DEFINING AMBIGUOUS VILLAIN: AN ARCHETYPAL ANALYSIS OF AARON BURR AS A VILLAIN CHARACTER IN LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA’S HAMILTON: AN AMERICAN MUSICAL
Villain characters are prone to be overlooked, including those ambiguous villains who contribute to the complexity of the story. Such quality can be noticed in the antagonist character Aaron Burr from the Broadway show Hamilton: An American Musical. The purpose of this research was to have a thoroug...
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| Summary: | Villain characters are prone to be overlooked, including those ambiguous villains who contribute to the complexity of the story. Such quality can be noticed in the antagonist character Aaron Burr from the Broadway show Hamilton: An American Musical. The purpose of this research was to have a thorough understanding of Burr’s complex villainy using Vogler’s 12 stages of hero’s journey and the proceeds to classify it to Cowden’s 16 villain archetype. The main data was obtained from the script of the musical, especially from the numbers or songs which reveal Burr’s progression. This analysis focused on the textual evidence, meaning it put aside the performance aspects of the show. The study revealed that Burr completes his cycle even though his journey ends with open-ended closure. The hero of the story, Hamilton, played the dual roles of being a catalyst to Burr’s transformation and villainy—he propelled Burr forward but also poked a villainous monster inside of Burr. It was concluded that Burr was a three-dimensional character who did not fully conform to the existing villain archetype’s classification. His complexity also provides a new way to perceive Aaron Burr as a historical figure who does not conform to a conventional sorting of right and wrong. The analysis can be extended further by looking into the possible rise of villain archetypes based on the atypical and ambiguous presentation of Burr. Demonstrating an extensive way to operate the hero’s journey, the study lent a new perspective to discuss villain characters. |
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