Parodying Through Song: How Comic Devices in King George III’s Songs in Hamilton Challenge Contemporary Dispositions About the Symbolic Value of Youth Culture

Book chapter


Stamatiou, E. 2024. Parodying Through Song: How Comic Devices in King George III’s Songs in Hamilton Challenge Contemporary Dispositions About the Symbolic Value of Youth Culture. in: Wetmore, K. J., Jr. (ed.) Hamilton, History and Hip Hop: Essays on an American Musical McFarland. pp. 73-88
AuthorsStamatiou, E.
EditorsWetmore, K. J., Jr.
Abstract

Writing from the perspective of an academic and theatre maker, I draw on Pierre Bourdieu’s theories about cultural capital and taste to consider the comic treatment of King George III in Hamilton, and to assess the audience reception of the musical. I critically analyse the parodic techniques used in George III’s three songs – “You’ll Be Back,” “What Comes Next?” and “I Know Him.” The songs are based on two historical documents: the 1775 Proclamation of Rebellion and the 1783 Treaty of Paris. I focus on two parodic techniques that are intended not only to produce a comic effect but to challenge the symbolic value of different tastes and lifestyles: a) internal undermining, which relates to the parodic adaptation of a historical text; and b) dissonant music and movement choices. After analysing how dispositions relating to the symbolic value of youth culture affect how audiences received Hamilton and the broader power structures of the musical theatre field, I examine how the parodic representation of George III through text, music and movement invites audiences to renegotiate the symbolic power of their cultural capital. I argue that the audience’s reception of the humor in George III’s songs depends on their cultural capital – their cultural knowledge and consumption patterns. Hamilton uses parodic techniques not only for comic effect and to reach broader audiences, but to create a forum in which audiences can negotiate mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion.

Book titleHamilton, History and Hip Hop: Essays on an American Musical
Page range73-88
Year2024
PublisherMcFarland
File
License
File Access Level
Repository staff only
Publication dates
Print30 Nov 2023
Publication process dates
Deposited13 Nov 2024
ISBN978-1-4766-7179-6
978-1-4766-5089-0
Web address (URL)https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/hamilton-history-and-hip-hop/?srsltid=AfmBOorGHQMqaIne4zbLwHsqTH_C0pPpdNgZxg7De2H5h1IdE2GMUcNX
Copyright holder© 2024
Permalink -

https://repository.uel.ac.uk/item/8y789

  • 14
    total views
  • 0
    total downloads
  • 4
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Liminal Casting: Self-Inquisitive Scene Study in Actor Training
Stamatiou, E. 2024. Liminal Casting: Self-Inquisitive Scene Study in Actor Training . in: Peck, L. and Stamatiou, E. (ed.) Critical Acting Pedagogy: Intersectional Approaches Routledge. pp. 121-134
‘Call Me by My Name’: inclusive actor training for second language users
Stamatiou, E. 2024. ‘Call Me by My Name’: inclusive actor training for second language users. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training. 15 (2), pp. 162-178. https://doi.org/10.1080/19443927.2024.2335649
Emotion Memory versus Physical Action Towards Anti-racist Pedagogies that Make Way for Critical Praxis
Stamatiou, E. 2023. Emotion Memory versus Physical Action Towards Anti-racist Pedagogies that Make Way for Critical Praxis. in: Scott, S. and Skelton, J. (ed.) Stanislavski and Race: Questioning the “System” in the 21st Century Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. pp. 62-79
Bourdieu in the Studio: Decolonising and Decentering Actor Training through Ludic Activism
Stamatiou, E. 2023. Bourdieu in the Studio: Decolonising and Decentering Actor Training through Ludic Activism. London and New York Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
Albania
Jonka, E. and Stamatiou, E. 2023. Albania. in: Remshardt, R. and Mancewicz, A. (ed.) The Routledge Companion to Contemporary European Theatre and Performance Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
A screen actor prepares: Self-taping by reversing Stanislavsky’s Method of Physical Actions
Stamatiou, E. 2023. A screen actor prepares: Self-taping by reversing Stanislavsky’s Method of Physical Actions. Stanislavski Studies. 11 (1), pp. 63-79. https://doi.org/10.1080/20567790.2023.2196297
Developing the Critical Verbatim Theater Artist during the Pandemic: A Transatlantic Collaboration
Stamatiou, E., Kildow, E., Spearing, F., Nodding, G. and Price, J-P. 2022. Developing the Critical Verbatim Theater Artist during the Pandemic: A Transatlantic Collaboration. Artspraxis. 9 (1), pp. 13-33.
Joan Littlewood and Ariane Mnouchkine against the canon: developing the actors’ social representations through clowning
Stamatiou, E. 2022. Joan Littlewood and Ariane Mnouchkine against the canon: developing the actors’ social representations through clowning. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training. 13 (4), pp. 519-535. https://doi.org/10.1080/19443927.2021.1968026
Pierre Bourdieu and actor training: towards decolonising and decentering actor training pedagogies
Stamatiou, E. 2022. Pierre Bourdieu and actor training: towards decolonising and decentering actor training pedagogies. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training. 13 (1), pp. 96-114. https://doi.org/10.1080/19443927.2021.1943509
Stepping Forward: An Exploration of Devised Theatre’s Democratic Designs in an Actor-Training Setting
Stamatiou, E. 2020. Stepping Forward: An Exploration of Devised Theatre’s Democratic Designs in an Actor-Training Setting. in: Aragay, M., Botham, P. and Prado-Pérez, J. R. (ed.) World Political Theatre and Performance: Theories, Histories, Practices BRILL. pp. 98-113
A Materialist Feminist Perspective on Time in Actor Training: The commodity of illusion
Stamatiou, E. 2019. A Materialist Feminist Perspective on Time in Actor Training: The commodity of illusion. in: Evans, M., Thomaidis, K. and Worth, L. (ed.) Time and Performer Training Routledge. pp. 50-61
A Brechtian perspective on London Road: Class representations, dialectics and the ‘gestic’ character of music from stage to screen
Stamatiou, E. 2019. A Brechtian perspective on London Road: Class representations, dialectics and the ‘gestic’ character of music from stage to screen. Studies in Musical Theatre. 13 (3), pp. 287-298. https://doi.org/10.1386/smt_00007_1
The Economic Communities of Edinburgh’s August Festivals: An Exclusive ‘Global Sense of Place’ and an Inclusive ‘Local Sense of Space’
Stamatiou, E. 2019. The Economic Communities of Edinburgh’s August Festivals: An Exclusive ‘Global Sense of Place’ and an Inclusive ‘Local Sense of Space’. in: Galea, M. and Musca, S. (ed.) Redefining Theatre Communities: International Perspectives on Community-Conscious Theatre-Making Bristol, UK; Chicago, USA Intellect Press. pp. 133-148
Caryatid Unplugged: A Cabaret on Performing and Negotiating Belonging and Otherness in Exile
Stamatiou, E. 2017. Caryatid Unplugged: A Cabaret on Performing and Negotiating Belonging and Otherness in Exile. in: Rudakoff, J. (ed.) Performing Exile: Foreign Bodies Intellect Press. pp. 195-216