I. Introduction
A. Plot
II. Social Realities
A. The Great Migration (1950’s)
B. Adapting to the English language
C. How Puerto Ricans were treated
D. Labor
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Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Blog 14: Draft of ENG 103 Paper
West Side Story, a film set in the late 1950's in New York City is a twist on Romeo and Juliet. It a love story between a caucasian male and a Puerto Rican immigrant. Maintaining a relationship was difficult because of their differences and the people around them. Violence and gang activities were also a main aspect of the film. Tony, one of the Jets, falls in love with Maria who is Bernardo's sister, the leader of the Sharks. Many problems arise because of the gang rivalries. Unfortunately, there were three deaths in the film. Riff, the leader of the Jets, and Bernardo are killed in a rumble. The film does not end on a positive note. Tony is shot and killed by one of the Sharks.
The way New York City was portrayed was very similar to how it actually was. In the 1950s, tons of Puerto Ricans migrated to New York City, which was known as The Great Migration, not to be confused with the African American Great Migration that took place in the early 1900's. This was actually the third wave of this migration, but by far the largest. By 1953, Puerto Rican migration to New York reached it's peak when 75,000 people left the island. Estimates are that more than one million Puerto Ricans migrated during the 1950's. The main areas in New York City that Puerto Ricans fled to were The Bronx, Brooklyn and East Harlem, which would later be known as Spanish Harlem for obvious reasons. By 1964, the Puerto Rican community made up 9.3 percent of the total New York City population. The New York Puerto Ricans, or "Nuyoricans", would borrow words from the english language and speak "spanglish". ("Latino Education Network Service")In other words, they would say english words with spanish pronounciations. It is a very improper way to speak but it showed their adaptation to a new country. In the film, the Puerto Rican characters seem to know good english and their accents aren't too strong. It makes sense to not give them such a strong accent because it is a movie and audiences need to understand what they're saying but the characters didn't even speak "spanglish". (Perez y Gonzalez, and 118-19)
In West Side Story, the Puerto Ricans were not treated with respect. They were treated like a piece of dirt, even by authorities. One of the officers in the film said "Boy, oh boy. As if this neighborhood wasn't crummy enough." He said that in reference to the Puerto Ricans. Just like the film, Puerto Ricans weren't treated respectfully when they arrived to New York City. "...although they were U.S. citizens, Puerto Ricans were seen as immigrants who wanted what rightfully belonged to white Americans----jobs, an education, housing and the American dream. This subjected Puerto Ricans to ostracism, prejudice, discrimination, and violence." In the 50's, it was normal to have rumbles between rival gangs just like West Side Story. They would fight over girls, much like what happened in the film. The way these rumbles were set up was also like the film. They would go to neutral locations and set a time and place. In West Side Story, it was Doc's Candy Store.(Kendall)The makers of West Side Story made sure to include this. However, what they failed to show was African Americans. They received discrimination just like Puerto Ricans but that wasn't shown in the film at all. They only types of people the film showed were whites and Puerto Ricans, which isn't realistic.
The film addressed an issue that was very true to what really happened in the 50's. The Puerto Ricans were discussing Tony, the man who Maria fell in love with and they said he had a job as a delivery boy. However, Chino, one of the Puerto Ricans, had a job as a delivery boy but he was paid only half of what Tony made, simply because one is an American and the other is considered an immigrant.
The way New York City was portrayed was very similar to how it actually was. In the 1950s, tons of Puerto Ricans migrated to New York City, which was known as The Great Migration, not to be confused with the African American Great Migration that took place in the early 1900's. This was actually the third wave of this migration, but by far the largest. By 1953, Puerto Rican migration to New York reached it's peak when 75,000 people left the island. Estimates are that more than one million Puerto Ricans migrated during the 1950's. The main areas in New York City that Puerto Ricans fled to were The Bronx, Brooklyn and East Harlem, which would later be known as Spanish Harlem for obvious reasons. By 1964, the Puerto Rican community made up 9.3 percent of the total New York City population. The New York Puerto Ricans, or "Nuyoricans", would borrow words from the english language and speak "spanglish". ("Latino Education Network Service")In other words, they would say english words with spanish pronounciations. It is a very improper way to speak but it showed their adaptation to a new country. In the film, the Puerto Rican characters seem to know good english and their accents aren't too strong. It makes sense to not give them such a strong accent because it is a movie and audiences need to understand what they're saying but the characters didn't even speak "spanglish". (Perez y Gonzalez, and 118-19)
In West Side Story, the Puerto Ricans were not treated with respect. They were treated like a piece of dirt, even by authorities. One of the officers in the film said "Boy, oh boy. As if this neighborhood wasn't crummy enough." He said that in reference to the Puerto Ricans. Just like the film, Puerto Ricans weren't treated respectfully when they arrived to New York City. "...although they were U.S. citizens, Puerto Ricans were seen as immigrants who wanted what rightfully belonged to white Americans----jobs, an education, housing and the American dream. This subjected Puerto Ricans to ostracism, prejudice, discrimination, and violence." In the 50's, it was normal to have rumbles between rival gangs just like West Side Story. They would fight over girls, much like what happened in the film. The way these rumbles were set up was also like the film. They would go to neutral locations and set a time and place. In West Side Story, it was Doc's Candy Store.(Kendall)The makers of West Side Story made sure to include this. However, what they failed to show was African Americans. They received discrimination just like Puerto Ricans but that wasn't shown in the film at all. They only types of people the film showed were whites and Puerto Ricans, which isn't realistic.
The film addressed an issue that was very true to what really happened in the 50's. The Puerto Ricans were discussing Tony, the man who Maria fell in love with and they said he had a job as a delivery boy. However, Chino, one of the Puerto Ricans, had a job as a delivery boy but he was paid only half of what Tony made, simply because one is an American and the other is considered an immigrant.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Blog 13: Minority Report Response
If someone were to tell you that there was a system ran by the government that stopped murders before they happened, you would probably think it was a good idea. What could possibly go wrong? Those "murderers" would be locked away and unable to harm anyone. However, there are problems that arise with this solution. Is it ethical to lock someone up for a crime they haven't committed yet? The major part in the question is the word "yet". This is a debate that is potentially never ending. Like one of the characters in the movies stated, "just because i stopped it from happening, doesn't mean it wasn't going to happen." I found that statement to be very profound. I completely understand this perspective and agree with it. Obviously, it is impossible to be able to see the future and pick out potential murders but there are people who have thought about committing crimes who have been taken away or accused of eventually doing it. For example, the man who was suspected of attempting to bomb Times Square this summer was found and taken into custody by authorities. Apparently, in Minority Report, the crimes were definitely going to happen because of the precogs and the characters' ability to see the future. With the example I made about the alleged terrorist, the crime wasn't definite because we can't see the future. Whether we can see the future or not, I don't find these things to be wrong. There are pros and cons to everything and I rather be safe than sorry.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Special Project: MOMI Activity
The layout of the museum was set up in a way so that you can go through it and see the history of moving image in chronological order. It’s a smart idea because then you can see the progress and all the innovations that were made. I didn’t really have a reaction because I was already expecting the layout to be the way it was. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It only makes sense. Even though we learned some of the things that were shown to us, I still learned a lot. The fact that some parts of the museum was hands on made it even better. We got to see the very primitive stage of moving image with the optical illusions such as the bird in the cage. Also, the section where I think 3D was kind of explained was so interesting and it was hard to look away because it was so appealing to the eye. When she showed us the first or one of the first video games, Pong, it was crazy to me that people enjoyed playing that back in the day. One of the most fascinating parts of the museum was when the soundtrack of movies was explained to us and we got to see Titanic as an example. I don't really know what story is being told. I just know it just showed how moving image evolved.
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