The first thing I noticed was the cast. I was unsure at first, but after discussing the film in class I found out every actor/actress in the movie was white, except for one (Anita's character). This would usually seem weird to me in other movies, but it makes sense because West Side Story was produced in the 1960s, when most actors and actresses were white, and few Puerto Ricans were even allowed to have small roles in films. The treatment of the Puerto Ricans in the film also made a lot of sense, considering it was set during a time when equality was not the number one priority to individuals.
The next thing that struck me as weird and even a bit ridiculous was the fact that both "gangs" are trying to represent masculinity. The Jets think they are the best, most manly gang on the streets and so do the Sharks, but when it actually comes to fighting, very few to none of the members are willing to fight. The two gangs are supposedly violent and disastrous, but there is very little physical contact throughout the entire movie. The most prominent action we see is dancing, which is the opposite of manly (in their society and still in our society today, although now dancing is more accepted for men). It is extremely ironic that both groups try to be as masculine as possible while most scenes involve ballet and no physical contact.
When the gangs finally do get together and fight, only one from each gang is chosen to actually fight. It ends with a death from the Jets and a death from the Sharks. Tony is one of the only people to actually kill someone, which is also ironic because he's supposed to be a more feminine character. Tony could possibly be trying to be more masculine by killing, but more likely it was just an accident, because he didn't really mean to kill Maria's brother.
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