West Side Story

The Film "West Side Story" illustrates how the Puerto Ricans of New York faced discrimination and were used as scapegoats by the American people during the cold war time period to escape their anxieties. Due to the fear of communism and possible nuclear war the 1950-1960s time period was a very fragile time for the American people which produced an air of xenophobia throughout the country. The air of xenophobia is present throughout the play due of the repeated mention of stereotypes about Puerto Ricans and the constant feeling that the Puerto Ricans do not belong. The people of American often dealt with these anxieties in one of two ways, through escapism or through and through the scapegoating. This is made very clear through the comparison of West Side Story to the play The Music Man in the document “West Side Story and The Music Man: Whiteness, Immigration, and Race in the US during the late 1950s”. Like many waves of immigrants, the Puerto Ricans faced discrimination when they arrived and for some time after. This came in the form of people being discriminatory directly to them, housing discrimination and job discrimination. Therefore, the play “West Side Story” expresses the discrimination that Puerto Ricans faced due to the xenophobic nature of the time period.

Bernardo thinks he knows what’s best for his little sister and believes that she, Maria, should listen to everything he tells her to do. Bernardo freaks out because Maria was dancing with one of the Jets, Anita sticks up for her while she is gone, “So why doesn’t he write a book about America? None of you is so smart. In this country girls have as much right as boys to have fun. Girls can dance with anyone they please in America.” (Laurents 90-91) The boys believe that women are not free to do what they want, and cannot handle themselves. Then there’s this girl named Anybodys and she is the only girl that wants to be a part of the Jets, badly. They asked her how desperately she wanted to be one of the Jets. She said she would do anything. They told her that they were going to look for chicks and that she wouldn’t want to go. The Jets started laughing at her, “The sob tore from Anybodys’ lips was drowned by the roar of laughter” (Laurents 26). The Jets and the Sharks didn’t trust girls in any sense. The only thing girls were reliable for was being girlfriends, and even then they weren’t trusted enough to do anything but be the puppet and their boyfriend be the puppeteer.

Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story share many similar themes. Romeo and Juliet both chronicle a story of overcoming prejudice and hatred, forbidden love, and defying stereotypes that nobody thought could be broken. The two stories are similar in a multitude of ways, even though their settings are centuries apart- Romeo and Juliet set in the 1500’s, and West Side Story set in the 1950’s. Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story both teach a lesson of how prejudice can teach you how to hate, and how one of your rivals may be the one who helps you remember how to love.

Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story are both iconic, enjoyable stories that most people have heard of. Romeo and Juliet was written much earlier than West Side Story was, however it was still based on older Italian stories. These stories can teach us a lot about our daily lives and how we live them. In order to do this though, we have to make other comparisons throughout the story first. So, let’s dive in and analyze the differences between the stories, their origins, and their authors.

J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye is widely recognized as one of the most self-destructive novels ever written. The novel’s protagonist Holden Caulfield is known for his anti-social behavior and his self-loathing, self-isolating character in the book. Holden’s traits could widely be compared to Napoleon Dynamite the protagonist of the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite directed by Jared Hess. Napoleon is characterized by his clichéd “school nerd” behavior and of course his own self-isolating habit just like Holden. Like Holden, Napoleon tries to put down people to isolate him from others. But even though Holden and Napoleon are alike on how they assume the traits of the people they meet,

The 1920s was the beginning of a decade of change in the American arts. Jazz, along with such inventions as the phonograph, radio and sound movies, transformed the music industry. By the end of the decade, 40% of all Americans had radios in their homes. Not surprisingly, 58% of households in New York City owned a radio. New York became the center of the music world, and at the center of New York was a small area called Tin Pan Alley. Radios initially provided the young century's second uppercut to the music publishing business of Tin Pan Alley. Burton Lane was part of a well-known Cape Town-based duo, who delivered a powerful, emotive and distinctive blend of acoustic rock stated, "Tin Pan Alley was a real alley on East

William Butler Yeats a writer and irish poet once said, “The innocent and the beautiful have no enemy but time.” In the book, “The Catcher in the Rye,” by J. D. Salinger, a boy named “Holden” is dealing with the consequences of growing up and losing innocence. The story details the importance of being a kid and going through maturity. It also shares the knowledge of learning from mistakes and growing up. Holden experiences all of these elements through loneliness and innocence throughout the book.

The Bronx Tale is a movie based in the 1960’s. There were a lot of differential discrepancies between races. In this period of time, it was taboo for a white Italian to have any kind of relationships with a person of color. One of the main characters named Calogero was surrounded by friends who discriminated against blacks. However, Calogero was raised in this kind of environment, he seem to be optimistic about black people.

The text Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and the text west side story by Arthur Laurent’s deals with the main themes of love and conflict. The two stories are similar in multitude of ways, even though their settings are centuries apart. The author explore (other themes) family, friendship, and hate. Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story both teach a lesson of how to hate, and how one of your rivals may be the one who helps you remember how to love.

West Side Story came out in 1961 as a melodramatic musical that took place in New York. It takes the same theme as Shakespeare's, Romeo and Juliet, in that it is about two lovers whose relationship is not accepted by others because of conflicting backgrounds.

West Side Story is the iconic American musical that is a 1957 Broadway production choreographed by Jerome Robbins. Arthur Laurents is the author of the original book with the setting taking place in the upper west side New York city in a blue-collar neighborhood during the mid-1950s. (The Broadway) Because West Side Story is a movie musical, it will be a lot of narrative conveyed through the song. The movie West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet have many similarities and differences consider their plot, their character and their setting. The major plot of the musical is about a rivalry between two different ethnic group gangs, the Sharks and Jets. The Sharks are Puerto Rican and the Jets are white. Leonard Bernstein composed the dynamic and influential music. In the mix of the conflict between the two gangs, a former member of the Jets, Tony, falls in love with the leader of the Sharks sister, Maria. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet clearly influenced this movie, and there are parallel characteristics. For instance, Romeo and Tony, Juliet and Maria, Mercutio and Riff, Tybalt and Bernardo all have similar characteristics. As for the specific film, I decided to watch the 1961 version.

In Romeo and Juliet, there was a fight it resulted in Juliet’s cousin’s death. The difference between each events is that even if Romeo had not gotten into a fight with her cousin nothing would have change with or without them fighting. But in West Side Story, the fight is the reason for the death of Tony, Riff, and Bernardo Maria’s brother. This resulted in a big change for the plot of the

Change can be a good thing. Charles Dickens, a fine author of A Tale of Two Cities uses many themes throughout his work, but the main theme he focuses on is redemption. The idea of redemption has to do with someone changing their outlook on life and making a difference from what they used to be. An alcoholic becoming a hero, a thief becoming a honest man, a crazed man becoming a leader, and a bystander becoming honorable. The transformation of an ordinary person to someone who benefits many people is an example of true redemption. Dickens includes a few specific characters that relate directly to this theme. Dr. Manette, Charles Darnay, Jerry Cruncher, and Sydney Carton are identified in a couple of instances where it appears that their

Billy Crystal is regarded as one of the most amusing comedians to ever entertain others, but this funny man experienced a tragedy at a young age that would change his life forever. When he was fifteen years old, his hardworking father suddenly passed away from a heart attack. His dad was always working to support his family, and the only day he did not work was Sundays, which the Crystal family spent together. Crystal realized that he spent only 700 days with his dad; 700 Sundays, where Crystal’s book gets its title. The short-lived time of father and son showed Crystal the importance of family life and enjoying time with family. Through the book, which focuses mainly on Crystal’s youth, Crystal keeps the description in a chronological order,

The main protagonist Alvy Singer is a neurotic Jewish comedian who has been getting the psychoanalysis. He frequently looks into the past events to explain his present feelings and actions. Alvy is an unadaptable person who doesn’t change much throughout the film. Another protagonist Annie Hall is a singer. She is a dynamic character who is opposite to Alvy. When Annie sings at the bar, in Annie’s point of view none of the audiences bother to care. The camera keeps changing from Annie’s point of view and audience’s point of view to show the contrast. This symbolizes the struggles in a relationship.