The Basics of Tragedy. How Film Musical Dramas reflect social issues

Master's Thesis from the year 2021 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2,5, University of Cologne (Englisches Seminar II), language: English, abstract: The Master Thesis is divided into five chapters: The first is dedicated to the theoretical concepts and Aristoteles¿ motives that form tragedy. Also, William Shakespeare¿s classic Romeo and Juliet is going to be mentioned briefly. Thus, it is the foundation for the narration of West Side Story and its relation. The second chapter focuses on the concept of the American Dream and the theoretical background of migration to the US and the aspiration of living a new prosper life in the US. Also, the juvenile crime conflicts that occurred in the late 50s and early 60s in the US, moreover, the racial problems that captivated society in that specific period. Besides, a major aspect is going to be the historiography of the Puerto Rican immigration to the US and how much it influenced West Side Story, which is why, there will also be an intensive illustration of the topic of migration and representation of minorities in media and how the movies work with stereotyping, based on the three film examples.

From its modern influenced and ballet-like choreography to its unique score and its subject themes of gang-fights, immigration and love, the story of West Side Story seems to have been very progressive for audiences at the time and the topic of teenage-gang fights and culture clashes was particularly accurate. West Side Story, inspired by Romeo and Juliet, is about pre-dominantly two teenage-protagonists, Maria and Tony, who are being lost in the Jungle in the mecca of America, New York City, the metropolis of modernity. Both are pushed into their misery through the hate of race. To this very day, not only the story but the film has become one of the biggest Film Musical Dramas in the history of movies. According to Barrios, on Broadway, West Side Story scored a significant hit and became even more immortal on screen. It was a movie different from anything that had come before. When West Side Story opened on Broadway in 1957, it caused a massive sensation and became the attraction in the world of musical theatre. Many Americans had seen Shakespeare adapted for the Broadway stage before, according to Andrea Most, West Side Story was a musical based on one of Shakespeare ¿s tragedies that has drew the conventions of both musical comedy and of Shakespearean tragedy, it tested boundaries of both genres, ultimately inhabiting a hybrid form ideally suited to express the tensions and social concerns of 1950s American liberal culture.