Members of both Hamilton and Star Wars fandoms spent this morning erupting over the news that composer Lin-Manuel Miranda had joined forces with J.J. Abrams to write cantina music for The Force Awakens.
Pairing Miranda, a MacArthur fellow and Pulitzer nominee, with an intergalactic space rebellion might not seem like a natural fit, but as the inevitable resulting hashtag #Force4Ham is currently proving, Star Wars and Hamilton, a hip-hop musical about the founding fathers, actually work perfectly together:
https://twitter.com/ryanlindberg/status/671706147842301953
And when you think about it, it’s easy to see why. Both stories are narratives of plucky outsiders with hidden talents and lowly beginnings joining a haphazard, struggling group of rebels fighting for independence. Sure, one of these fights happened in America in 1776 and the other one happened a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away—but beneath the surface, Star Wars and Hamilton are practically soulmates.
https://twitter.com/goyal_abhi/status/671704656842739712
https://twitter.com/SusLikesTurtles/status/671710604449742848
There’s the fighting:
How does a ragtag volunteer army in need of a shower somehow defeat a global superpower? #Force4Ham pic.twitter.com/gZ3VP7fYYE
— Carly Lane-Perry (@carlylane) December 1, 2015
https://twitter.com/TVMcGee/status/671694545394995200
https://twitter.com/goyal_abhi/status/671705472957882370
https://twitter.com/wallrike/status/671709346498273280
The politics:
https://twitter.com/peters0n/status/671730352155721728
“Should we honor our treaty, King Louis’ head?”
— Lauren Pokedoff (@LaurenPokedoff) December 1, 2015
“Uh… do whatever you want, I’m super dead.”#force4Ham pic.twitter.com/A58OFfNHEu
https://twitter.com/TVMcGee/status/671704420896370688
The love stories:
“You disgust me.”
— Whovian Feminism (@WhovianFeminism) December 1, 2015
“Ah, so you’ve discussed me!”#Force4Ham pic.twitter.com/yy8zjVs0ep
https://twitter.com/Amorymeltzer/status/671709984300785664
And her eyeeeeeeees are just helplesssss #Force4Ham pic.twitter.com/1jGAmraE2l
— Justin Carter (@GigawattConduit) December 1, 2015
I’m a trust fund baby, you can trust me. #Force4Ham pic.twitter.com/tF9PMlKkWV
— Ellie Hall (@ellievhall) December 1, 2015
So this is what it feels like to match wits with someone at your level. What the hell is the catch? #force4ham pic.twitter.com/R24uJU5JPy
— Brenna Williams (@brennawilliams) December 1, 2015
And, of course, there are all the character parallels—and all the drama that goes with them:
There’s a million things I haven’t done, but just you wait. Just you wait. #Force4Ham pic.twitter.com/hskmpdGHa9
— Carly Lane-Perry (@carlylane) December 1, 2015
https://twitter.com/TVMcGee/status/671702818005245952
https://twitter.com/wallrike/status/671704731841134596
“CALL ME ‘SON’ ONE MORE TIME!” #Force4Ham pic.twitter.com/gVazdJtJPQ
— Eric Haywood (@EricHaywood) December 1, 2015
I’m erasing myself from the narrative. #force4ham pic.twitter.com/uFgHldtmyg
— CMDR Matt (@NotanNPC) December 1, 2015
There are moments when the meme gets meta—and even better:
#LinManuelsStarWars #Force4Ham “I’m not throwing away my Han shot first.”
— Howard Sherman (@HESherman) December 1, 2015
“And when I meet Thomas Jefferson, I’mma compell him to include women in the sequel. Work!” #Force4Ham pic.twitter.com/Pk7TcOswsP
— meeby (@meeby) December 1, 2015
“And when I meet Thomas Jefferson, I’mma compell him to include women in the sequel. Work!” #Force4Ham pic.twitter.com/Pk7TcOswsP
— meeby (@meeby) December 1, 2015
https://twitter.com/SusLikesTurtles/status/671689142397476864
But as brilliant as all this is, #Force4Ham is even better when it goes in the other direction:
https://vine.co/v/iWAe2bu371q
Though the “X4Ham” meme might be new to Star Wars fans, the Hamilton fandom has made a habit of applying Hamilton lyrics to the rest of the world since last month’s popular trend #ParksandHam, quickly followed by #Cap4Ham, because why not pair Hamilton with the Avengers?
But #Force4Ham is already bigger than either of them—proving just how much energy there is in each fandom at what might be their peak moments. After all:
“Look around, look around, at how lucky we are to be alive right now!” #Force4Ham pic.twitter.com/MYGfGymiTl
— Steven Grade (@ask_Steven) December 1, 2015
Photo via shedboy/Flickr (CC BY 2.0); Rusty Clark/Flickr (CC BY 2.0); Remix by Aja Romano
