What ethnicity were the JETS supposed to be?
-
shadaif — 14 years ago(January 25, 2012 05:25 PM)
On the rooftop scene Bernardo mentions that Tony is 1st generation Polish American. Most of the Jets were probably the sons of Irish/Polish immigrants. Anita even mocks Bernardo in the scene by saying :"Your mother's a Pol, your father's a Sweede, but you were born here. That's all that you need."
-
geoffrey-jackson — 13 years ago(August 31, 2012 01:54 PM)
I concur. The Jets are a Polish/Irish mix. Throughout the story the Sharks refer to the Jets as polaks.
Turning to Tony's/Anton's name. Everyone knows Tony is a derivative on Anthony. According to
http://www.behindthename.com/name/anthony
the Polish derivative of Anthony is Antoni. To quote Shakespeare, what's in a name? Ironically from "Romeo and Juliet" by the way. The Jets will still be polaks even if Tony was called Mogambo. -
PillowRock — 13 years ago(September 05, 2012 03:16 PM)
"Wap" is another epithet that is thrown at (at least) one of the Jets in the soda shop scene. That would imply some Italians as well.
I do notice that the Polish / Irish / Italian collection is made up entirely of nationalities that tend to be Catholic. You never hear any of the ethnic slurs for nationalities with a higher percentage of Protestants, such as "limey" or beep Of course, the Puerto Ricans also would figure to be Catholic.
Gang war between the guys attend mass in English and the guys who attend mass in Spanish? The guys whose ministers are allowed to marry stay out it? -
DryToast — 12 years ago(March 16, 2014 12:45 AM)
Do you by chance mean "WASP"? White Anglo-Saxon Protestants.
The word we hear in the movie is "wop," a pejorative for Italians.
"You must sing him your prettiest songs, then perhaps he will want to marry you." -
leader-7 — 11 years ago(October 18, 2014 04:05 PM)
Trading racial epithets was one of the biggest ways they fought, back in the day, before it became politically incorrect. Now if you fight, you use a gun. Much more effective, right?
But yes they were white american new yorkers who were Irish, Polish, probably a few Italians, and whomever.
The world doesnt owe you a damn thing.
-
friendoffilm — 11 years ago(October 19, 2014 10:59 AM)
You've made some great, good points, leader-7. However:
But yes they were white american new yorkers who were Irish, Polish, probably a few Italians, and whomever.
To be more exact, the Jets were white American New Yorkers who were of Irish, Polish and Italian descent. -
friendoffilm — 9 years ago(September 03, 2016 05:30 AM)
True enough, leader-7. You've made some great, good points that clearly articulate the reason(s) that there should
absolutely
not
be a re-make of the
original
1961 film West Side Story.
at all
by
anybody
, including Spielberg! Thanks for making an excellent point. -
leader-7 — 9 years ago(April 15, 2016 06:19 AM)
WOP is the correct spelling for that epithet. It stands for "WithOut Passport" which is how many Italians came to this country. it's how MANY people came to this country, but it stuck on the Italians for some reason.
-
friendoffilm — 9 years ago(April 15, 2016 03:39 PM)
That I understand, leader-7. That particular epithet also means
'Without Papers"
, or
"Working On Pavement"
.
Not only does that particular epithet look rather nasty on paper, but it has a rather nasty sound to it when it's uttered vocally, by anybody. So does the term M**k (which is a disparaging term for Irish-Catholics), for that matter. -
JujusFlix — 9 years ago(April 09, 2016 09:24 PM)
They were also Italian. Specifically, Action - who responds angrily to the derogatory term "w*p" - which is used for those of Italian descent. "M**k" was also used at the same time and is a derogatory term for those of Irish descent.
(Sorry don't want to offend anyone, so I didn't want to spell those terms straight out.)
"Good times, noodle salad" -
friendoffilm — 9 years ago(April 13, 2016 05:18 AM)
This:
They were also Italian. Specifically, Action - who responds angrily to the derogatory term "w*p" - which is used for those of Italian descent. "M**k" was also used at the same time and is a derogatory term for those of Irish descent.
is very true, JujusFlix.
I'd say, that, except for the former Jet gang leader, Tony, who was of Polish descent, the Jets were mostly of Irish and Italian
ancestory. -
friendoffilm — 9 years ago(April 21, 2016 01:13 AM)
This:
I concur. The Jets are a Polish/Irish mix. Throughout the story the Sharks refer to the Jets as polaks.
is not quite accurate. Bernardo refers to Tony as a "yellow-bellied Polack" during the Rumble, at which point, Riff moves forward and hits Bernardo.
During the pre-Rumble War Council at Doc's Candy Store, when Action refers to the Sharks as "Scs", one or two of the Jets refer to Action and the Jets as "Mks and W*ps".
Maybe it means that Action was half Italian and half Irish, and the Jets, overall were an Irish-Italian gang, with the exception of Tony, the ex-Jet, who was of Polish ancestry.