West Side Story1961

Five Fast Facts Winner of 10 Academy Awards

Soundtrack was No 1 on the Billboard Charts for 54 weeks

94% on Rotten Tomatoes

Based on Romeo and Juliet, which is based on a poem by Arthur

Brooke called The Tragic Historye of Romeus and Juliet, which is

based on a poem by the Roman poet Ovid called Pyramus and

Thisbe

Actors worked over 16 hours a day and Natalie

Wood begged to be fired at one point

Two rival gangs are constantly at odds on the streets of New York,

the Jets, composed of European Americans and the Sharks, Puerto

Ricans.

Maria meets Tony at a dance in which both are at, Tony is a Jet and

Maria is the sister of the Shark’s leader, Bernardo.

Maria and Tony see each other from across the room and it is love

at first sight, they steal a dance and a kiss while everyone else is

dancing, when the lights come on Maria’s brother Bernardo says,

“Maria let’s leave!”

Tony finds out Maria’s name after Bernardo says it and Tony

leave’s the dance singing a song about how beautiful the name is.

Tony finds out where Maria lives and he then climbs up her fire

escape. He tells her to be with him he says, “I’m not one of ‘em

Maria.”, Tony. “But you are not one of us, and I am not one of you,”

Maria.

Tony convinces the gangs to only have a fight between one man

from each gang instead of the rumble they were going to have.

Maria tells Tony to stop the rumble altogether, she says any fight

is no good for them.

Maria and Tony have pretend wedding in the bridal shop Maria

works at.

At the rumble Tony tries to stop it but ends up killing Bernardo.

One of the Sharks tells Maria that Tony killed Bernardo.

Tony shows up at her house and she hits him and calls him a killer. Tony explains he didn’t mean to hurt Bernardo and he was going to turn himself in. Maria says he cannot turn himself in. Then Tony says he will take her away to a place where no one can find them, and they sing a song about how there’s a place for them somewhere and they will go together.

Tony is shot by a Shark right before Maria and him embrace as

they are about to leave town, as both gangs witness.

Tony then dies in her arms.

Maria tells people are dead because of your hate.

Type of Relationship

A couple who meets and falls in love instantly

Cultural Background of Characters

Maria is a Puerto Rican Maria is the sister of the Shark leader Tony is Italian Tony is a former founding member of the Jets

Context of the Conversation Throughout the movie the love of Maria and Tony

is forbidden because they are from separate cultures.

They must hide their love and meet in secret. They ask what will people think. They both love each other so deeply that culture

does not matter, even though it is forbidden. Maria seeks to understand Tony’s culture by

asking what Tony is short for.

Communication Competence They communicate competently, signing songs

together that show they know each other’s thoughts and feelings.

Tony attempts to bridge the cultural gap by speaking some Spanish, although Maria’s friend corrects him and is not impressed