Regardless What Hollywood Sells You, West Side Story Is Not A Latino Story

Its been a great year to be a cinephile. Hell, its been a good year to be a regular movie go-er in general actually. Whether you love your popcorn superhero flicks, your giant monster battles on the big screen, high concept and big spectacle sci-fi, deep poetic small arthouse cinema, or the standard awards contending dramas, 2021 in my opinion has offered a much stronger slate of movies than we got during the tough pandemic year we struggled with past our last cycle around the sun. Every type of movie fan has had a new favorite emerge this season.

Among all the great offerings has been a bevy of musicals that has help to continue the recent momentum to re-energize what was once seen as a dying and niche genre of film. We’ve gotten crowd pleasers like Dear Evan Hansen, strange niche rock operas like Annette, awards contending critically praised bio-pics like Tick, Tick…Boom!, jukebox soundtracks like Cinderella, and animated offerings like Sing 2. But among all these musicals we also got more than a few Latino inspired ones with the culture and representation of the often marginalized group in cinema getting its moments with In The Heights (my favorite film of the year and perhaps of all-time), Vivo, and Encanto (Arguably the frontrunner to win the Oscar for Animated Feature).

If you’re new here I’m sort of a big movie fan myself and, oh yeah, Puerto Rican.  I couldn’t have picked a better time in the last year to shift from writing about Psephology to the movies with my fellow Latinos from various countries getting to have musical celebrations of the stories they can share on the screen, whether it be Cubans with Vivo, Colombians with Encanto, and of course Dominicans with In The Heights, the latter being a film I wrote about earlier in the year in how it affected my personal journey with coming to terms with my Latin heritage as someone who always felt disconnected to it. And of all the musicals that we got this year with Latinos featured prominently, including in the behind the scenes crafting of these stories, the biggest awards and critical contender 2021 has given us from this genre is a remake of a problematic and yet beloved musical classic, 1961’s West Side Story. A remake that quite frankly attempts to sell itself as a Latino story with Latino representation but ultimately is really an easy pickings choice by an white (albeit iconic) director in Steven Spielberg and a white (albeit great) screenplay writer in Tony Kushner. Just as it was back in the fifties when the original Broadway show that the 1961 film was based on was written through the eyes of a bunch of white artists.

That Broadway play which was originally supposed to be a musical and modernized re-telling of Romeo And Juliet with different European migrant groups in New York City, was changed to feature one side as local New York City white gangsters and the other as Puerto Rican counterparts. The play is a pretty standard, “tale as old as time” story in which two lovers Tony (from the white affiliated Jets side) and Maria (from the Puerto Rican affiliated Sharks side) have their relationship tested and ultimately tragically ended by all the fighting between the two gangs. It was a big hit on stage, competed for the Best Musical Tony and its 1961 adaptation pulled off one of the most dominant Oscars nights in history, culminating in its Best Picture win – and along for the ride came Rita Moreno who became the first Latina to win an Oscar for her supporting role as Anita. And buzz is this new 2021 adaptation could potentially go all the way and become the first ever remake of a previous Best Picture winner to repeat that feat as well, if not lead to the next Latina to win the golden statue.

The 1961 film has become a very popular choice among many for the answer as to what’s their favorite movie. Among those? My own 100% red blooded Puerto Rican father who to this day seems to have a twinkle in his eye when he talks about the movie as his personal all-timer. The stage version has seen several revivals and all to my knowledge have made deep runs into their respective Tony awards seasons. So yes, I grew up hearing a lot about this story and my parents were always glorifying it as a great Latino one that I needed to watch on film so I can see Puerto Rican characters on screen.

So finally, West Side Story was played for us in Spanish class during my senior year in high school. I was excited to finally get a chance to see this movie my parents always told me about. This great classic with Puerto Rican representation my father said was the greatest film he’s ever seen. After all, this was around the same time I discovered other classic musicals I adore to this day like My Fair Lady, so why not add another to that library? Boy was I disappointed.

1961: A Problematic Original
I recently re-watched the original 1961 film adaptation of West Side Story in preparation for this piece and for the fact I was going to watch the remake anyways. I hadn’t seen the film in a decade and I was hoping that on a replay I would end up liking it more. After all, such classics like Singing In The Rain and The Maltese Falcon underwhelmed me on first watch only for me to finally “get it” on re-watches since, and now both of those aforementioned films get high marks from me. As soon as I hit play I was transported back to that high school classroom and my initial impressions of the film.

From a technical and crafts standpoint its easy to easy why the movie is so pretty to watch. For their time, the set designs are great with vibrant colors and atmospheric dark scenes, the choreography is out of this world good and a showcase of graceful and powerfully physical ballet, the score is rightfully well remembered, the performances are going for broke in a good way, and the soundtrack is among the best in old school Hollywood as should be expected from a genius lyrical composer like the now recently deceased Stephen Sondheim. It’s up there in terms of being a well done film…I just wish the story, and specifically the characters, were as well.

West Side Story’s script and casting has several problematic issues. The biggest issue for me personally is the brown face, which I found appalling. Whenever Natalie Wood shows up as Maria with brown powder on her face and a stereotypical accent I physically reacted, and it doesn’t get better from there. Almost every Puerto Rican is played by a white person in brown face, including the very important character of Bernardo, Anita’s brother. Anita was of course played by Rita Moreno, who was the only major Puerto Rican actor in the film and yes, she won an Oscar for the role, but even she (the actual Puerto Rican on set!) was forced to put on some brown face herself and to put on an accent, too.

The lyrics to the iconic “America” number are offensive, as they promote the U.S by belittling Puerto Rico as a poverty-stricken Island that’s better off just sinking into the sea (read the lyrics!). And keep in mind it’s the United States which has forced Puerto Rico as a colonial territory into difficult economic times thanks to trade, tax, and loan policies causing a debate between residents on whether to join as a state or attempt to become independent. Now I personally champion statehood, but if you’re going to have a number in which Puerto Ricans talk about America’s role in their lives you may want to point out that all these difficulties didn’t just sprout from within the island itself. Puerto Ricans who justifiably have criticism about a government that has caused their native home troubles should be represented well. But then again, this is a story through the white gaze.

And finally there’s the fact the story is told as if both the Jets and Sharks are at fault for each other’s troubles, the inherent racism that must have been involved in the fact the Jets started it (as Bernardo points out to them, “Who jumped me when I first moved here?”) is glossed over so the story can blame both sides. The treatment of Puerto Ricans from a racial standpoint is so ripe for the picking for a story like this, and the white writers and producers simply weren’t interested.

As a Latino, particularly a Puerto Rican myself, I should be connecting with these characters, understanding them, and seeing myself in them. Instead all I see are white actors in brown faces, stereotypical accents, and flat characterizations. Even as a guy who personally has five romance films within his personal top six, the central romance between Tony and Maria does absolutely nothing for me – they’re nothing past lovebirds with Maria almost showing no agency for herself and loving Tony so toxically she’ll even forgive blood being spilled against her family by him. This is Twilight level stuff here as far as I’m concerned. And the supporting actors who arguably have all the big numbers and moments fall flat eventually with me, too. Particularly the Jets who we follow for a good while and have good-hearted laughs with only to watch in horror as they attempt to rape someone, which itself leads to a character choice that sets up a convoluted and downer of an ending.

As I did when I saw it back in high school, I came away underwhelmed and in a way, angry at my parents for hyping it so much. This wasn’t a Latino story. This was a product made for consumption and enjoyment of white people who think they can just solve the problem over rewarding a movie with a very flat and standard “Don’t hate” message. To this day my dad and I have had debates on this movie and my wife, who had never seen the original, had always wondered why I was so angry towards this movie. She watched this with me when I revisited it and I made sure to point out all my issues with the film as it played to her so she could get a Puerto Rican’s perspective, though I’m sure my just as equally Boricua dad wished he was there to defend the film. For the record, she was underwhelmed as much as I was, but maybe that’s because I was there to point out the flaws.

But to be fair to West Side Story, this is a 1961 movie based on a fifties Broadway show we’re talking about, not exactly a time of great equality. Brown face and stereotypical accents were very much in vogue back then, and I’m not some saint when it comes to accepting some problematic classics myself. I am not here to shame you if, like my father, you consider this among your favorites because I have been in the same boat. Gone With The Wind rightfully got raked over the coals last year because of its awful representation of slavery and its “Lost Cause” mythology, but I still consider it one of the better films from 1939 because I admire everything else about it. Golden age Hollywood musicals I adore include Footlight Parade, Swing Time, and Holiday Inn. All three of these have one number in each where blackface or yellow face is featured prominently and every time those scenes come up I physically react in the same way I do when Natalie Wood pops up on screen for the first time in brown face. I enjoy Quentin Tarantino films, but his incessant use of the N word is grating and his arrogant brush off when asked about it is as well. The sorry fact is these classics whether we like them or not will have problematic and dated representation in them. So as much as I can’t stand the story, perhaps the remake will be an update that addresses these issues? The answer was unfortunately a mixed bag with some improvements and some unfortunate and staggeringly regressive double downs.

2021: A Better, But Still Very Flawed Remake
I’m happy to say the 2021 version is better than the original 1961 version. While the direction, cinematography, song numbers, set designs, and the performances are all there just as they were with the first film, it’s helped greater by better casting (no brown face here) and deeper character arcs that at least attempt to patch holes in some motivations. The performances from the ensemble are all top notch but Mike Faist for me stood out the most as the leader of the Jets gang, Riff. Ariana Debose has gotten plenty plaudits for her performance and I’ll admit here this remake outdid In The Heights in not dropping the ball on afro-Latino representation. Rachel Zegler is fine and I’m sure she’ll have a place in the industry for many years to come, but her accent was the one that affected me the most and came off the most fake and insulting to me. Spielberg’s direction is as good as you can expect from one of the masters at his craft, and while this obviously remains a story written with a white gaze, Tony Kushner’s writing did improve on some things.

But even with all that, West Side Story remains shockingly and depressingly regressive for something that came out sixty years after its original film adaptation. Yes, there is no brown face, but every Puerto Rican in here is talking in an accent that is wholly unnecessary in today’s world. Just weeks before, critics were railing on House Of Gucci‘s Italian accents but for whatever reason have given the ones in this a pass? There is also something to be said about the fact Puerto Ricans aren’t necessarily being played by actual Puerto Ricans, something In The Heights earlier this year got heat from in regard to Dominican characters. Why is it that film got that heat but critics are glossing past that issue here? And it is not made better by the often buried fact that Spielberg and Kushner visited Puerto Rico to look for talent and did not leave with any intention of having more Puerto Ricans involved in the project. There’s also the decision to not add subtitles to the Spanish speaking parts which Spielberg and company have been beating their chest about as being a progressive move, but I’ve talked to and seen many non-Spanish speaking Latinos who worry about not getting to connect with the characters because they couldn’t understand some parts.

Overall, what you get is a better made and slightly less regressive film when it comes to Puerto Rican stereotypes. I still couldn’t see myself on screen in this remake like I struggled to in the original 61 version. I still felt no great empathy or care for the Tony and Maria romance and the problematic and toxic parts of their relationship remain intact. I ultimately came away feeling about as underwhelmed as I was with the 1961 film even though, again, I think it’s slightly better because of some small updates. I gotta wonder what better updates could have been made with actual Latinos involved behind the scenes.

I’m not naïve. I know writing this piece won’t change the fact that the 1961 West Side Story is an all-timer for many folks out there, and once again let me state I’m not seeking to shame anyone about that so much as air my grievances. I also know it won’t stop this year’s remake from likely going deep into the awards season because, well, I’m one dude with an opinion on a subjective artform and no Oscars vote.

I mainly wrote this out of frustration. I’m frustrated that at a time film is expanding its gaze past just one community we’re regressing to re-telling problematic stories with dated concepts. I’m frustrated that in a time where these dated concepts are being brought up and talked about with classic after classic or even modern films, this story that presents Puerto Ricans in such a frustrating way continues to get a pass even by some fellow Latinos. I’m frustrated that at a time with various franchise films, sequels, and remakes that a re-imagining of a 1961 film might be what wins top prize in a year filled with so many great original films.

The fact that in a year that cinema has had so many Latinos in film and Latino stories being told on the screen, we’re settling for something from the past directed by (and I say this with as much respect as possible towards Spielberg and his contributions to cinema) “another old white guy” speaks volumes. It speaks volumes to me that for all of its supposed progressive pandering and beating of its chest as color blind, the film industry from the studio heads on down to the critics reviewing the films still have a ways to go for true progress when it comes to advancing representation of more people like me on screen. Let’s get past stories like this from another time made by and for the white gaze; let’s actually tell authentic stories about my community from those of us from the community.