Prejudice And Racism In The Film West Side Story

1430 Words6 Pages
Movies made any time before the 1970’s tend to have an underlying tone of racism, if not that being the entire theme of the film. Even some of America’s most beloved musicals are no exception, including West Side Story. As a kid, you never notice the hints or even the outright racial slurs that happen throughout the movie. It is definitely not the worst movie that preys on the discrimination of the time, but it is still not an acceptable concept nowadays. West Side Story was based upon a Romeo and Juliet structure that replaces families feuding with gangs and racism. We start this movie by being introduced to the white gang. The leader of the Jets, Riff, seems to be a decent guy. He doesn’t bother the little girl and doesn’t allow his gang to steal the ball from the kids on the basketball court. They then begin walking and run into the leader of their rival gang, the Sharks. Just by the name itself,…show more content…
Bernardo and Riff agree to a fair fight to be done under the highway. Lieutenant Schrank then enters and kicks all of the Puerto Ricans out of the diner. This was also very common in 1961. The police abused their power and there was no Civil Rights Act to keep them from doing so. So, regretfully, they leave, very much aware of their lack of power and whistling America the Beautiful. A few scenes later we arrive at the rumble. Tony barges in to try to stop the fight, but only gets Riff into trouble. Bernardo and Riff end up pulling out switch blades and Riff gets stabbed, making Bernardo look like the bad guy. Tony then tries to avenge Riffs murder by stabbing Maria’s brother. When the cops show up they all run. Anybody’s, the female wannabe Jet member, tells them that Chino has a gun and is looking for Tony. So they decide that they have to get to the Puerto Ricans before Chino gets his chance to go after him because, “The PR’s won’t stop until we stop
Show More
Related

  • Urban Chicago Research Paper

    1517 Words  | 7 Pages

    music was the heart of the community for many years. During this time many great literary writers rose up thru these hard times of development. The different Urban areas where design according to the needs of the area. Jackson 5 The west Side of the Chicago became the largest African American urban area therefore it catered and was change according to the needs of that area. These areas consisted of barbershops, salon, restaurants and organizations. This gave the community a since

    Read More

More about Prejudice And Racism In The Film West Side Story

Open Document