (Molasses to Rum)
spotify:track:4PObGheFnHd0ZLoStK0oP7 (The Death of Gavroche)
spotify:track:733tju3KUeatsbjcTRQ04i (Yorktown (The World turned Upside Down) )
spotify:track:047Mn2yuPArqvNWOTCA5dn (Carefully Taught)
I’m half inclined to chalk the quantity of musicals about war up to tradition. I remember hearing Lin-Manuel Miranda grew up around Les Misérables among other musicals, and there are a lot of similarities between Hamilton and it. It could be that musical writers who write musicals about war do it because everyone else seems to be doing it. Of course, traditions have to start somewhere.
Apparently Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, who created both Les Misérables and Miss Saigon, also wrote Martin Guerre set in a 1500s war in France and La Révolution Française, a rock opera that tells another love story in the same French Revolution as Les Mis. It seems like Boublil at the very least was just interested in French wars.
Musical creators are the product of how they grew up. I’d never heard South Pacific but a quick scan of wikipedia tells me its three creators lived through both world wars. Presumably their target audience would have too.
Wikipedia goes on to add that the musical was based on a book. Curious that Hamilton, Les Misérables, Martin Guerre and this were all based on books set in wartime. The tradition that musicals follow could be that of other media. It’s rarely debated that adding a war makes for a more interesting novel or history.
What an interesting post! I’ve never thought about how prevalent violence is in the musical genre! To extend on your last point, maybe it has something to do with the way violence ‘ups the ante’ and adds intensity to all actions within a movie/musical/etc. Conflict puts every thought, discussion, and action under intense pressure and making each appear more impactful/exciting to the viewer. It’s undeniable that the ‘ten duel commandments’ in Hamilton is one of the most suspenseful and exciting songs in the musical, signalling to the audience that each time it is sung (only twice) something very important is going to happen. Observing conflict that cannot impact our own lives is also cathartic and relaxing – we feel the fear and dread of the characters without being in any danger ourselves, hence we feel the excitement, but are still able to return to our normal lives.
A really awesome topic to discuss and I would be really interested to find out any other cool facts you knew about musicals!
As you pointed out, young people are especially drawn to musicals like Les Misérables and Miss Saigon, musicals that are fictional yet situated in great conflicts of the past. I definitely agree with you about how learning the real life horrors of major wars is much more tolerable through a musical medium, than in a classroom. Textbook learning, although practical, is no longer the most successful way for students to study these types of social issues. I think musicals are uniquely effective because they give scale to the conflict in a way a textbook can’t. We can see and hear the pain of people from all walks of life, live in front of us. We can see the huge sets with the chaos of the ensemble populating the stage. The use of stage technologies like lights and sound really throw the audience right into the middle of a war long gone. It’s horrifyingly educational yet still palatable through the use of song and dance. Musicals about war juxtapose our capacity for violence and our ability to create art, two opposite yet defining features of humanity. If only we could convince every high school history teacher to take us to Broadway!
It had never occurred to me to look at musicals in this way before. I have to say I am more a movie person than musical person, but I think that what you have talked about is extremely relevant in helping to teach us about history. As you mentioned, I also believe that music helps us digest the truths about conflicts in a softer/more manageable way. Though what I have always struggled with is the glamourising of war and conflict in forms of entertainment. Yes, there needs to be a story line and as humans we like that feeling of excitement and the rush, knowing we aren’t going to be affected by what happens, but some of these historical events, like Miss Saigon did actually happen to people and it was likely a lot more brutal than what we are shown, but the chances are we wouldn’t watch it if as a viewer it would cause us too much distress. I really enjoyed this topic and it has made me contemplate why we are so interested in conflicts and intense topics that we are not a part of. Though I do believe that the medium of musicals are a good way to teach people about history in an engaging manner – plus most people love music!
I love your post. I’ve never really thought of musicals as a way to discuss difficult topics. Really, I haven’t ever really thought of entertainment as a way to talk about difficult matters, even though I’ve been watching movies nearly CONSTANTLY in isolation (Apocalypse Now and A Clockwork Orange are probably the best two I’ve watched so far). I think part of the reason why musicals that make you think are more popular is due to the audience. Television and movies are quite easy to watch, you can do it practically anywhere, it’s cheap, it’s easy. Musicals, however, attract a different psychographic. I think that the typical musical-goer is less interested in mindless consumption when they attend a musical than legitimate thought. Thus musicals about conflict and history are more popular than those where one is not required to think during the performance.
What I find really interesOoh I love your point at the end there! I think musicals are a successful and well loved medium for portraying war because they are immersive and usually cut to the point – rather than reading a novel about war, which requires more from us than listening to music.
I think musicals such as Hamilton and Les Miserables are successful because they bring the historical conflict to life. We enjoy these more than musicals about say, comedy or romance, because we crave sensations that we’ve never experienced. In the same way, we enjoy the tragedy and horror of dystopian texts. Our generation in particular likes the harsh truths of dystopian texts and the way they don’t sugar coat our fears – perhaps musicals are similar?
It’s also interesting to consider the way in which musicals are able to incorporate music into their storytelling – like using rap, hip hop, or classical forms depending on the tone – for example “My shot” and “You’ll be back” in Hamilton show contrasting perspectives of the same Revolution and are completely different styles, which I find really interesting.
ting, is that way in which musicals
I think the questions you raise in regards to the allure of musicals for many is a fascinating one, particularly with conflict as context. For one, I think it’s important to emphasise the significance of performance and storytelling throughout human history and how deeply rooted both are in the human psyche – so much so the brain tells itself stories as we sleep. We’re all captivated and drawn to story because it’s intrinsically woven into both us and our history. Musicals in many ways are reminiscent of Roman and Greek epics, and like epics, are a form of oral tradition. I think historical musicals are often discredited for their dramatism and the way in which they sway away from fact toward fiction. However, while there may be minor discrepancies between what occurred and a musicals retelling, this isn’t dissimilar to Roman and Greek epics and also in many regards, written history as a whole. It can’t be denied that most, if not all history is structured upon personal bias, first and foremost by the fact history is more often than not written by the victors and even if it isn’t, is coloured by the bias of whomever wrote it. Beyond it’s writing it also depends upon our own personal bias that dictates what it is we take away from events and also what we choose to emphasise. The belief that history is only valid if documented or recorded in a physical form is a particularly western idea which discredits and disregards cultures with centuries of oral traditions such as Pacific and Native American cultures and I’m inclined to believe musicals fall somewhere near, if not in, this bracket. Not into history per se, but a representation of it. Musicals, as a form of entertainment, are a more intimate and inclusive artistic medium to experience and appreciate the past and satiate us by interweaving performance and many forms of storytelling to teach us moral lessons and history for us to glean a deeper understanding of both our ancestors and ourselves.
I love all the points you made here! I wish I could have written an essay on musicals and conflicts because honestly I could go on forever. Especially the fact that histories that are oral are forgotten or overlooked and that history is written by the victors!!
Musicals are great. They’re an under-appreciated form of storytelling that a lot of people shove to the side. It’s relatively digestible, fun, catchy. For me, I think I learned a lot about different world experiences through musicals- 21 Chump street, Les Mis, Hamilton, In the Heights, Rent . Packaged in fun musical numbers and catchy hooks, it’s a really easy way to digest hard-to-swallow pills about the world (racism, socio-economic struggle), yet still letting its writers and authors re-write the narrative. I think about Lin Manuel Miranda’s choice to cast Hamilton as all people of colour, the only exception being King George. It’s heavy rap influence and people at the White house laughing at a rapping Alexander Hamilton. TO answer your overall question: What are musicals good for? I think they allow us to reclaim history, and that’s pretty powerful 🙂