• The Pre-Annotated Bibliography was a very important part to my final essay. It helped me see how influential it can be to summarize and analyze academic sources before writing the actual essay because then it will be so much easier to connect the sources to your own ideas.

Pre-Annotated Bibliography: West Side Story

Conrad, Jon Alan. “West Side Story.” Grove Music, 28 November 2017, www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e5000009114. This source shows how the forbidden love between Maria and Tony symbolizes the same issues that were symbolized in the Shakespearean play “Romeo and Juliet.” They both symbolize the inequality between two opposing gangs in the same society, and want to portray the idea that these two groups should be equal and live amongst one another in peace. Unlike Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story ended with the two gangs resolving their conflict and one of the lovers surviving. Although this ending is quite unrealistic and utopic, it sends a more powerful message to the audience because Maria was courageous enough to fight for her love for Tony in order to help her grief over his death. She didn’t give up and allow the two groups to hate one another even more so than before the violence they inflicted on one another; she proved that if you fight hard enough you can change the irrational prejudices that exist in society. I expect to use this knowledge when pertaining to the topic of racism in order to show that people must fight against the inequalities that hold one group against another. Whether they are the ones who are being targeted or not, they should fight for everyone’s right to be equal under the same government.

• Instead of putting the title of the two plays in italics, I put them in quotations or nothing. After writing this essay I have learned how to properly cite films and plays in my writing.

“A CIVIL RIGHTS BILL.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 Aug. 1957, times machine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1957/08/25/95815414.html?action=click&contextCollection=Archives&module=ArticleEndCTArion=ArchiveBody&pgtype=article&pageNumber=176. This source shows the importance of the United States passing a civil rights bill within the week of August 1957 and passing more in the years to come. Previous to this time period (the 1950s) there were no actions taken to make all citizens in the United States equal under the law. Minority groups were looked at as less than everyone else and were targeted with violence and unequal rights under the United States government, especially groups that looked different and weren’t “white.” Creating the play West Side Story during this time period was very influential in helping gain its popularity because people in America were more willing to change and grant minorities the same right as every other citizen. Although a lot of racism did still exist during this time, this civil rights bill was definitely major step towards equality in America and this musical allowed for this step to expand into even greater heights. I expect to use this knowledge in future essays when addressing the issue of racism because if this musical was released during a time where there were no steps taken to end the amount of inequality that minorities faced in America then it Wouldn’t have flourished as greatly as it did. I would also use this knowledge when discussing the role that people of color play in the film industry. If there were no actions being taken to end racism during the time the musical was casting its lead roles, people of color would not be given any of them and the message that it helped send would be completely lost.

• Through writing this essay, I have gained more knowledge on how to connect a topic to everyday life and have learned how influential the time period of when a film or event took place is. 

San Leandro, Calif. “‘West Side Story’ Adaptation: ‘Eva Mumbai’; Conflict of Class, Status Bombay.” Onesearch.cuny.edu, 1 July 1994, onesearch.cuny.edu/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=TN_proquest365220831&context=PC&vid=cc&lang=en_US&search_scope=cunywide&adaptor=primo_central_multiple_fe&tab=cuny_tab&query=any%2Ccontains%2Cclass%2CAND&sortby=rank&mode=advanced&offset=0. This source shows how influential the musical West Side Story was on fixing issues all around the world; not just in America. The city of Bombay in India decided to transform the musical into an issue on social class within Indian society rather than focusing on the issue of racial inequality. They named their version of the musical “Eva Mumbai,” which tells about a westernized woman who falls in love with a conventional youth. This creates conflict that results into an outburst of violence between the two gangs because the youths in India were looked down upon due to their socio-economical differences. The westernized Indians were more educated than the conventional youths, so they had more power in Indian government; this musical helped people notice that this unequal power among classes was unethical. I expect to use this knowledge in future essays when addressing the issue of unequal power among classes in society. Although it wasn’t;t pertaining to the unequal power in class in America, it showed how much West Side Story has influenced society around the globe. This musical helped point out the important issues within societies from several different countries and allowed many to open-up their eyes and be more willing to change these issues in order to improve their nation.

Works Cited

“A CIVIL RIGHTS BILL.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 Aug. 1957, times machine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1957/08/25/95815414.html?action=click&contextCollection=Archives&module=ArticleEndCTArion=ArchiveBody&pgtype=article&pageNumber=176.

Conrad, Jon Alan. “West Side Story.” Grove Music, 28 November 2017, www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e5000009114.

San Leandro, Calif. “‘West Side Story’ Adaptation: ‘Eva Mumbai’; Conflict of Class, Status Bombay.” Onesearch.cuny.edu, 1 July 1994, onesearch.cuny.edu/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=TN_proquest365220831&context=PC&vid=cc&lang=en_US&search_scope=cunywide&adaptor=primo_central_multiple_fe&tab=cuny_tab&query=any%2Ccontains%2Cclass%2CAND&sortby=rank&mode=advanced&offset=0.