West Side Story : Race & Discrimination

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.

compensated for it, “They worked They were always on time They were never late They never

The film has several ethnicities within a small area along a time line of one day. The film has many, informative methods in which it describe the various diversity issues of all the characters within the movie. For example, Sal’s pizzeria which is owned by an Italian American has pictures of famous Italian Americans on the wall and plays Italian music. One character named Buggin Out is always upset. Bugging out hates the fact that there are no black people pictures on the wall especially since the pizzeria is in a black neighborhood. His perspective represents the people in the African American community that always protest, but usually don’t work to improve the community. The

This movie Directed by Paul Haggis who also directed Academy Award Winning "Million Dollar Baby" and had also won an Academy Award for this movie as well puts a twisted story in this film. This movie is trying to symbolize what goes on in the world today in regards to racism and stereotypes. He tries to make a point on how societies view themselves and others in the world based on there ethnicities. This movie intertwines several different people's lives, all different races, with different types of beliefs. Such ethnicities include Caucasians, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Middle Eastern. This movie includes conflicts on both sides of the picture from cops and criminals as well

The film frequently demonstrates racism and prejudice within the small-town as gossip and rumours are spread based upon race or appearance. Jasper Jones is a young aboriginal boy who is accused of

This film also slightly expresses some of the racial segregation in hip hop that goes on during the time period between African Americans and Puerto Ricans. Juan Flores shows this in “Puerto Rocks: Rap, Roots, and Amnesia” when he describes the struggles that Charlie Chase, a member of the Cold Crush Brothers, goes through due to the fact that he is of Puerto Rican decent when the rest of the members are all African American (71-78). In the movie, this can be seen when the members of the Cold Crush Brothers have a street battle with Fantastic Freaks. In this scene one can tell that there is only one member who is Puerto Rican in both groups and they never speak a Spanish word in the battle or throughout the movie itself. Flores explains this in “Puerto Rocks” when he says that:

The Puerto Ricans in New York were being submerged in racist repression and a severe economic exploitation. There Puerto Ricans faced filthy and dangerous tenement housing and a school system that denigrated their language and culture and offered little opportunity for higher education. The Latino population could not get ahead because of the daily repression to which they are subjected. In the streets they faced an occupying army, the New York City Police Department, which was openly racist and used violence liberally. “Puerto Ricans were good enough to die in the jungle of Vietnam, but were treated like the Viet Cong on the streets of New York,” according to to “palante brief history of the Young Lords”what the young lord tried to do oster seeing all the events that were helping to denigrated the latino community they began to clean the streets. Gave

The film examines systemic and institutional racism in the police station when Hansen talks to his superior officer about switching partners; his superior, Lieutenant Dixon, is a black officer and says that reporting Officer Tom Hansen as a racist could cost all of them their jobs, especially in the LAPD. Dixon suggests transferring to a one-man car and mockingly suggests Hansen explain his request by claiming to have “uncontrollable flatulence” rather than say his partner is racist. We also see instances of where racism is not race against race, it also portrays race against gender and race against class as two major forms of racism conflict in the movie.

On the west side of Manhattan two groups compete for turf, the Jets, a group of white juveniles, and the Sharks, a group of young Puerto Rican men. The conflicts that arise from racial and cultural differences are what lead to West Side Story’s message. The Jets do not like the Sharks because they came from a different part of the world. They don’t want them in their neighborhood because they are worried that they will change things, take their jobs, and make the neighborhood dirty. People have always and still have this fear for immigrants because they can’t accept change. When Tony and Maria fall in love, it makes the two gangs’ rivalry even more complicated.

From the late 1800's to the 1960's, Puerto Ricans began to rise to recognition as a dominating influence, creating chaos in American society. This comment is based on the immigration of Puerto Ricans to America, and the problems it caused.

The main issue throughout the movie is racism and the perspectives on different cultures. The movie is set in Los Angeles, a city with a cultural mix of every nationality. The movie starts out at

In the reading West side story by Alberto Sandoval he explains how the film perpetuates the image of racial problems explaining that the film has its profound structure expressing segregation and racial preferences towards Latinos. The film makers presented the immigrants as stereotypical Puerto Ricans making their skin tones darker, black haired, skinny. The jets are blond, strong, and healthy. The clarity

Certain characters in the film bring out the idea of white privilege. These privileges and advantages of whites in our society often go ignored and unasserted. Victor states how white men "stand on the heads of their women", meaning that men degrade

The emotional reaction that the filmmakers intended for anyone who watch this film is that no matter what skin, hair and eye color is no one deserves to be labeled. No race should be discriminated and criticize. We should all get along and just be proud of where our roots come from. This film also intended for everyone who watch this film, is that there should not have to be obstacles to be proud of your own race.

It is important to note the most powerful and universal bond between two groups is language. In the case of the Puerto Rican and the Mexican American experience within the US, their bond goes even further than just the language of Spanish. The land mass that is now known as Mexico and Puerto Rico were once Indian lands confiscated by Spain. In the quest for a decent life, parallels can be drawn of migration causation due to US foreign policy in both the Puerto Rican and Mexican histories.