Great Adaptations: Screenwriting and Global Storytelling

EIGHTEEN

Timing the Times

Timing “Real” Times

When it comes to adapting real life stories, one’s approach often depends on the zeitgeist and circumstances of the time in which the adaptation will be viewed. For example, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s adaptation of a 731-page biography of Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s Founding Fathers, into the smash hit hip-hop musical Hamilton (USA, 2015), took into account both modern style and contemporary political concerns in the retelling.¹ It also took liberties with an historical timeline, using deadlines as an excuse. As Lin-Manuel Miranda puts it:

Hamilton didn’t really meet Lafayette, Lawrence, and Mulligan all at once in the same bar, but we’re gonna meet them at once because we’ve got to go. We’ve got ...