'West Side Stoy' (1961), was a film adaption of a 1957 Broadway musical, also called 'West Side Story'. It was a contemporized version of William Shakespeare's 16th century play 'Romeo and Juliet', which in turn was inspired by a 13th century poem. The film is set in The Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York, during the 1950s. It was directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins.
Synopsis
The film begins with 'The Prologue', introducing the two rival gangs of the story- The Jets (Caucasian Americans) and The Sharks (Puerto Rican immigrants, who have recently moved to America). Background music is played as the gangs silently taunt each other. This eventually escalates into a well choreographed fight, that incorporated contemporary dancing into stage combat. The Police eventually arrive, demanding that the gangs disperse an Lieutenant Schrank tells them that he will not tolerate their fighting on his beat.
The Jets discuss organising a 'rumble' between them and The Sharks, at The Gym (considered neutral territory), where a dance was to be held that night. This way, they could settle, once and for all, who would control The Streets. When a member of The Jets asks to be Riff's (The leader of The Jets) lieutenant for the challenge and council, Riff insists on using Tony, who is Riff's best friend and co- founder of The Jets. The gang are unsure as Tony has drifted away from them, but Riff reminds them that, once a Jet, always a Jet, and sings 'Jet Song'. Riff approaches Tony, who now works at Doc's drug/ candy store. However, Tony initially refuses, as he has no interest in the conflict between the gangs and feels as if something important is going to happen in his life, but later he changes his mind out of loyalty. Tony sings 'Something's Coming'.
We are introduced to Maria, Bernardo's (leader of The Sharks) younger sister, who expresses her excitement for the dance to her best friend Anita (Bernardo's girlfriend). However, she is not so excited about her family's expectations of her getting married to Chino, another member of The Sharks. Bernardo and Chino arrive to take them to the dance.
At the dance, the two gangs and all their girlfriends dance typical dances of their culture. The host of the dance, social worker, Glad Hand, senses that there is tension between the two ethnic groups. He tries to ease the tension by getting members of the rival gangs to dance together. However his plan fails and they remain separated. Meanwhile, Tony and Maria, spot each other amongst the crowd and it seems to be love at first sight. They dance together and eventually kiss, but Bernardo interrupts them, warning Tony to stay away from his sister and telling Chino to take her home. Riff and Bernardo agree to a 'War Council' at Doc's drug store. Tony leaves in a happy daze singing about his love 'Maria'.
Anita confronts Bernardo about his actions at the dance. She argues that they live in America, not Puerto Rico and that Maria should be able to dance with whoever she wants. In the song 'America' the females argue the pros of living in America and the males argue the cons.
Tony sneakily visits Maria outside the fire escape where she lives. Although Maria worries about the rivalries between the gangs and her families disapproval preventing them from being together, they confess their love for one another in the song 'tonight' and they arrange to meet the next day at Madame Lucia's bridal shop, where Maria works, after her shift.
The same night, after the dance, the Jets and Sharks meet to decide where their planned rumble will take place. Before the Sharks arrive, the Jets, accompanied by Anybodys (a tomboy who desperately wants to be one of them), are visited by Officer Krupke, who warns them not to cause trouble on his beat. The Jets mock him, judges, social workers and psychiatrists in the song 'Gee, Officer Krupke'. When The Sharks arrive at Doc's store, Tony claims that they are chickens if they don't fight fair (i.e. one to one fist fights) and this is what is agreed amongst the gang leaders. When they all leave (except Tony and Doc), Tony tells Doc that he loves Maria, but Doc seems fearful.
The next day at The Bridal Shop, Maria is in a happy mood and she and sharks' girls sing 'I Feel Pretty'. When only Maria and Anita are left at The Store, Tony arrives, much to Anita's surprise. He tells Anita that he is in love with Maria and Anita accepts this, though she is fearful of what consequences they might face. She leaves to prepare for her date with Bernardo, after 'the rumble'. Maria begs Tony to prevent 'the rumble' all together and he promises to do so. They fantasise about their wedding and pretend to be married while singing 'One Hand, One Heart'.
The characters sing 'Quintet' in anticipation of 'the rumble'. The gangs meet at the chosen location for the rumble. Although the fight was intended to be between Bernardo and Ice (Riff's second in command), Bernardo wanted his opponent to be Tony, so when Tony arrives to break up the fight Bernardo attacks him, but Tony does not retaliate. As Tony is being mocked by The Sharks, Riff refuses to sit by and watch his friends humiliation, so he punches Bernardo and in a rage the two gang leaders pull out there switch blades. Tony tries to stop them but is held back by members of The Jets. At a point where Riff was at the advantage and could have stabbed Bernardo, Tony holds Riff back, but when Riff runs back into the fight he is fatally stabbed by Bernardo. In a fit of rage, Tony fatally stabs Bernardo with Riff's knife. The gangs go into a violent brawl, but flee at the sound of police. In a state of shock, after killing Bernardo, Tony doesn't leave until Anybodys snaps him back to reality and he runs off.
Maria waits for Tony on her apartment roof, only to be visited by Chino, who angrily tells her that Tony killed her brother and then scarpers. She refuses to believe him, until she hears others talking about it. She runs to her room, where she prays that it isn't true. Tony arrives in her bedroom, where she lashes out at him. He asks for her forgiveness, before he turns himself into the police, but she begs him to stay with her forever. They sing 'Somewhere' and make love for the first time off screen. This is not made obvious because Maria is most likely suppose to be a Catholic (Latinos were predominantly Catholic) and it would be against her religion to have sex before marriage.
The Jets, now lead by Ice, are in a garage with the Jet's Girls. Some of the boys want revenge for Riff's death, but Ice reminds them that that is not what is important at the moment. He tells them that they should focus on keeping at ease, when the cops question them, so that they will not face the consequences of their actions. He sings 'Cool'. After they have calmed down, they head towards Doc's drug store, but Anybody warns them that Chino is after Tony with a gun. Ice sends them to various place to find and warn Tony, thanking Anybodys for her deed.
After they had made love, they hear Anita arriving home and Tony hurries to get away, but not before whispering with Maria about their plans for Tony to go to Doc's drug/ candy store, grab some getaway money, for them to run away together and get married. Anita hears them through the door and opens it, witnessing Tony fleeing from the bedroom window. Anita is disappointed in Maria and still heart broken after what happened to Bernardo. She tries to knock some sense into Maria by singing 'A Boy Like That', but begins to understand that Maria and Tony's love is similar to hers and Bernardo's when Maria sings 'I Have A Love'. Anita agrees to cooperate with a plan to help Maria and Tony run away and tells her that Chino is looking for Tony, with a gun.
Lieutenant Schrank arrives and questions Maria about the events leading up to 'the rumble', but Maria tells him that the boy who Bernardo got into conflict with at the dance was another Puerto Rican boy and not Tony. Pretending to be ill, she sends Anita to Doc's drug store to get her some head ache tablets. She asks Anita to say she has been detained, explaining she would have gone herself otherwise. Though she really wants Anita to tell Tony that she is detained from meeting him.
When Anita arrives at the drug store to ask for Tony, The Jets ridicule, harass and mock rape her, causing her to spitefully deliver the wrong message, "Chino found out about Maria and Tony and shot Maria dead!". She storms out of the shop. Doc kicks The Jets out of his shop. He goes down to the basement, where Tony's hidden and gives him the getaway money. Tony talks of only himself and his plans for his future with Maria, which angers Doc, to the pint of slapping Tony around the face. He reminds Tony of what he's done and sadly, tells him the news of Maria's death.
In shock and despair, Tony runs out of the drug store yelling "Come and get me, too!", in the hope that Chino will find and kill him. Anybodys sees Tony and tries to stop him, but Tony ignores her. In the playground next to Doc's store, Tony sees Maria and they happily run Towards each other, but Chino shoots Tony and Tony dies in Maria's arms. The two gangs arrive at the scene and prepare to fight, but Maria grabs Chino's gun and threatens to shoot him and as many of the gang members as she can, leaving one bullet for herself, because she felt that they all killed Tony, Bernardo and Riff with their hate. She cannot bring herself to do it and falls to the ground sobbing. She says a last goodbye to Tony and members from both gangs carry his body in a funeral procession. This is to show that the feud ended. Maria and the remaining gang members follow and Chino is arrested.
Cinematography and Style
The film's cinematography was unique to it's time. The colour and clarity of the film was unique to the early 1960s. The film included some special effects to show the dreamy state of Tony and Maria, upon meeting each other and for the transitions of scenes. These effects were minor compared to those of today. It was a colour film, making it more accessible to a vast range of audiences, as opposed to just the average audiences of The Royal Shakespeare Company. Not only that, but the language wasn't Shakespearean, and so more easily understood. It also tackled issues that were current at the time- racism and gang violence.
Here is an example of West Side Stories limited special effects:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXNZFe63brY
While the opening scene of the film amongst other scenes (the playground etc.) were filmed on The Upper West Side of Manhattan where Lincoln Centre stands today, most of it was filmed in Samuel Goodwyn Studios, California. The following image is of the number 'America', which was filmed in the film studio. In Manhattan, particularly in the area that was then being cleared to build Lincoln Centre, rocks were thrown at the cast and crew from the roofs of the abandoned buildings in the neighbourhood. Due to The Polices help being insufficient for resolving the problem the production manager hired a real street gang to help keep order.
Although the story itself was quite unique, musical films of the 1950s had a similar style. Some examples are 'Singing In The Rain' (1952), 'South Pacific' (1958), 'Seven Brides For Seven Brothers' (1954), 'Calamity Jane' (1953). These were released during the time that was considered to be the golden era of musical film (1930s, through to 1960s). Though, in the 1960s, musical films began to lose there popularity as a new genre of music was introduces- 'Rock 'N Roll' and a lot of the actors singing voices were dubbed in the 1960s. However, there was voice dubbing in South Pacific (1958). The songs were usually added to move the plot forward, to add to the characterisation of certain characters, or simply to fill a gap within the film.
Similarities To Romeo And Juliet
- Romeo and Juliet starts out with a street fight between the Montagues and Capulets; the Jets and the Sharks have a fight at the beginning of The Film.
- Much like Prince Escalus breaks up the Montague-Capulet fight, the beginning fight is broken up by Officer Krupke and Lieutenant Schrank, who warn them of the consequences they will face if the gangs fight on their beat.
- Just as Romeo describes his dream to Mercutio, Tony tells Riff that he has a recurring dream.
- Juliet is betrothed to Paris, and Maria has been set up with Chino.
- Some Montague men crash the Capulet party in which Romeo meets Juliet. In West Side Story, Maria and Tony see each other from opposite sides of the gym and are immediately attracted to each other.
- Romeo searches for Juliet and finds her at her balcony. After the dance, Tony finds Maria and uses the fire escape, which looks like a modernised version of the same setting.
- Bernardo kills Riff like Tybalt kills Mercutio; Tony avenges Riff's death by killing Bernardo, just as Romeo kills Tybalt.
- The Capulet nurse is played around with and disgraced by Montague men, while Anita is taunted and attacked by the Jets.
- Both stories feature Maria/Juliet's false death and Tony/Romeo's suicidal response to his mistaken belief that his love is dead. Tony seeks out Chino in misery, wishing to die also. Romeo wishes to visit Juliet's grave to take poison and die with her.
- All of the characters have different names and some are based on multiple characters from 'Romeo and Juliet'.
- The rivalry is between two gangs of different ethnic backgrounds (White Americans and Puerto Rican immigrants), rather than two families of the same ethnicity.
- The story is set in 1950s Manhattan New York, whereas Romeo and Juliet is set in 16th Century Verona, Italy.
- The language is modern day American-English and some Spanish, as opposed to Shakespearean.
- West Side Story is a musical.
- The parents of the two main characters are not shown in The Film.
- Tony does not mention a previous love. Unlike Romeo who mentions Rosaline.
- Romeo sees Juliet first and is attracted to her , but Tony and Maria first lay eyes upon each other at the same time.
- In The Film, Bernardo is Maria's older brother, but Tybalt is Juliet's first cousin. This is probably to emphasise the fact that they had quite a close family bond.
- Maria interacts with Bernardo, whereas Juliet doesn't with Tybalt. This is probably to make the death of Bernardo more heart wrenching for Maria and for The Viewers.
- Romeo and Juliet go to a Friar to get married; Maria and Tony role-play a wedding in the bridal shop, becuse in The Catholic faith, marriage is seen to be sacred. So Tony and Maria were never married.
- Prior to 1968, some large cities and states had public rating boards which determined whether films were suitable for display to the public in theatres, which is probably one of the reasons why the creators only vaguely implying that Tony and Maria had sex and why their was no nudity in the film. Also as the film was rated a PG, sex references and nudity would not have been appropriate, or it would have had to have been rated a PG-13.
- Tony's suicidal response is after Anita spitefully delivers the wrong message for him, 'that Maria is dead', rather than that 'Maria is detained from meeting him'. Juliet fakes her death, but an explanatory message sent to Romeo is delayed, causing him not to know her death is feigned.
- None of the characters commit suicide, as opposed to Romeo and Juliet, who both do. Though Maria threatens to shoot herself with the last remaining bullet, after she had shot as many of the two gang members as she could.
- In the beginning of The Broadway Musical version it is A-Rab (Baby John's best friend), rather than Baby John (The youngest member of The Jets), who gets chased and beaten up by The Sharks.
- Riff and Tony repeat an oath of loyalty to each other: Riff says "womb to tomb" and Tony answers "birth to earth." On stage Tony's original answer was "sperm to worm," but this was changed for the movie because it was beyond the censorship standards of the time.
- The order of the songs 'Tonight' and 'America' are reversed.
- In The song 'America', Anita and Rosalia sing the beginning of "America", not Anita and Bernardo; the boys are not in the number at all. Rosalia, opposes Anita's positive thoughts of America, with her negative ones, instead of The Boys. It is said that this was due to schedule difficulties, in which the male dancers were blamed and punished, by being removed from the stage version of the song.
- The lyrics and the dialogue leading up to the song 'America' are different in the film. There had been complaints that the Broadway version was too belittling to Puerto Ricans, in that the song mainly ridiculed Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans. The movie lyrics emphasise the racism and discrimination that Puerto Ricans were subjected to in America.
- The order of the songs 'Cool' and 'Gee, Officer Krupke', were switched in the film. Also Riff sang 'Gee, Officer Krupke' and Ice sang 'Cool'.
- The placement of "I Feel Pretty" and "Gee, Officer Krupke" after the Rumble in the stage version was meant to help cheer people up after the deaths of Bernardo and Riff, as audiences were not used to death occurring in Broadway musicals.
- In one part of "Gee, Officer Krupke", the lyrics were changed. The line "My daddy beats my mommy, my mommy clobbers me" appears in the film but in the stage musical it was "My father is a bastard, my mom's an S.O.B." This is likely to be because the language is too offencive for parents to approve of their children hearing.
- Ice was a character created for the film, and was later introduced into the Broadway Productions, sometimes going under the name of 'Diesel'.
- On stage, during the Quintet, Anita sings about Bernardo, "He'll come home hot and tired, so what? No matter if he's tired, as long as he's hot." In the film, the lyrics were changed to, "He'll come home hot and tired, poor dear. No matter if he's tired, as long as he's here." This is likely to emphasise the fact that she is truly in love with him, as opposed to lusting after him.
- "I Feel Pretty" appears at the beginning of Act 2, after the rumble in the stage musical. This is probably because the song would interrupt the growing tension in the film.
- Action takes over as leader of the Jets in the stage show, not Ice.
- The stage show Sharks named Anxious, Nibbles and Moose are renamed Rocco, Del Campo and Loco in the film, to reinforce their ethnic background, by using Spanish names.
Many of The Characters in West Side Story are based on counterparts in Romeo and Juliet:
Most of the actors, who played Puerto Ricans in the movie, were actually white, but had to darken their hair and wear dark make- up of the same shade to make them look the same, including Rita Moreno (who was Puerto Rican). They also had to put on Puerto Rican Accents. This was because, at the time, in Hollywood the only known Puerto Rican Actors were José Ferrer and Rita Moreno. The the film was criticised for not casting more Latino Actors. Natalie wood (Maria) did not where dark make-up.
Most of the original Broadway cast were rejected for the film as they were considered to be or to appear too old to portray teenage characters. Since Hollywood was accustomed to dubbing the singing voices of stars, many non- singing stars auditioned for the leading roles. George Chakiris (Bernardo) had previously played "Riff" in the London production and Tony Mordente (Action) had played "A-rab.
George Richard Beymer Jr. played Tony. He appeared in film's such as 'So Big' (1953) and 'The Longest Day' (1962). In 1962 he shared Golden Globe Award New Star Of The Year- Actor. He was 22 by the time the film was released but his youthful looks helped him get the role. Russ Tamblyn had originally auditioned for the role of Tony, but was instead offered the role of Riff. Elvis Presley was approached for the role of Tony, but it is thought that his manager didn't want him associated with gang warfare. Despite these claims, 3 years later Elvis played a character who shot and killed a small-time gangster. Although Beymer did attempt to sing for the film, his voice was thought not to be strong enough and so, his singing voice was dubbed by Jimmy Bryant.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Beymer
Natalie Wood, who was actually American, but had Russian parents, played the Puerto Rican, Maria. She was in 'Miracle On 34th Street' (1947) and 'Rebel Without A Cause' (1955). She was nominated for several Academy and Golden Globe Awards and won Golden Globe Award New Star Of The Year- Actress in 1957, for 'Rebel Without a cause'. She was romantically involved with actor, Warren Beaty at the time, who auditioned for the role of Tony. She only read opposite him as Maria as a favour because she had been practising with him. A major controversy developed because Carol Lawrence, who played Maria in the stage version, was rejected from playing her in the film due to her age. Wood was 23 at the time that the film was released. Although she attempted to sing for the film, she found the Soprano notes challenging and so those parts were dubbed by Marni Nixon. Later, it was decided that all of Maria's songs would be dubbed by Nixon. Natalie Wood died on November the 29th, 1981 (age 43) in an accident.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalie_Wood
The Porta Rican actress, Rita Moreno portrayed the role of Maria's best friend Anita. She won Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her role in the film. Rita Moreno's (Anita) singing voice was dubbed for the by Betty Wand for the low notes of "A Boy Like That" (Wand ended up with throat nodules as a result), as they were below Moreno's range. Marni Nixon dubbed some of her vocals in 'Quintet'. Russ Tamblyn, who played Riff, is and American Actor and Dancer. His vocals were dubbed for "The Jet Song" by Tucker Smith (Ice), his second in command in the movie. George Chakiris is an American actor, dancer and singer (who's parents were Greek immigrants). He played Maria's Puerto Rican brother Bernardo. For the film he won The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_Moreno
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russ_Tamblyn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Chakiris
Racismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_Moreno
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russ_Tamblyn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Chakiris
The play was originally going to be about a Jewish boy and an Irish Catholic girl, but this idea was abandoned because producer, Arthur Laurents felt it too closely mirrored the play "Abie's Irish Rose". The stage version was originally planned to be a story about an Irish Catholic boy and a Jewish girl. The working title was "East Side Story". After a boom of Puerto Rican immigration to New York in the late 1940s and 1950s, the story was changed, and the show opened on Broadway in 1957 as "West Side Story".
America was founded by The American Indians and so technically they are the only true Americans, not white Americans (as it is often wrongly thought, causing much debate as to what it is to be 'American'). During the 17th century, The English migrated to Colonial America. During the mid-19th century northern Europeans migrated. In the early 20th-century mainly Southern and Eastern Europeans migrated; post-1965 mostly Latin Americans and Asians migrated. The 1790 Act limited naturalisation to "free white persons". In the 1860s it was expanded to blacks and in the 1950s, Asians also. In the 1890s Southern and Eastern Europeans, Jews, Italians, and Slavs began to enter the country in large numbers. Due to the Mexican border being so close to The U.S.A., many Mexicans crossed the border illegally and became illegal immigrants, although their were also legal Mexican immigrants. In 1950 there was significant migration from the Koreans, due to the South V. North Korean War. Puerto Ricans, South Americans and The Irish immigrated in the 1950s.
Soon after World War 2, poverty, cheap airfare, and promotion by the island government caused many Puerto Ricans to move to the United States, particularly to New York City, Massachusetts, and Florida. Despite Puerto Ricans being made U.S. Citizens in 1917 as a result of the Jones-Shafroth, Puerto Ricans faced economic exploitation, discrimination and racism. In New York there were signs in restaurants which read "No dogs or Puerto Ricans allowed". Puerto Rican women fared better on the job market than the men. The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party established an office in New York in the 1950s, which attracted many Puerto Rican migrants. Leaders of the party planned to attack the Blair House, assassinate The U.S. President, Harry S. Truman and attack the House of Representatives. These events had a negative impact on the Puerto Rican migrants. Americans saw Puerto Ricans as anti-Americans and the discrimination against them became even more widespread.
It could be argued that the creators of West Side Story played it safe by not making the play about a forbidden romance between White-American and African- American characters, but they probably thought that they would avoid the subject, due to The Civil Rights Act, that was going on at the time. In the 16th century Africans were enslaved and taken to Spanish and English colonies in North America. African-Americans had lived in The U.S.A for generations and were considered to be Americans. Despite this, in the late 1890s, Southern states enacted Jim Crow laws to enforce racial segregation and disenfranchisement. Most of the African-Americans followed the Jim Crow laws, so that they wouldn't be victims of racially motivated violence. African-Americans set up congregations, schools, community/civic associations, churches, banks and businesses for themselves, so that they would have some space away from white control and so that they could maintain their dignity. After the World War 2, African Americans were still economically disadvantaged and had a considerably smaller annual income compared to other Americans.
The Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1968 was aimed at abolishing racial discrimination against African Americans and for equality in education, housing, and employment opportunities. Many Southern White-Americans withdrew their children from public schools, in order to enrolled them in all-white “segregation academies,” and were violent and intimidating towards African- Americans. In 1956, over 100 Southern congressmen signed a “Southern Manifesto”, declaring that they would do everything in their power to defend segregation. In December 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested because she wouldn't give her seat up on a city bus to a white person. As she was arrested, black citizens, stopped using city buses for 13 months, which only ended when the bus companies stopped discriminating against black passengers. Nonviolent acts of resistance helped to shape the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
Stereotyping And Discrimination In Show Business
West Side Story's version of Puerto Ricans are simply the stereotypical image of Latin Americans in the 1950s. For example, the actors had to wear dark make-up to show that they were playing Puerto Rican characters. However, many Puerto Ricans are light-skinned and identify as white (despite the lines, in the song 'America', "Life is alright in America, If you're a white in America"). Some of Puerto Rican actors, in the stage musical have had to wear dark make-up. All Latin Americans in the southern hemisphere believe that they are also American as they reached the New World and settled the Antilles more than a century before the first English colony was established in North America, even though only 'The Jets' identify as American in The film (In the Broadway production, the Jets are described as working-class Polish-Americans). The film reinforces negative stereotypes for Puerto Ricans, such as the belief that they are criminals and are all poverty-stricken.
Rita Moreno stated "Ha, ha. I showed them. I didn't make another movie for seven years after winning the Oscar.... Before West Side Story, I was always offered the stereotypical Latina roles. The Conchitas and Lolitas in westerns. I was always barefoot. It was humiliating, embarrassing stuff. But I did it because there was nothing else. After West Side Story, it was pretty much the same thing. A lot of gang stories."
In the 1950s, African-Americans were mostly given stereotypical roles. However, Hollywood began to examine race issues, by making films about tension between black and white people, and self-identity. Sidney Poitier is an American-Born Bahamian, black actor. He was the first black, male actor to be nominated for an Academy Award and was the first black actor to win an Academy Award For Best Actor. In 1950 Sidney Poitier starred in 'No Way Out', a racial thriller about a black doctor, who operates on two white racists. He went on to have a successful and culturally significant acting career in the 1960s. In the film 'Island In The Sun', which includes interracial romances between black and white people, onscreen the actors were only allowed to make limited physical contact; hugging, dancing, rubbing cheeks. This was probably considered when they made The Broadway Musical of West Side story in the 1950s.
Youth Gang Culture In The 1950s
West Side Story was the first feature film that depicted street gang life, but it was criticised for glamorising gangs. A lack of working-class jobs, cramped living conditions and widespread racism, made many teens feel vulnerable, frustrated and angry. They proved their manhood by forming gangs to feel powerful and in control and fighting. Some of the gang members were quite deranged and most had some emotional problems. 1950s youth gangs fought over 'turf' (plots of land) and girls, as opposed to drugs (like today's gangs). Gang leaders were rarely over 20 years old. Their were members of gangs as young as 8. They all laid claim to a section of their neighbourhood and guarded it with military-style proficiency.
An invasion or attack on their territory by rival gangs was seen as an act of aggression and often lead to 'rumbles' (pitched battles, in which rival gangs fought each other with their bare knuckles, or weapons such as; studded belts,baseball bats, car aerials, machetes and/or guns. They could involve over 100 boys). 'Rumbles' were organised at war councils, where a representative from each gang would meet on neutral territory (Doc's Candy Store, in West Side Story) and they would decide on the time and location of 'the rumble', had to agree on the weapons that they would use. However these agreements were often broken. Gang members wanted to gain a reputation as a tough guy and thought that the best way to do that was by being vicious in a fight- drawing a gun/ knife, when everyone else had chains or clubs. Anyone who didn't show up for a rumble/backed out of a fight was seen as a coward. Repeat offenders were kicked out of the gangs and were left without any friends or protection.
Many of the fights were between youth gangs from different ethnic backgrounds. After World War 2, hundreds of thousands of young Puerto Ricans and African Americans, from Southern America, migrated to New York looking for a brighter future, but ended up competing with each other, and with the white working class, for jobs and homes. Some areas of the city became nearly exclusively black or 'Spanish'. However, in every case, the communities felt boxed in - by each other and by existing Italian, Irish or Jewish communities. African-Americans living in West Harlem, had Central Park to their south, Italian and 'Spanish' Harlem to the east, Washington Heights (which was mainly Irish) to the north and Manhattanville (where Puerto Ricans lived) to their west.
Most people saw juvenile delinquency as the greatest threat to society. Congress held hearings on the issue throughout the 1950s and in New York they tried to provide gang members with education and job training and mediated between the warring factions. Social workers, police officers and church representatives all tried to get rid of the problem.
World War 2
The Second World War was a global war that began on 1st September1939 and ended on 2nd September 1945. It began when Germany invaded Poland and The Germans declared war on France and The U.K.. During the first 2 years of The World War, The United States had maintained neutral ground. They supplied Britain, the Soviet Union and China with war materials and deployed the US military to replace the British invasion forces in Iceland. On 7th December 1941 Japan, Germany and Italy attacked Pearl Harbour (a United States Naval Base in Hawaii). This invasion ultimately caused The U.S.A. to join the side of The Allies (Soviet Union, United Kingdom, China, France, Poland, Canada, Australia, India, Yugoslavia, Greece. Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, New Zealand, Norway, Czechoslovakia, Ethiopia, Brazil, Denmark, Luxembourg, Cuba, Mexico, Philippines, Mongolia) to fight against The Axes (Germany, Japan, Italy, Hungary, Roumania, Bulgaria)
For the civilians in America, Leisure activities became very rare. In 1942 a rationing system started, in order to guarantee minimum amounts of necessities to everyone (especially poor people) and to prevent inflation. By 1943, it was necessary to be in possession of government issued ration coupons to purchase tires, typewriters, coffee, sugar, gasoline, bicycles, clothing, fuel oil, silk, nylon, stoves, shoes, meat, cheese, butter, lard, margarine, canned foods, dried fruits, jam etc. The rationing system didn't apply to used goods. Every family member in the house had a rationing book to put rationing stamps in- even the children and babies.
Unemployment was no longer an issue and many women had to take on men's jobs as they were off fighting. This lead to significant changes to the role of women in society. Retired people and students also had to work, to replace the men who'd gone off to war. At the time, personal income had become very high and people chose to save their money. Money savers were encouraged to invest their dollars into war bonds (debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure during times of war).
After the world war, industries stopped selling War equipment and went back to selling the goods they had sold before The War. The U.S.A.'s economy was stronger than ever before. The Americans wanted better things from hairstyles and clothes to fridges and ovens and they were earning enough money to afford a better lifestyle. America became 'The Land Of Opportunity', where people lived richer and fuller lives and most other countries aspired be like America.
Youth Culture
In 1950s, the term 'teenager' was coined. Before The War, most young people graduated from high-school and went straight to work in their teens. After the war, the need for younger family members to get jobs to support the family was no longer as necessary as it previously was, and more young people were encouraged to stay in school. This meant that young men and women of 15, 16, 17, 18, etc, were no longer a part of the job market and had had more free time on their hands. Companies began marketing to young consumers. Clothing, Fads, Music, Films, etc were specifically aimed at young people, and the "Youth Culture" was born.
During the 1950’s Rock and Roll music became popular. It is a combination of African-American genres such as blues, jump blues, jazz, and gospel music, together with western swing and country music. However, parents didn't like it because they thought that it was a bad influence on their children and it caused juvenile delinquency. The music contained sexual connotation, which made the teens want to listen to it more because their parents didn't approve. Parents didn't want their children to act or dress like their children's favourite rock and roll musicians.
Elvis Presley was an American singer, actor and musician. He was known as 'The King Of Rock And Roll'. He recorded songs such as 'Jail House Rock' and 'Hound Dog'. In 1956, he made his film debut in 'Love Me Tender' and also appeared in films such as Jailhouse Rock (1957) and Viva Las Vegas (1964). His energised and sexually provocative performance style, as well as his physical attractiveness, made him extremely popular amongst male and female fans and he influenced many teenagers. He died on August 16th, 1977 from drug intoxication and a heart attack.
Hollywood created movies, aimed at young people, who had become the cinemas largest audience (e.g. films like 'Rebel Without A Cause' and 'Blackboard Jungle'). These films helped to define the youth culture which was being associated with blue jeans, motorcycles, rock and roll, and rebelliousness.
In 1998, the American Film Institute ranked West Side Story as the number 41 Greatest Movie of All Time. The updated list released in 2007, where the film was ranked at number 51. It was the second highest grossing film of 1961. At the time, West Side Story was the biggest selling soundtrack album. It won 10 Academy Awards, becoming the biggest Oscar-winning musical of all time. Teenagers wanted to be either a Jet or a Shark, and thought the movie was incredibly cool.
James Dean Starred alongside Natalie Wood in The Film, 'Rebel Without A Cause' (1955). It was a drama film that took a sympathetic view on emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. It's the story of a rebellious teenager, who finds himself at a new high school, meets a girl, is disobedient to his parents and defies the local school bullies. The film made a groundbreaking attempt to portray the moral decay of American youth, critique parental style, and to look at differences and conflicts between generations. The main character was particularly aggressive, and the film was highly influential to teenagers.
James Dean was an American actor. Who became a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment, because of his role n 'Rebel Without A Cause'. Many teenage boys attempted to adopt his style. He also played leading roles in 'East Of Eden' (1955) and 'Giant' (released in 1956). He was the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and was only actor to have had two posthumous acting nominations. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him the 18th best male movie star on their AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars list. He died on 30th September, 1955 in a car accident, at the age of 24.
1950s fashion is very different to today's fashion. You can tell that west side story is of it's time because of the clothes that they wore and their hairstyles, as well as their language and movement. Levi Strauss invented blue jeans/ Levi jeans, which were incredibly popular at the time.
The main looks for teenagers were Greasers and Preppies. They wore standard black leather and denim jeans. They raced about town on motorbikes and were seen to be outrageous.
Preppies were neat, tidy and well groomed. Girls wore full circular or neat pleated skirts.
Gangs reinforced their sense of identity with the clothes that they wore. Although they were rough, they liked to look good. Many had special sweaters which had their gang's insignia on it. Some gangs were known for their hats. Some gangs wore Levi jeans. Hair was meticulously brushed into a pompadour and gang culture was heavily influenced by bebop and rock 'n' roll. Fighting was known as 'bopping' or 'jitterbugging, and walking 'bop style' meant to walk with a swagger (swinging your shoulders and hips). A 'Jive stud' was a liar and 'Debs' meant girlfriends.
Choreography
The film, introduced never-before-seen contemporary dance to America's cinema screen. Jerome Robbins, the choreographer, rehearsed with the dancers for three months before shooting began. Once filming began on location, he revised the choreography numerous times. The dancers all claimed that they had never worked so hard on a dance piece, and most of them sustained injuries. Jerome Robbins wanted everything to be done exactly as it was on stage. Lehman's suggested repositioning of the songs and placing them in new settings, and so they were. The boys' jeans were dyed, re-dyed and "distressed," using special elastic thread to allow for the extreme physical demands of the choreography. Russ Tamblyn (Riff) reported that he and most of the other dancers in the film suffered from shin splints, due to their of extended dancing on pavement, as opposed to a wooden stage or sound stage floor.
This picture shows Jerome Robbins choreographing 'The Prologue' in West Side Story.
The most predominant style of dancing in West Side Story (e.g. during The Prologue at the very beginning of the film) is contemporary dance. Contemporary dance is a popular form of dance which developed in the mid 20th Century. It was originally influenced mainly by classical, modern, and jazz styles, but later other dance styles were incorporated into contemporary dance. The technique used in contemporary dance tends to utilise both the strong and controlled legwork of ballet and modern dance's stress on the torso, and it involves contact-release, floor work, fall and recovery, and improvisation characteristic of modern dance. It can also include unpredictable changes in rhythm, speed, and direction. It sometimes also has elements of non-western dance styles, such as African dance (bent knees) or movements from the Japanese contemporary dance 'Butoh'.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Side_Story_(film)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Side_Story
http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/23623/West-Side-Story/articles.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055614/synopsis
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055614/trivia
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