Jets vs. Sharks

The film Westside Story, adapted from the 1957 Broadway play of the same name, tells the same Romeo-and-Juliet tale of two lovers from separate “families,” where instead of households, there are the street gangs of the Jets and the Sharks. The Jets are the second generation products of European immigration during the aftermath of World War II. The Sharks are Puerto Rican immigrants, who despite their US citizenship are treated like second-class human beings. Tony is the Romeo of the Jets and Maria is the Juliet of the Sharks.

Throughout the entirety of the film, there are stark visual differences between the Jets and the Sharks. One of the most striking distinctions between the two groups is the color of the costuming for each side, particularly in the scene where both gangs meet at the school dance. The boys of the Jets, the “American” gang, are outfitted in more washed out pastel tones. Their tuxes and jackets are in yellows, oranges, and faded blues. Even though the Jets are the so-called Americans of the film and are treated better, particularly by authority figures like Officer Krupke, their clothing is a lot dirtier and grungier than that of the Sharks. In contrast to the Jets, the Sharks are dressed in bolder colors of purples, reds, and blacks. The materials of their outfits are much cleaner and sharper looking. Perhaps the grunginess of the Jets is representative of not only the actual wear of the clothing, but also symbolic of how the Jets have been in America longer than the Sharks, who are recent immigrants. Or maybe the disparity between the shabbiness of the Jets and the cleanliness of the Sharks is representative of imbedded racism in American. No matter how nice looking or clean-cut the Sharks are, the Jets will still be respected more because of the color of their skin.

In addition to color difference, the Jets and Sharks even differed in their dancing patterns. The women of the Sharks seemed to come of as more strong than did the ladies of the Jets. Anita and her friends had their own separate dance number and when dancing with Bernardo and the rest of the Sharks, the women seemed stronger and livelier. The women did not fade to the background as did the women of the Jets. Even outside of the dance scene, the Puerto Rican women seemed to have more independence from the men than did the girls with the Jets. Even Anybodys’ character obeyed Riff, whereas Anita held some sway with Sharks leader Bernardo. So, the film makes the commentary that even though the Puerto Ricans are more enlightened in the gender sense (and better dressed), the Jets will still be superior merely for the color of their hands and face, not for their merits or lack thereof.