Steven Spielberg's Use Of Violence In 'West Side Story'

The violence in “West Side Story” has been argued to be egregious and unnecessary. The glorification of gangs has made the story a controversial read for teenagers, according to some critics. People may think that the violent scenes such as when bernaldo is stabbed and killed and when Tony is shot to death are not needed in order to get the stories message across to the reader. I believe that the violence in the story provides the reader with a more detailed story and a realistic encounter of what were real life events. Additionally, “West Side Story” is not the first book containing violence to be read by teenagers in and out of classrooms.
“West Side Story” is meant to give the reader a realistic encounter between two gangs based off the gangs there used to be in New York City. Gangs and mobs were a huge part of American history that existed in New York. Murders and fights happened everyday within the skyscrapers between different gangs. If the author were not to include these graphic scenes like Bernaldo being stabbed and Tony being shot, I believe that part of the historical message of the story would be lost. This same tactic is used by Steven Spielberg in “Saving Private Ryan.” The war images that are displayed in the movie are unbearable to some, including myself. Yet, I would not have them taken out of the movie. I …show more content…
“Romeo and Juliet” has as much, if not more, violent scenes in the story including Mercutio’s, Paris’, Tybalt’s, Romeo’s, and Juliet’s deaths. Even though this book includes graphic scenes of fighting, killings, and rape, this book is still read by countless teenagers all over the world, like my English class is doing right now. Although “Romeo and Juliet” possesses brutality on each page, it’s the meaning behind the words that is important. This same idea should be applied to “West Side Story” instead of focusing on if the violence is necessary or