Topic > Critical Analysis of The West Side Story

From my point of view, the greatest challenge to creating dramatic and cinematic films is the lack of new stories to tell, because the content of the stories has not evolved with the development of society. To solve this problem, two effective methods have been developed. The first is to tell old stories in an innovative way of expression. The second is to introduce different historical contexts to provide different era meanings for the same story. It can be said that West Side Story successfully combined these two methods to present audiences with a distinctive story. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay This musical is adapted from Shakespeare's classic play Romeo and Juliet. The story's setting shifts from 16th-century Britain to 1960s New York's Upper West Side. The two feudal families Capulet and Montague become two irreconcilable groups of young thugs made up of Puerto Rican immigrants and local whites respectively. The male and female protagonists range from Romeo and Juliet of two rival families to Tony and Maria of two youth gangs. The same touching love meets enormous resistance in different historical contexts. Similar to their processor, Tony and Maria's love is fragile in the face of brutal reality and will inevitably be overwhelmed. However, the same tragic ending does not affect the fact that love can never be truly defeated. "Neither story uses the trope of marriage in the way we have defined it here, as the love that binds the two lovers is not truly rooted in the differences that matter in the world around them but is rather presented as a pure independent force from that. world and the opposing factions within it.' The lovers may be separated by external physical forces, but their love will never fade. Instead, true love ultimately achieves a great victory in the hearts of the audience, even if the ending of both stories is in the form of tragedy , the United States is a country of immigrants. On the one hand, it is an advantage for this nation to absorb talent from all over the world. On the other hand, the complex issue of immigration has been one of the most serious social problems in American society. The conflict and integration between native culture and immigrant culture runs through the history of the United States Nowadays, the national attitude towards immigrants becomes more open, and immigrants and their descendants have the opportunity to enter the heart of the world. American society. But in the 1950s, American society was at the height of immigration problems, and the term “immigrant” was still a highly derogatory term, which is exactly the period in which West Side Story is set. In the musical, Bernardo, the leader of the Puerto Rican gang, and his girlfriend Anita realistically present the internal conflicts of immigrants. On the one hand, they are proud to be Americans and hope to integrate into American society and realize their American dream. On the other hand, they maintain a vigilant and even resistant attitude towards American culture. Perhaps this contradiction is one of the main reasons why the immigration problem is so complicated and difficult to solve. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Overall, West Side Story is essentially a tragedy. The tragic fate of the lovers is long doomed as they are caught in the dilemma of brotherhood and love. But the musical's performance form made this love story less heartbreaking. Specifically, the first half of the musical..