Art Is Political
Since Mike Pence visited the Richard Rodgers theatre on November 18th, there has been feedback that the Hamilton cast, and namely Brandon Dixon, should not have offered a now infamous post-curtain speech. Dixon concisely expressed that certain people, many of whom were on stage, were “alarmed and anxious” that the incoming administration does not represent and will not protect the rights and interests of certain groups of people in this country. Then, he thanked Pence for coming to the show and listening to their story and their message.
Internet comment threads (which no one should be reading, unless you’re in the market for an aneurism) are rife with “shut up and sing” and “get back to performing,” which all feel a bit reminiscent of the Dixie Chicks backlash of 2003. A CNN commentator even called the Hamilton theater-goers and cast members the de-throned New York elites who were out of touch with mainstream America, which all seemed to negate the Dixon’s concerns in her eyes.
Trump himself has called for an apology. He has also uttered this piece of delicious irony:
I don’t pretend to be a political commentator. Before the election results, I very nearly wrote an piece about the ethics of Trump converting his voters to television viewers for what was certain to be the Trump TV network. Shows you what I know.
However, what I do know is theatre. Those who are in denial about art intersecting with politics are highly mistaken about where their art is coming from, or how it came into existence.
Art is politics
Whether it’s sculpture, wall carvings or music, art has a motivation. It’s often telling a story or making a statement. Many times, those stories or statements are rooted in politics.
When art is used on the political side, as it often is, it’s called propaganda. Roman emperor Hadrian used buildings and even a large nearly functionless wall (sound familiar?) as propaganda. Neil Faulkner for the BBC says, “There seems little doubt that the wall, like other great Roman frontier monuments was as much a propaganda statement as a functional facility.” He goes on to say about the art depicted on structures and buildings erected at the time: “Through images on fresco, mosaic and sculpted panel, it promoted a cultural identity and shared values.”
Examples of politically infused art in the time of the American revolution are hard to come by, as Morgan Sumrell points out here. However, Sumrell make the ever-important point, “More often than not, a painting not only depicts the scene of a historical event, but also reflects the personal opinions of the artist in relation to the scene depicted.”
There are clearer examples of how artists feel about politics and war in paintings like Guernica (Picasso), The 2000 Yard Stare (Lea), and Self Portrait Along the Boarder Line Between Mexico and the United States (Kahlo). And do we even need to touch on modern street artists like Banksy?
“More often than not, a painting not only depicts the scene of a historical event, but also reflects the personal opinions of the artist in relation to the scene depicted.” — Morgan Sumrell
And finally, performance art is deeply political. Many examples can be seen of anti-establishment and protest music in the last century (Baez, Lennon, Dylan to name only a few). Greek playwright Aristophanes is one of the earliest known political satirists, writing a play criticizing a war general. Charlie Chaplin’s film The Great Dictator is a parody of Adolf Hitler, shining a light on the absurdity and inhumane aspects of the Nazi party. These are only some of the more obvious and highly visible examples in history. To delve into the depths of political stage and print satire, unity and protest songs, all the way to subtle examples in contemporary art and pop music would take up the rest of your holiday season. I’ll spare you.
All of this is to say, art has always been influenced by politics. Sometimes, it’s even commissioned by politics. And when that is the case…
When you consume someone’s art, you consume their politics
The ticket price to Hamilton includes asking to hear Lin-Manuel Miranda’s stance on many issues, not the least of which is certain political opinions. The show is rooted in America’s political history (that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone), but written in the style of contemporary hip-hop and features a cast which doesn’t necessarily adhere to what you saw in your third-grade textbooks.
Did you expect this show to be devoid of personal opinions or political leanings?
Art has messages. Those messages come from the person who created the art.
First and foremost, pieces of art such as Hamilton were never masquerading as something other than what they are: artistic presentations which have political statements held within.
Second, I’m perpetually confused how someone can readily consume the personal words and music of a human being who writes about life experiences, heartbreak, struggles, pain, joy, and everything in between (including opinions), all for the public’s personal enjoyment… but the second an opinion pops out that someone does not agree with or didn’t anticipate to hear, there is a move to silence the artist.
There is less outcry when songs like Born This Way, Where Is The Love, Same Love are released. This appears to be because the message isn’t “hidden.” It thematically smacks you right in the face. However, there is occasional uproar when, for example, a singer employs a metaphor that someone finds offensive, because the buying public seems to take their words literally and not allow any sort of allowance for artistic intent.
There is refusal or resistance to look for meaning behind the words for what they represent, or listen to why the artist used the words a certain way. Why did they use a certain image in their artwork or music video to represent an idea? No one cares. Consumers have begun to favor literalism only, and it is unfortunate the artist has to answer for it.
Art comes as a package, and it’s also multi-dimensional. Only seeing it one way is short-sighted at best. There is a reason artists tend to say that their “blood, sweat and tears” went into their art. There is a reason actors say “leave it all out on the stage.” It’s because pieces of you get left behind in the art. As a consumer, you pick up pieces of the artist you may not even realize are there. Their opinions, sensibilities and political leanings are included in that messy package.
If that makes you uncomfortable, that’s part of the package, too.
This country isn’t done being created
I had an epiphany as I was reading about how the Hamilton cast recalled that Pence was observed enjoying the play, laughing and smiling through the production. The show is peppered with references to strength in immigration and diversity. It seemed Dixon’s rational conclusion in his speech was that Pence would take some of the messages in the show he had just seen and (maybe? perhaps?) apply it to his outlook of the current-day America. This was Dixon’s plea to Pence.
“We’re finally on the field, we’ve had quite a run. Immigrants: we get the job done.” — Hamilton and Lafayette, “Yorktown” from the musical Hamilton
However, the rally call of many Trump supporters has been a sentiment of “we’re going take our country back.” The Trump slogan itself is Make American Great Again.
This results in several questions. When was the country “great”? Who are you taking it back from? When was this time you keep harkening back to, and what exactly did it look like?
However, those are the wrong questions, which are inflammatory and often lead to accusation of racism and sexism. The answers to those questions don’t matter, surprisingly.
There is a distinct reason why someone like Mike Pence can sit and watch a musical like Hamilton. He can laugh and smile, nod his head and tap his foot along with the music. He agrees that those immigrants got the job done. He agrees that they built this great nation.
The disconnect is that he (and millions of others, apparently) think that at some point in the past, those people finished the job. We’re not exactly sure when that point was. To be honest, I’m not sure they know either, which is why the answers to those aforementioned questions is moot. The issue is that because they think that job was “finished,” they believe that system may as well come to a grinding halt and get frozen in time in order to benefit all of those people who “finished” it.
Growth, in their eyes, only comes in terms of, say, a GDP number. It does not comes in terms of rights for marginalized groups, women, the poor, or anyone else who wasn’t notably recognized as a person before they finished the job. Progress after that point seems unnecessary to someone like Mike Pence. Why in the world wouldn’t we just focus on the GDP growth of the finished system? Duh.
Anyone who sees America as a completed cake will ask why us wacky artists and progressives keep adding more frosting and decorations. “JUST STOP ALREADY!” they keep screaming. “IT’S DONE!”
But a country isn’t like a cake, Mike Pence. You don’t mix some ingredients together, bake it for a while, top it off with some extra stuff, then call it a day and show it off to everyone and put it under glass (then destroy it after a special occasion).
A country (nay, a society) is an ever-evolving ecosystem which is constantly growing, petering off in certain areas, and regenerating. Did I mention changing? We’re always changing.
I believe Ana Marie Cox said it very clearly on election night when she was interviewed by Trevor Noah on The Daily Show:
“I’m trying to make a very fine distinction between people who actively are racist, actively are sexist, and something a little different, which is I think what happened. Which is people, mainly white men, experiencing… the kindest way to say it would be: nostalgia for an America that is gone and that will not come back. And Donald Trump told them he could bring it back.”
Nothing is finite, and nothing may be a better example of that than art.
Ainslie Caswell is a fledgling writer and playwright, experimenting with her writing on Medium and Twitter. She is finishing a book about the year of her life spent as an exotic dancer. Visit her at www.ainsliecaswell.com.
