SPOILER DISCUSSION

1.The cut from the aftermath of the rumble to María’s “I Feel Pretty” is fantastic. She’s unaware of what’s happened and her elation exists independently of the violence even though the events are related to one another. The whiplash from going from the brutal to the happy is the clearest demonstration of life’s volatility. It helps that the song and the store set-piece go hand-in-hand with one another as a both an affirmation of María’s newfound sense-of-self and a comment on the materiality of the white culture at the time; there’s both an honest confidence and a kind of ironic caricature of what conventional white culture looked like – $17 scarf indeed.

2.When Tony goes up to María’s window, the clothes from the clotheslines reflect against the water he’s standing on, coming off like the reflections of stars. It’s like he’s standing in a new space and has been transported by love in a metaphysical sense. These clothes which previously livened up the dance floor, providing a contrast to the blues of the Jets, now color up Tony’s life and offer him a new pathway.

3.There is a gender-politic here in the way women and men approach the world, or in this case America. When Anita (Ariana DeBose) sings “America” with other women, they mention the best qualities of America and the opportunities they provide. They sing and dance, letting the flurry of the colors of their clothes provide a warm tapestry that makes the positive traits they talk about feel ever-present. Their male partners respond in song with criticisms of America. Every compliment is met with a retort that calls into question the possibility of reaching an American dream.

It’s telling that every couple ends with the masculine partner dying and the feminine partner surviving. Members of the former party act in violence and mention that pride forces them to fight. Meanwhile members of the latter party sing about hope, dreams, and the possibility of change. Tony is someone who also sings about love and hope, but the violence in his life shatters those dreams. He’s not allowed to move “domains” from violence to love, from the masculine-oriented to the feminine-oriented. However, his death seems to open up the possibility of such movement in the future.