{"id":22115124,"date":"2021-07-26T08:00:29","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T14:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usustatesman.com\/?p=22115124"},"modified":"2021-07-26T01:55:45","modified_gmt":"2021-07-26T07:55:45","slug":"lin-manuel-miranda-in-the-heights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usustatesman.com\/lin-manuel-miranda-in-the-heights\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Lin Manuel Miranda really writing about in \u201cIn the Heights?\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I walked into the movie theater for the first time since the pandemic to see \u201cIn the Heights,\u201d and I was expecting a production similar to \u201cHamilton.\u201d I was right and wrong.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIn the Heights\u201d was Lin Manuel Miranda\u2019s Broadway debut, and it won best musical at the Tony Awards. Changing \u201cIn the Heights\u201d from a Broadway experience to a cinematic one must have been a difficult task, but it was done fairly seamlessly. Characters were often introduced by their shoes, which to me, represented the essence of each character. The Stanford college student wore a sturdy pair of heels and the longing traveler wore a well-used pair of sneakers. This is just one example of creative storytelling that wouldn\u2019t be possible on Broadway.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I was surprised to see animation sprinkled throughout the film, again, something not possible on Broadway. The creativity of \u201cIn the Heights\u201d is boundless. The colors, shots, and choreography elevated the already phenomenal soundtrack of Washington Heights.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIn the Heights\u201d was the production that made the world notice Miranda, who is known for his powerful lyricism and hip-hop-inspired productions. Most attribute his success to his unique music, but I don\u2019t think that is the reason for Miranda\u2019s popularity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of my favorite professors at Utah State University, Robb Kunz, told me all writers spend their lives writing about the same thing. I\u2019ll admit, I was skeptical of that. To limit every writer in the world to one theme, memory, experience or movement seemed too simple. But after comparing Miranda\u2019s musicals to each other, I realized that Kunz was right. Thematically, \u201cHamilton\u201d and \u201cIn the Heights\u201d are incredibly similar because Miranda is writing about the same thing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why do we run from where we come from?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At eight years old, Usnavi immigrated to New York from the Dominican republic. In Washington Heights, he runs a bodega with his cousin, Sonny. But, Usnavi is anything but satisfied; sounds like Hamilton, doesn\u2019t it? Usnavi spends all his time working to save up enough money to go back to the Dominican Republic, promising himself and his neighborhood that he will leave the Heights forever.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Usnavi isn\u2019t the only one who’s running in the Heights.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vanessa dreams of leaving the Heights and pursuing her designer dreams in an apartment downtown, away from the barrio. At the same time, Nina tries to hide her differences from her classmates at Stanford University. She runs from where she came from.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Hamilton, Alexander is described by Angelica Schuyler as never being satisfied. He immigrated to New York from the Caribbean to become a new man and quickly established himself in America. He practiced law and served as the secretary of the treasury during the Washington presidency. He spent his life creating a new legacy of independence, revolution, and intellect.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m not sure if Hamilton was ever satisfied because, to me, he never seemed at peace. He was constantly pushing for more; Usnavi did that, too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Miranda clearly believes that you\u2019re in charge of your own legacy. Where you come from should not be an indication of immediate success, power, or influence but, unfortunately, it is. Miranda\u2019s work criticizes stereotyping immigrants and encourages audiences to see people\u2019s potential beyond where they come from.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIn the Heights\u201d is now streaming on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hbomax.com\/?utm_id=sa%7c71700000067030777%7c58700006926526610%7cp62287911527&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9O6HBhCrARIsADx5qCSnpBiveRspxJNJzfhzTZZFGs2PUVCiYdJBMudGYA2g08KS9i7hYs4aAi7aEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">HBO Max.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>emily.white@usu.edu<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I walked into the movie theater for the first time since the pandemic to see \u201cIn the Heights,\u201d and I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":877996,"featured_media":22115126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,523,20,521,524,35,530],"tags":[11867,11587,8848,8852,11866,176,590,581,128,2112],"class_list":["post-22115124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-lifestyle","category-features","category-movies","category-music","category-reviews","category-theater","tag-broadway","tag-emily-white","tag-in-the-heights","tag-lifestyles","tag-lin-manuel-miranda","tag-movie-review","tag-music","tag-opinion","tag-review","tag-utah-statesman"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.4 - 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