West Side Story
I have finally seen West Side Story. Even liked a few parts. But I just couldn't convince others to watch it with me. Hence, I ask myself this: how does one watch a 1961 musical nowadays?
It is needless to say that for its time the movie was a masterpiece (it was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won 10). Moreover, it is as needless to say that its message is still more actual than we would like to admit (for love between rival families I am sure I don't have to give you an example; for the most recent proof of discrimination, see the Michael Brown case in Missouri).
The musical is undoubtedly best known for being a re-telling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, placed not in Verona but in the New York of the end of the 1950s. Both ruled also by feuds, though not between rival families, but between street gangs. White and Puerto Ricans. However, I believe that modern day viewers are more interested in the portrayal of New York and the effect of racial discrimination upon people's lives..
The musical is undoubtedly best known for being a re-telling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, placed not in Verona but in the New York of the end of the 1950s. Both ruled also by feuds, though not between rival families, but between street gangs. White and Puerto Ricans. However, I believe that modern day viewers are more interested in the portrayal of New York and the effect of racial discrimination upon people's lives..
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