This means that unlike “Romeo and Juliet”, “West Side Story” has a clear aggressor side and a clear victim side. The Capulets and the Montagues both get physical because they were fueled by hate and privilege, whereas in “West Side Story” only the Jets get physical because they were fueled by aggression. The Sharks get physical because they had to do so to survive, given that the authorities have told them they have no interest in protecting them.This might seem like a small detail, but it completely changes the context in which the story takes place.For example, in “Romeo and Juliet,” both Romeo and Tybalt were wrong in the moment when Tybalt kills Mercutio and Romeo retaliates by killing Tybalt. In this case, both men had the ability to avoid fighting and to call upon Prince Escalus for their defense, but they instead chose to murder their opponents out of the irrational hatred that has been planted within them. Therefore, when Romeo tells Juliet what happened, he was not lying when he says that both himself and Tybalt wrongfully chose the worst options.In contrast with the original story, “West Side Story” abandons this central concept of equal blame. When Bernardo kills Riff and Tony retaliates by killing Bernardo, only Tony is acting out of irrational hatred. Bernardo is acting out of exhaustion and self-defense; he knew that if he backed out of the rumble he would eventually be killed by Riff. He also knew that if there was no rumble, the Jets would only get more aggressive and there was not a “Prince Escalus” to protect him, as there would be one to protect Tybalt’s rights, because “West Side Story’s” equivalent of Prince Escalus (the police) very much favored one side. Tony had the option of backing out and calling the police but still chose to kill Bernardo, whereas Bernardo really did not have any alternative but to kill Riff to save his own life.This means that, unlike Romeo, Tony was being dishonest with Maria when he told her his version of the truth after she inquired about what happened.Moreover, Tony’s constant dishonesty with Maria, a trait that Romeo did not have, is another element of “West Side Story” that makes the film disconcerting.In “Romeo and Juliet,” both Romeo and Juliet are open about who they are by their second meeting. By the time Juliet chooses to marry Romeo, she is fully aware of who he is and what his identity could mean to her. Juliet is aware of the consequences but choses out of her own will that her love for Romeo is more important.This is not the case for Maria. First, unlike Juliet, Maria was new to her setting. She could not have known to the full extent what it would mean for her to marry a Jet because she had not lived in New York long enough to understand the troublesome relationship between both groups. Second, Tony was never entirely honest to her about who he was. Tony tells Maria he is a former Jet who regrets his path and wants a life of dignity but does not tell her that he was the founder of the gang — which is a key detail, because it means that even if he rejects his past, the Jets will always see him as one of them.Unlike Juliet, Maria has not chosen her love over the consequences because she was not fully aware of the circumstances. We do not know if she would have made a different decision if she had lived in New York long enough to understand that it was not a matter of rivalry but a matter of racism, and that Tony inspired it.For most of the film, she was misled into thinking that Bernardo was the prejudiced one because Tony made it seem as if Bernardo did not like him solely for his whiteness. Instead, Bernardo disliked Tony because Tony was an ex-convict who spent several months in jail after committing a hate crime and nearly killing someone with his bare hands solely because the person spoke Spanish. The power imbalance between the Jets and the Sharks, combined with Tony’s manipulation of Maria, completely tarnish the message of Romeo and Juliet. In “Romeo and Juliet,” their suicide, an unfortunate product of their undying love for each other, was what put a stop to the rivalry between the families. Love conquers hate, even if by tragic means.In “West Side Story,” the quarrel only ends once Chino murders Tony as revenge for killing Bernardo. Only then do the Jets understand the pain they have inflicted upon the Sharks by constantly killing their loved ones, and the Sharks realize that they had slowly become as bitter and aggressive as the Jets. It is not love that conquers hate, but rather fear of what hate can grow into that puts a stop to the violence.There is no love in this story. Tony might have loved Maria, but he chose to be manipulative, whereas Maria loved the version of Tony he pretended to be for her. And for that reason, “West Side Story” cannot be an example of a good, faithful adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet”— even if a genius such as Spielberg tried his best to fix its problems. , Rather than the blinding power of love evoked by Shakespeare, in 1950s New York the theme became the quest to find one’s place, to belong, in an ever-shifting city. Julia Foulkes is Professor of History at The New School. This post is excerpted from her most recent book, A Place for Us: West Side Story and New York., With this opening, West Side Story serves as an emblematic text of urban renewal in post-war U.S. and in New York City in particular. The panorama relays the view of Robert Moses, the master builder who knit together the region through a network of highways, bridges, and tunnels, giving priority to cars and the flow of people and goods through the metropolitan area. Moses was criticized for .