West Side Story
Like all musical films, the West Side Story relates to a production where the characters sing songs and sometimes dance too, all with the view of developing the characters and advancing the plot of the film

However, the movie brings to the fore various special features, which notably set it out as a historical document. The era in which the film was produced is also of massive importance considering the numerous special events that occurred during the period and how they influenced the production of the move. West Side Story is also typified by a number of features, just like all the other movies are. As such, the aspects of the plot, the production of the movie, the criticism and reception by the public are considered to have substantial significance to all the concerned parties. Shot in the United States, the movie relates a lot to the interest of….

West Side Story is a film about two rival gangs, the Jets and the Sharks. The Jets are American and the Sharks are of Puerto ican descent. The movie has a omeo and Juliet storyline -- however, in West Side Story the two lovers, Tony and Maria, are from two different ethnic groups as opposed to two sparring families in omeo and Juliet. It is ethnocentrism that stands in the way of Tony and Maria's love.
Ethnocentrism is defined by Spector (2009, 12) as the "belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group" and/or and "overriding concern with race." This is exactly what the problem is in West Side Story. The film is rife with concerns about ethnicity and where it places on in society. The film is about a fight over territory as it shows how immigrants from Puerto ico come to New York and, in a sense, take….

West Side Story
Social Tension and Doomed Romances in West Side Story

Hundreds of years after Shakespeare's penning of Romeo and Juliet, the notion of warring families and star-crossed lovers has not waned in popularity. This is evident in the Academy Award-winning 1961 film West Side Story, which, stripped of its musical interludes and numerous dance numbers, becomes the adaptation of Shakespeare's romantic tragedy in its barest bones. Of course, West Side Story gives a more contemporary edge to the social tensions between two "families," this time branching out to two racial families as opposed to two rival Italian groups in Verona. Through Robert Wise's direction, the film adaptation of the popular musical manages to exude serious racial concerns of the time period through light-hearted song and an epic love story.

The movie opens up with overhead shots of New York City and its busy activities in the city. From the highways to….

We see how their membership in the class and racial group has power over their attitudes and actions. At the time of this film, they were contemporary, but the film was true to the times, so they are now historically correct also. The social mores and customs are well depicted in the forms of dances and music and in the morality of the time. Maria's dress for the dance must have a certain propriety about it, with a proper hem and neckline. She dresses in white to symbolize purity. Anita, a married woman, can dress in red, as she has more freedom and need not be chaperoned. Maria's age, innocence and single status require a chaperone.
Family is very important in this film, as family connections are used as reasons for action. However, the family structure of the Puerto ican culture is the main focus, and its very Catholic cultural….

West Side Story, filmed in 1961, was one of the most ground-breaking works not only in terms of subject and genre, but also in terms of the boundaries it broke with its musical scores and choreography. Indeed, the film's dance sequences often form part of its plot. Its musical scores depict the deep distrust and underlying violence in the uneasy truces between the street gangs whose members form the basic plot background of the film. What is most interesting is that the film not only broke the romantic plot norm with its "omeo and Juliet" story, it also broke some norms in the minds and physical exertions of its dancers. One example of such norm defiance is "Cool," one of the songs just before full violence broke out between the gangs and the final tragedy of its outcome.
The first and most important pioneering element of the dance sequences in the….

West
There are three major religions that have established themselves in China: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism; and of the three, only Buddhism is not indigenous to China. Buddhism found its way to China along the Silk oad, brought by missionaries from India. For centuries, the three religions have co-existed with many Chinese adopting elements of each in their daily lives. Whatever similarities, or symbiotic elements each contains, the three religions have also competed with each other for prominence and prestige within Chinese society. At different times each has been the dominant religion, fully supported by the Imperial Court, however, Buddhism, since it's incorporation into Chinese society, has viewed itself as the superior religion. While most Buddhists are completely comfortable with the idea of other religious ideals in society, and even embrace certain aspects of them, they still feel that Buddhism is superior. One piece of Chinese literature, generally accepted as….

Story Pitch: Supporting the Development of Hell's Kitchen
Today, more and more people are acutely conscious of the need to improve the lives of residents of our inner cities. This proposed story will showcase the positive activism surrounding the development of the Hudson Yards Business Improvement District (BID), including the "open space" movement to bring more parks and preserved greenery the neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen so residents can exercise, enjoy time with their children, and experience a respite from the pressures of their lives. At a time when people are growing increasingly cynical about the ability of government to help them, they are crying out to hear a story like this, one which indicates how local residents can make a change. BID is committed to providing district-wide services for community improvement and will extend from West 30th Street to West 42nd Street, from Ninth Avenue to the east side of 11th….

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Perhaps because of this reference to contemporary political ideals, the romance of Shakespeare seems more archetypal than the immediately relevant sociological commentary of "est Side Story." Bernstein's musical is unapologetically topical, dealing with the 1950s obsession with juvenile delinquency and even common theories to explain it, as in the song "Gee Officer Krupkie" which suggests alternatively that delinquency is caused by society, psychology, and also a young thug being "no damn good." hile Shakespeare's conflict between young desires and old hatreds and resistance to change could apply to a variety of contexts, from ancient times as in the case of Pyramus and Thisbe, to the lovers of Brooke's history of Italy, to New York City gangs, to Bosnia, Bernstein's specific focus on the linguistic differences between Puerto Ricans and whites in their speeches and songs, the significance of juvenile crime in American society, and specific cultural ideals like that of….

Smith may dislike the stereotype, but she cannot help internalizing it. She feels unfinished because she is regarded as unfinished, and even members of her community urge her to straighten her hair. This is completely different from the joyous, affirmative sigh "I am complete" at the end of Morales' poem. Just as Morales admits that all experiences with racism and discrimination are different, Smith's poem demonstrates how African-American women frequently lack assurance of their sense of self and that their physical qualities are regarded as alien to what is considered 'good' and 'American.' (The young Smith's wearing white to cover up one's tallness seems an attempt to mask blackness and presumed 'badness' with clothing). Morales' instability of identity lies in multiplicity of national cultures, but Smith, even as a young, black girl, but carefully balance her sense as an American and African-American with even greater care and psychological discomfort….

Performance Comparisons: Gershwin, Bernstein, MirandaWhen George Gershwin premiered his operettaPorgy and Bess in 1935, it was historic to feature persons of color in what was supposedly the high art of opera. Although the singer Ann Brown was a great classical singer, it was rare for persons of color to be cast in such roles. Brown notes her resentment in an interview that she resisted being pigeonholed into stereotypical sounds and roles, despite eventually taking on the leading role of Bess.Leonard BernsteinsWest Side Story, which was first seen on Broadway in 1957, similarly transposed Shakespeares classic tale into a contemporary racial conflict of the era. But both examples highlight how white creators may appropriate Black and Latino sounds and voices to further their own careers, to be consumed by white audiences. However, like Porgy & Bess, West Side Story was still of historical significance in the manner in which it showed….

Michael Bennet-What makes him unique
Michael Bennett was born in 1943 under the full name of Michael Bennett DiFiglia. He was devoted to the theater and over the course of his life was a dancer, choreographer and director; before succumbing to AIDS complications at 44 years old. His unique style was his legacy to Broadway -- particularly regarding Musical Theater.

Musical theater has a rich and storied history; dating back centuries. First conceived as "narration with song and dance incorporated"; it was meant to glorify beautiful females, dancers, singers and the occasional comedian (eynolds, 882). Broadway Musicals were not always successful; but dance continued to be integral and professionals of all genres fell under the purview of the choreographer (eynolds 693).

By the 1970s the cost of staging a Broadway show was exorbitant. It was often decided to pare back dancing and choreography as a means of saving money (Clark). Many credit Michael….

The notable exception to this layout of the various departments of the casino at The Venetian is again its Sports-ook, which is entirely rounded into a half-circle and therefore gives an air of having consumed far more resources than a rectangular shaped Sports-ook would. It is easy to craft a desk that is straight, to cut the wood in a way that makes it have strong borders and edges; for that reason most desks that you see are straight. To cut the wood so as to make it rounded is far more difficult, and someone looking at such a curved piece of wood would have to assume high expense involved in procuring and designing wood in such a fashion.

In the center of the floor of the Venetian (and not all casinos are like this) are the slot machines, conspicuous examples of mass expenditure, ringing and glittering and flashing lights. To….

In the city of New York there was a strong Italian, Jewish, and Black presence but nothing along the same lines ever developed for the Puerto ican community. The concerns of the Puerto ican community failed to ever gain a political foothold in the city where nearly 90% of all migrated Puerto icans lived (odriquez-Morazzani, 1999).
As the vast wave of migrating Puerto icans began to reach middle age in the 60's and 70s they had still not achieved a standard of living that was remarkably improved from what they enjoyed when they first migrated to the United States. Their numbers had increased significantly as migration had continued and their birthrates had skyrocketed but the typical Puerto ican family still made far less than the typical White American (Wilson, 1996). The rate of employment among Puerto icans was twice that of White Americans and Puerto ican women were virtually non-existent….

George Knox, director of the National Gang Crime esearch Center, teaches law enforcement officers how to search WebPages to pick up on gang member's lingo, territories, and rivalries. He also asserts it is crucial for officers to learn how to "read between the lines" when searching gang members' WebPages. Time on the Web, similar to time on the streets, gives gang investigators the ability to read the hieroglyphics of wall graffiti, and understand Web clues. In addition, "gang identifiers, such as tattoos, graffiti tags, colors and clothing often are embedded in each site" (Gutierrez, 2006, ¶ 27). According to Gutierrez, by studying gang blogs for several hours, one can pick up on subtle word choices, which the gang members consider to be almost holy words. Knox contends that some gangs use the Internet to recruit new members.

Other Efforts to Deal with Gangs

Suppression techniques may be one of the best ways….

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Interestingly, Dubrofsky reveals how women of color on the Bachelor rarely make it beyond the first few rounds of competition -- and even then only serve as framing devices for the feelings and reactions of the white female contestants. All this means is that reality programming like the Bachelor is as superficial and far-removed from reality as anything can possibly get -- and that it also reinforces negative stereotypes about women, whether of color or not.

3: Is Capitalism Gendered and acialized?

Joan Acker's "Is Capitalism Gendered and acialized?" does not shock me at all, although it takes a look at the different ways "economy" can be conceptualized. Her essay is a bit difficult to process as it uses many abstract concepts to convey a meaning. But her main point seems to be that women provide economic support even if they do not receive payment for it -- which leads her to….

Three iconic high school dance movies helped shape popular culture from the late 1970s to the late 1980s: Dirty Dancing, Grease, and Footloose.  While the movies all focused on high school aged teens, they also had other similarities that are worth exploring.  They all feature relationships with a boy from the “wrong side of the tracks” in some way.  This is reminiscent of West Side Story, the original teen dance epic.  Of course, West Side Story derives its story from Romeo and Juliet.  Your thesis could focus on those similarities or you could....

Compare and Contrast Essay Topics

Literary Analysis

Compare and contrast the themes and motifs in two works of literature.
Analyze the use of symbolism and imagery in two different poems.
Explore the development of a character in two different novels.
Examine the differences in narrative structure between two short stories.
Compare the perspectives of two narrators in a novel.

Historical Events

Compare and contrast the causes and consequences of two major historical events.
Analyze the similarities and differences in the strategies used by two different leaders during wartime.
Explore the impact of two different technological advancements on society.
Examine the ways in....