West Side Story Comparative Essay

Anna Ryan
Professor Craig Friend
HI 345 (001)
April 14, 2023
West Side Story: 1961 and 2021 Comparison Though there are sixty years of separation between the two films, West Side Story (1961) and West Side Story (2021), both of these films highlight societal shifts and problems. These films share several similarities, such as basic storylines, music, and themes, however, the new film provides a deeper emphasis on the change in societal awareness of issues such as cross-culture communities, prejudice, language barriers, and the effects of poverty on American youths. The screenwriters for West Side Story (1961) were Ernest Lehman, Arthur Laurents, and Jerome Robbins, and it was directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. Robbins was a founding

Due to the restrictions on film and violence prior to the film being made, it was controversial to portray violence on the screen. It is films such as Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) that pushed the boundaries of violence in film. However, in West Side Story (1961), the violence is more theatrical than realistic. Within the “brawl” scenes, there is limited blood, and close-up shots of real physical altercations. The movement of the actors are swift, fluid, and appear to be a choreographed dance rather than a physical fight. After W.W. Charters’ 1933 study of motion pictures to be used to teach society a sense of morality, films before West Side Story (1961) were hesitant to portray extreme, realistic violence. While the violence in this film seems tame in today’s standards, it was new for films of this time, and having Riff and Bernardo die on screen was pushing the limit of violence. Movies at this time did not want to encourage violence in real life, therefore violent scenes had to be strategic about blood and realistic fighting. West Side Story (2021) maintains a theatrical nature to the violence, however, there is more blood, particularly more vivid blood on characters’ faces throughout the brawling scenes. The violent fighting within each movie is a result of pure hatred between the Jets and the Sharks, and is fueled by the territorial mission of the

Throughout West Side Story (1961), there is less Spanish included than in West Side Story (2021). The first film does not give a holistic view of the issues Puerto Rican’s faced in America, such as the racism they endured and the language barrier. This depiction of Puerto Ricans living in America is not accurate because a true representation of their struggles would have been controversial and upsetting to the American audience of the time. The film did not show the conflicts to the fullest extent because it would have painted America in a negative light. However, West Side Story (2021) reveals realistic interactions the Puerto Ricans would have had during this time. For example, in the breakfast scene with Anita, Maria, and Bernardo, Anita keeps reinforcing the conversation to be in English, because people like the Jets and the police would not tolerate Spanish. This reveals a struggle that was not included in the first film, as the Puerto Ricans were forced into American culture and English-only environments. Another example is when Anita goes to the drugstore to give “Doc” a message, and one of the Jets says “go back to where you came from.” This intolerance of the Puerto Rican population was not thoroughly displayed in the first film, again, to appease the