SexViolHist Bib: Representations: Films: West Side Story

»West Side Story is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents.
Inspired by William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, the story is set in the mid-1950s on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, then a multiracial, blue-collar neighborhood. The musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. The Sharks, who are recent migrants from Puerto Rico, and the Jets, who are white, vie for dominance of the neighborhood, and the police try to keep order. The young protagonist, Tony, a former member of the Jets and best friend of the gang's leader, Riff, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks. The dark theme, sophisticated music, extended dance scenes, tragic love story, and focus on social problems marked a turning point in musical theatre.« (Extract from: Wikipedia)

West Side Story (2021 film)

I n f o r m a t i o n

»West Side Story is a 2021 American musical romantic drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Tony Kushner. The second feature-length adaptation of the 1957 stage musical, which was itself inspired by William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, it stars Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler, the latter making her film debut, with Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, and Rita Moreno in supporting roles. Moreno, who starred in the 1961 film adaptation, also served as an executive producer alongside Kushner. The film features music composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.« (Extract from: Wikipedia)

K e y w o r d s

I. Chronological Index: Modern History: 20^th Century, 21^st Century

II. Geographical Index: American History: U.S. History

III. Topical Index: Types: General: Rape

B i b l i o g r a p h y

I. Author Index

II. Speaker Index

[Info] Cummings, Kelsey. »‘Yo no soy tu hija, traitor’: Archives of Gender, Race, and Rape in West Side Story.« 67^th Annual Conference of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies. Chicago 2026.