Comparing Romeo And Juliet's 'West Side Story'

Romeo & Juliet Through the Centuries

He was a boy, she was a girl, can I make it anymore obvious? There have been remakes, upon remakes of Romeo and Juliet’s ‘love story’ throughout the centuries since it was written. A remake from the early 60’s is the movie/musical West Side Story, a tale with Maria and Tony featuring gangs and violence. Another more lighthearted version Gnomeo and Juliet, an animated film from 2011 featuring garden gnomes and an unsurprising lack of suicide. There was a movie version made using Shakespearian tongue that was set in the 90’s, forming a somewhat confusing movie known as Romeo + Juliet, featuring, even more, gang violence. Romeo and Juliet was not a tale of two star crossed lovers, but instead just two suicidal

Psychology tells us that, there are three factors to attraction, proximity, physical attractiveness and similarity. Proximity is when you like someone the more you get to know them or are around them. Maria and Tony meeting for the first time would not be attracted to each other's personality since they had never even spoken before they fell in love at first glance. Physical attractiveness could be a factor in their ‘love’, because after they check each other out, they are psychically attracted to one another. The similarity factor is not demonstrated at all in this story because they are both not only from rivaling gangs but completely different cultures. Maria being a native Puerto Rican new to the U.S. and Tony having lived there his entire life. In West Side Story Maria is the sister of Bernardo the leader of a gang called the Sharks, while Tony is the

This factor states that people deemed ‘attractive’ are perceived as healthier, happier, more sensitive and successful than less attractive counterparts. Even though studies show attractiveness was not correlated with self-esteem or happiness. When Romeo and Juliet lock eyes through the fish tank they are instantly attracted to each other. This is because they perceive each other as healthier and happier due to their good looks. This happens at the Capulets Halloween party when they both see each other in costume. Another factor in finding someone attractive is facial symmetry which is simply the more symmetrical a person’s face is the more they are generally attractive. Both Leonardo Dicaprio and Claire Danes (Romeo and Juliet) have fairly symmetrical faces fitting this rule. In Psychology Today, Stanton Peele writes, “Juliet asks: "Hath Romeo slain himself?’ Instead told Romeo is banished, Juliet falls completely to pieces. She is -- why depart from character -- suicidal: ‘I'll to my wedding-bed; And death, not Romeo, take my maidenhead!’” (Peele 2008). Juliet completely falls to pieces due to her unhealthy attachment to Romeo due to the initial attraction which because of passionate love. Her attachment to him is shown when she says death will take her virginity not Romeo. Juliet's insane lust nearly drove her to kill herself ahead of schedule, due to the news of Romeo's