The Review We Didn't Need

Filmmakers or any other artist trying to redress cultural shortcomings in past iconoclastic works of art face an uphill battle in the ever so slippery slope of political correctness and presentism. Steven Spielberg's latest effort, an updated retelling of the classic "West Side Story" is no exception even though the veteran director went out of the way to make sure that the cultural portrayal was accurate. He and his team went  to Puerto Rico for consultation with historian, cultural experts and community members, and they asked the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College to advise them on their production so that they could get the cultural nuances right. Once the film was released, the very consultant from Hunter College wrote an op-ed piece for The New York Times (Dec. 15, 2021) that slammed the film, discarding it as a "a remake that we didn't need." How about that? Spielberg and his team went to her for advice, which we can only assume she provided, and then she takes a shot at the final product. 

Scene from "West Side Story"(2021) Source: aldianews.com

Her descent from PC Egalitarianism to PC Authoritarianism (terms coined by the conservative critic Jordan Peterson; PC Egalitarianism strives to establish equity and fairness for all; PC Authoritarianism uses victimhood to push an agenda and steamroll criticism or opponents) begins with the very first sentence she writes: "I have to confess that I never saw the original 'West Side Story.'" This is surprising since as a professor of Anthropology she would be expected to contrast and compare different events, objects, people, etc. How can she claim to take an unbiased approach if she has not seen the original film? For me, this debunks any credibility she tries to project throughout the rest of her essay and allows her allegedly analytic view to be contaminated by her own political beliefs. The French philosopher Frédéric Gros once wrote that, "We are shackled by our judgements," and it appears that as an anthropologist Yarimar Bonilla has not been able to extricate herself from these invisible constraints.

Bonilla argues that, "The film is littered with symbols of Puerto Rico’s nationalist movements, but there is no recognition of how people who embraced these symbols have long been surveilled and criminalized by the federal and Puerto Rican governments. There is a particular irony to the scene in which the Sharks are singing the Puerto Rican revolutionary anthem as they walk away from the police. As the cultural critic Frances Negrón Muntaner has argued, in real life such an act would have likely landed them under F.B.I. surveillance." These are fair points and ones that most Americans may be unaware of, but is "West Side Story" the proper place to exhibit these elements? Bonilla seems to forget that "West Side Story" is a retelling of "Romeo and Juliet", but within a Puerto Rican community in New York City in the 1950s. Her presentist approach would like to turn the narrative from love story to political docu-drama. Any director would have to greatly extend the length of the production to include this. Bonilla assumes too much when she says that the Sharks would have been arrested for singing the Prerto Rican revolutionary anthem. This would only happened if the police understand the lyrics. For them, it probably sounded just like a song that young people sing. There really is no place for this "reasoning" in "West Side Story". If her version of "West Side Story" were to include this, then she would also have to mention the 1954 shooting during the US Congress session by four members of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. By then, no vestige of the original "West Side Story" would remain. 

Members of Puerto Rican Nationalist Party in 1954. Source: 
USA Today and AP

The issue of language comes up in Bonilla's disquisition. She assails Spielberg's decision to not include English subtitles when the Sharks sing the Puerto Rican  revolutionary anthem, saying that many Puerto Ricans do not speak Spanish and would not understand as a counter to Spielberg's assertion that he did not want to give English more power overSpanish. Bonilla attacks Spielberg's overall "imperialist" approach with "West Side Story", but uses an imperialist lens in her criticism of the exclusion of English subtitles. She points out the perceived pejorative nature of the word "prieta"--which is a descriptor for someone who is dark skinned. Recall that this controversy was stirred up with the summer release of "In the Heights", which also took place in a Hispanic neighborhood in New York City. "Prieta" is not necessarily a derogatory term. I have lived in Cuba for seven years and it is used frequently to describe someone. I am surprised that someone who claims to be an anthropologist would fail to consider the diversity of the Spanish language and its culture regarding this word.

Bonilla complains that , "The over-accented Spanish, coaxed out of U.S.-born actors by dialect coaches, ultimately becomes a kind of linguistic brownface, providing little more than a façade of authenticity as thick and corny as the brown makeup worn by the actors in the original version." Sure, you can see her point, but if she did not see the original film, how can she refer to it? Dialect coaches often are called in for dialog, etc. Americans have to learn British inflections and intonations and vice versa. I was born to a Bolivian mother and while I speak Spanish, it is with an accent. It took me a long time to come to terms with that, but I have accepted it and embraced it. There is no real issue with the "over-accented Spanish" to anyone other than Bonilla.

I do not dismiss the point that Bonilla makes, but if she really wants "The mood, the tone, the feeling and the message of a historical text to resonate with the audiences for which it is intended," then she should produce a documentary, not dismantle a musical centered on romance. 

Gros wrote that, "One needs to be unconstrained to think far." Unfortunately, Bonilla cannot see beyond her own philosophical and political blinders to truly asses "West Side Story".