It’s interesting to see how the films The Brother from Another Planet and West Side Story are still so relevant to how native New Yorkers see outsiders, today. In Brother from Another Planet, I found the scene involving the Hispanic technician and The Brother at the arcade to be really interesting and comical. Being that they were in a tight space, there was not much going on visually besides the interaction between the two men. In this scene, The Brother had just fixed all of the malfunctioned Arcade games and the Hispanic man was congratulating him and trying to figure out what his nationality was. Eventually, the Hispanic man comes to the conclusion that The Brother is, in fact, Puerto Rican, without the alien saying so. Once he comes to his realization, he starts speaking to the alien in Spanish like they were old friends. He mentions inside jokes and begins speaking about his homeland, as a sort of made-up connection that doesn’t “actually” exist. This comes to show that the words “outsider” and “nationality” have arbitrary significance in a society that exists upon the very freedoms of ethnic diversity. In this specific scene, “the outsider” is accepting another “outsider” as one of his own, therefore blurring the boundaries that keep “different” people separated.
Although it’s pretty clear that the themes of West Side Story are immigration, racial Identity, racial conflict, and well-choreographed fighting (I just HAD to go there), there was one particular scene that stood out for me that really conflicted with those I just mentioned (not the choreography part). At the dance at the beginning of the film, there was a concoction of clashing cultures in the way the people dressed and danced. The “Puerto Ricans” (I put that in quotation because none of them actually looked Hispanic but, that’s besides the point) wore sexy colorful frocks, while the White natives wore subdued dress. The tension between the clashing cultures brought on a sort of dancing competition where the opposite teams busted out their moves. This is where I found the irony. Throughout the entire scene, everyone seems to be having a good time-sharing his or her ethnic/cultural way of dancing. While the Puerto Ricans danced a spicy mambo, the Natives danced a playful Lindy Hop of some sort, yet they seem to accept their differences. At the end of the dancing number, it is very clear that the dancing styles have changed; both sides use a combination of the two dancing styles, a mixture of intricate footwork and lifting. This obvious fusion contrasts with the upcoming conflict that arises later in the film. Maybe this scene is a way of foreshadowing how, in the end, everyone realizes that they’re not too different, and the tension isn’t worth losing one’s identity. By looking at the dancing styles, I was able to find a story within a story, which made it all the more fascinating to watch.
