A note for those who have not seen the movie “West Side
Story:” The book being reviewed was written for an audience who had already
seen the 1961 film. There will be spoilers by both the reviewer and the author;
as well as confusion for the reader regarding plot, characters and elements
discussed. If one has not seen this version, one should consider stopping here
and watching it first.
“West Side Story” (WSS) was an important musical for a
number of artistic and political reasons. Artistically, it was the first US
musical to defy the convention that problems or tensions in the story are
resolvable through song-and-dance. Here musical numbers, when not romantic, are
used to illuminate conflicts or make matters worse. Importantly, musical
numbers from the second half of the play which were lighter or comic, were
shifted to the first half of the movie. In this way, WSS becomes a show whose lightness,
humor and humanity drop away, until despair is all that is left.
Ernesto R. Acevedo-Munoz is an associate professor and Director
of Film Studies at the University of Colorado. So his book is largely a film
study course enclosed by covers. His chapters are an introduction to special
effects, film staging, selection of actors, transitions, and other decisions
made by producers and directors. He takes the reader inside the creation of
this movie. Directors Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, Composer Leonard
Bernstein, as well as producers Harold and Marvin Mirisch, are examined. One is
taken behind the scenes to see the conflicts and choices they faced with each
other and the material.
Politically, WSS was the first musical to feature Puerto
Rican characters as protagonists. Since it was written in the 1950s there is
the inherent racism of its period. Puerto Rican commentators have been divided
on their view of this seminal portrayal of their people in a successful
musical. The vast majority of Puerto Rican characters, including the lead male
and female roles, were acted by white people in brown-face make-up. Even Rita
Moreno, the only Puerto Rican in the play, was darkened with cosmetics. This is
too similar to minstrel shows, exclusionary of Puerto Rican actors, and
stereotyped. We only see Puerto Rican persona who are gang members or “gang
girls.” Latin American viewers, who see the show as positive, point-out that
the Sharks are all people with families and jobs. Both film and stage have
Puerto Rican cultural elements which are presented positively. This community
only establishes a gang in defense against racist violence. Bernardo and the
Jets confirm twice in the film that he was “jumped” on his first day in the US.
In contrast, the Jets are unemployed juvenile delinquents, whose families are
broken and whose racism is blatant. The author argues that, between the two
gangs, the Sharks are both more sympathetic and more culturally represented, as
well as being articulate about oppression. There is a lot more written on
racism that cannot be covered here. However, if one is seeking an author who
can successfully moderate the two sides of the Puerto Rican conflict over WSS,
one must look elsewhere. In his introduction, Acevedo-Munoz says, as a child in
Puerto Rico, he “was overwhelmed and giddily proud to see ‘Puerto Ricans’
represented onscreen, however inaccurate or stylized the portrayal…West Side
Story is the reason why I study films” (Acevedo-Munoz, pp. 5-6). As a result,
the chapter specifically devoted to racism is weighted in favor of WSS.
But racism is not the only area where the author discusses
politics and culture. Borrowing from Rick Altman and Matthew Tinkcom,
Acevedo-Munoz discusses gay male expression in WSS. Altman is quoted as saying
that musicals are “associated with camp, gay, utopian, ‘drag,’ and marginal
sensibilities…created by gay talent because it offers a ‘place’ where sexual
repression (especially in classical Hollywood) can be channeled…redress[ing]
heterosexuality itself as a camp fantasy.” Tinkcom adds that “‘camp excess,
masquerade and performance’ hide a gay sensibility that ultimately serves to
self-consciously mock the realism of heterosexual coupling narratives”
(Acevedo-Munoz, p. 154). This observation may be entirely apt since all four contributors
to the creation of WSS were gay men (Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen
Sondheim and Arthur Laurents). Professor Acevedo-Munoz also mentions that all
four were Jewish, but does not explore how a Jewish sensibility might have
influenced the show (Acevedo-Munoz, p. 154).
West Side Story as Cinema is a delightful and
instructive book. Acevedo-Munoz is an enthusiastic Film Studies teacher. It is
enlightening to have the perspective of a politically aware professor, who has
much to say regarding content related to his people. If one has enjoyed the
movie, this book will reveal features not previously evident, and make one want
to see it again with new perspective.
Acevedo-Munoz, Ernesto R. West Side Story as Cinema.
Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 2013.
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