Adapted from the 1957 Broadway musical, West Side Story is arguably one of the most iconic musical films in American cinema. Winner of numerous awards and acclaimed by audiences, it has become a classic of the genre.

It was recently adapted for the big screen by Steven Spielberg in 2021. Loosely based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, Tony and Maria’s budding love intensifies the rivalry between two New York gangs in the 1950s: the Jets (Americans of European descent) and the Sharks (Puerto Rican immigrants).

Beyond a love story frustrated by clan rivalries, West Side Story highlights the limits of the American dream based on several unifying myths (the land of plenty, the melting pot, the self-made man, the classless society, the common man...).

Supposedly accessible to all, the American dream is based on the idea of the perfectibility of individuals and systems. In reality, however, it disappoints, excludes and sometimes even turns into a nightmare for those who do not belong to the white hegemony.

On a micro-social level therefore, the Jets and the Sharks are simply playing out these racial and ethnic tensions even though they are united in an economically subordinate position.

Mireille Berton (CEC, UNIL)