Gang Violence in New York as Presented by West Side Story

Gang Violence in New York as Presented by West Side Story Gangs have been occupied New York City for hundreds of years. In the 1950s, the city saw a rise of Latino immigrants from Latin America, the Caribbean, and notably Puerto Rico as well as a rise in gang violence. Leonard Bernstein’s musical West Side Story uses the real-world subject of gang warfare in New York City to depict a modern-day adaptation of Romeo and Juliet by playing into the ethnic divide between the two gangs, but in doing so it simultaneously acts as a medium through which the uninformed public can learn about the culture of the gangs from this time. Street gangs in the northeast of the United States came about in three phases. The first phase took place after the American Revolution and consisted of youth fighting over turf. The second phase of street gangs started to emerge in 1820, which coincided with a rise of immigration. This is when serious ganging began taking place. In the 1930s and 1940s, the Latino and Black populations grew, and eventually, over two-thirds of the gangs in New York were Puerto Rican or Black. This third phase of gang activity is the subject for Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, which features the Puerto Rican Sharks and the Polish-American Jets and the romantic relationship between two people, one from each gang, which suffers to exist amidst the violence between the two gangs. Gang culture was not necessarily known to the public, but the show’s creators tried toShow MoreRelated The Western as Commentary about Decaying Values Essay3542 Words   |  15 PagesOpen Range is that violence is best avoided when it’s possible to, but that sometimes people must do what is ethical and violence is inevitable. Boss and Charley both know that to take Button to the town’s doctor mean that Baxter will try to kill them. 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