The film West Side Story was made in 1961. It was based on a play, which was based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The story is about two rival gangs and how a member of the opposing gang falls in love with each other. The conflict in the film is so intense that it's easy to forget that the members of these gangs are all teenagers. The adults in this film have important roles that they are unable to fill. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Lieutenant Shrank and Officer Krupke are just two examples of adults in this story. They play a vital role, even if they don't seem to add much. That's the point; these two grown men are in positions of power and should act responsibly towards gangs. However, these two fail drastically at their jobs, to the point that one might assume they have given up altogether. If anything, they simply show up and cause more problems. For example, they show up at the playground where both gangs are, and instead of punishing them both equally, Shrank proceeds to make some racist comments. Once the Sharks leave the area, after being ordered out by Shrank, he remarks, "Boy, boy, as if this neighborhood wasn't bad enough already!" This comment alone proves he has the same racist mindset as the Jets; they don't want sharks in their neighborhood. Another example is how Officer Shrank knows about the fight and tries to get them to reveal the location, instead of stopping it altogether. These two men are great symbols of the juvenile justice system and how it failed the majority of children during this time. They also represent the "man", or the law, and how these boys are looked down upon for being misfits, poor, and young. An example of this is when Shrank tells the Jets, “Of course it's a free country and I have no right. But I got a badge. What do you have?" This example shows that he is essentially flaunting the fact that he has power in the kids' faces, and that they are incapable of doing anything because he equates their worth to almost nothing. He tells them that he is capable of stopping their gang indefinitely, but since they are worth so little to him, doing so would actually be a waste of time Despite being obnoxious all around, both Shrank and Krupke show even more disdain towards sharks precisely because of their race. This is a prime example of how , despite the Jets and Sharks having similar social status, the Sharks are even worse off because they are discriminated against because of their race Finally, there are two adults who aren't as problematic as Shrank and Krupke, but aren't extremely helpful either , the adult chaperone at the dance, was a naive man who was just trying to get everyone to befriend each other and mingle. Of course, his efforts failed when everyone went back to being who they were originally with, but he had good intentions. Doc is another adult who had good intentions, but unfortunately didn't try hard enough to stop the fight between the two gangs. He allowed them to meet at his shop and discuss plans, and although he attempted to intervene, he was ultimately rebuffed. He gave up trying, instead trying to be persistent and actually put a stop to what they were planning. Furthermore, he was as naive as teenagers. Even though he was heroic in saving Anita from the Jets, his compassion ended there and he didn't do much else to help her. When she angrily left his shop, after having.