West Side Story Analysis

The color and social structure in the film west side story supports the plot and story of the film in a variety of ways. West side story is a film that incorporates music, dancing and singing as well as the movie 's status as a musical making it primarily formalistic, with a great focus on the artistic aspects of the film. Coupled with the technical aspects in this film that do a brilliant job of portraying a sad story as fun and enjoyable movie. However, it still manages to demonstrate a variety of negative emotions, that gives the movie a perfect balance. This was an ideal format for such a socially charged movie with relevant issues from the time it was released. This allowed the viewer to relate to the film, while still being able to

Despite the remarkable structure and style of this movie there is a strong sense of racial conflict in the film which is played out through the movies color. Furthermore Color is one of the most influential but least consciously noticed elements of a movie, film makers use color deliberately in their movies to communicate with their audiences. Color conveys the emotional features of a film visually, and can induce psychological responses in the audience.

In the case of Westside story the films color scheme is introduced with an aerial shot over Manhattan screening the environment of the city. Throughout the scene until the film introduces the audience with its main characters. On this movie the Jets and the Sharks are polish and Puerto Rican gangs that dislike each other and who are constantly fighting over territory in their

The red color used in this scene suggests the violence that could come as a result of protecting the friendship ties between this two characters. Comparatively There is a scene in the movie where the Sharks are hanging out on the rooftop of the gym after the dance, they all do a musical named "America." that shares the controversial perspective of both the jets and the sharks conveying the social structure of the movie to the movies audience. In the same fashion these schemes help define the separation of these groups, but they can also indicate the transition of characters throughout the movie.

For example, when the audience is first introduced to Maria Bernardos sister , she wears a white dress symbolizing a blank slate, excited for new opportunities and encounters she might have in her first night out in Manhattan. Subsequently Maria complains to Anita about wearing a white dress to the dance and suggest that she should wear a dress red instead. Marias desire to use a red dress can be perceived as her wanting to be an adult or her desire to adapt into American culture. The representation of the color red in this scene suggests she is seeking new and exciting experiences and