Lavish images of Fifth Avenue and the Upper East Side claim the title of "New York City," filling the mind with descriptions of great wealth and well-dressed nice people strolling through the crowd. streets filled with a wide diversity of people. However, like everything, there is more than meets the eye. In the heart of the city, enveloped in neon-splattered subway trains coiling like snakes around Project Housing groups and a seething, rich cultural contrast. Although its story takes place on soundstages and artificial sets, West Side Story manages to capture the experience of the neighborhood and the city, particularly for immigrants, particularly Puerto Rican immigrants. Before the Upper West Side – where West Side Story is set – was stripped of its original character due to gentrification, it was a diverse melting pot of ethnicities and cultures, considered by the general public to be a “neighborhood.” worker ". . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Although the film has some minute historical errors (the main Puerto Rican enclave was the Bronx, not the Upper West Side) and a dramatic, musical narrative that obscures much of the depth of the story, West Side Story provides legitimate insight into the lifestyles that Puerto Rican immigrants encountered, including the discrimination and racism they faced, as well as the general struggles they encountered. A more modern retelling of William Shakespeare's most famous play, Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story is inevitably packed with dramatic flair, as well as additional dance and musical numbers. The story takes place on the Upper West Side, a former ethnic working-class neighborhood before its gentrification. The plot of West Side Story is at the heart of a conflict between two gangs, the Jets and the Sharks - representing House Montague and House Capulet respectively (the two feuding families in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet). As Julia M. Klein of the Philadelphia Inquirer puts it: "The nervous antagonisms of the two gangs are, of course, juxtaposed with the supernatural, fairy-tale love of Tony and Maria." Although the story centers on these conflicts, representative of the same warlike conflict in the timeless play, a deeper meaning lies beneath the more superficial romantic narrative that West Side Story presents itself to be. The conflict between the Jets, a gang of white American thugs, and the Sharks, a gang of Puerto Rican immigrants, is only further highlighted by the film's musical numbers; songs such as "America" ​​sardonically discuss the opportunities that the fateful land is prophesied to have, also mocking the disadvantages and difficulties they faced (West Side Story). As previously noted, West Side Story manages to both entertain audiences with spectacular acting and performances while informing about the dramatic and moody struggles of immigrants, particularly Puerto Rican immigrants in the working-class neighborhoods of New York City. As Pia Calton describes it, “The musical West Side Story was ahead of its time and the film was in the crosshairs of the zeitgeist.” Although the History.com article primarily references themes depicted in musical production, the storyline – with themes considered the defining mood of the era – remains across the mediums. Even the film's opening scene addresses such questions; in more detail, a clear prevalence of racism and stereotypes is introduced; The Jets, dressed in cuffed jeans, ratty sneakers and jerseys.