the groundhog day project

Sample lyrics from America from West Side Story : STAGE: SCREEN: Puerto Rico You ugly island My heart's devotion Island of tropical diseases Let it slip back in the ocean Always the hurricanes blowing Always the population growing And the money owing And the babies crying And the sunlight streaming And the bullets flying And the natives steaming I like the island Manhattan Smoke on your pipe and put that in I like to be in America OK by me in America Ev'rything free in America For a small fee in America Only minor changes, but it makes the movie version just a little nicer to Puerto Rico. Sandoval-Sanchez (1999) is not as kind as I am; he writes, "In the film version, this scene, which, in the original text is a racist and defamatory articulation toward Puerto Rico, was revised in order to soften the negative attitude toward Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican immigrants" (p. 72). Elsewhere, Sandoval-Sanchez seems to be arguing that the film, like the play, makes q...

Rubin and Melnick (2007) argue: " West Side Story turned to Puerto Ricans as the newest 'problem' group that needed to be incorporated into a national narrative of reconciliation" (p. 100). Romeo and Juliet , the blueprint for West Side Story , deals in a generational conflict between families, not a matter of race. West Side Story makes color a vital difference between one side and another. That opening 4 minute color-shifting aerial drawing of New York City is not just a simple poster-style visual but a vital transition of stage to screen. I don't know how colorful the stage version was, but this film version is all about color, and not just of skin. The gangs have their colors--Sharks a lot of purples and reds, and a bit of green, the Jets some muted yellows and blues and browns. There are a few exceptions (one Jet that wears a red shirt, for example). But, color separates not just people but locations. For example, "Jet Song" is starting right now...