Since its inception, American musical theater has reflected the times and people of the United States. The four plays, South Pacific, West Side Story, HAIR, and Rent exemplify the change and conflict of the 20th century. South Pacific and West Side Story accentuate 1940s and 1950s prejudice against Japanese and Hispanic populations, while HAIR reflects 1960s resistance to the Vietnam War and Rent encompasses the 1990s fight against AIDS and sexuality. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The 1949 musical composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, South Pacific, tells the story of an American nurse during World War II who falls in love with a French plantation owner, but struggles to accept his mixed-race children and that of a young lieutenant who falls in love with a Tonkinese girl, but struggles to be with her due to the opinions of people back home. This success came four years after the end of World War II and demonstrated how many Americans were questioning core American values, exploring issues of race and power. During World War II, many Americans of Japanese descent were forced to move to internment camps (Robinson,1). Even though they were American citizens, they were treated like enemies because of their ethnicity. The bombing of Pearl Harbor instilled fear in Americans, resulting in a lack of trust in Japanese Americans. This sentiment is expressed in the South Pacific song, "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught." The phrase "You must teach yourself to be afraid of people whose eyes are made strangely" expresses America's fear and prejudice towards those who look different from them, especially those from Asian countries. The South Pacific “make[s] a bold statement against racial bigotry in general and institutional racism in the postwar United States in particular” (Knapp, 245). Through this musical, Rodgers and Hammerstein portray the fear America felt across the nation and the hatred that grew because of this fear. West Side Story is about two lovers associated with rival gangs in New York City who try to stay together despite the violence and hatred they are surrounded by. This musical, originally directed by Jerome Robbins with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and music by Leonard Bernstein reflects the society of the 1950s. America in the 1950s was the main stage of the civil rights movement. Prejudice and racism were strong throughout the nation and strongly affected all minorities. Many Hispanic immigrants moved to America the American dream, but quickly realized that America was a country of white men. In the song "America", Anita sings, "Life is good in America" ​​and Bernardo responds, "If you're all white in America." These lines reflect the struggle that comes with the American dream as it is a road paved with prejudice and equal opportunity. Latinos, like other minorities, were considered second-class citizens, denied many of the basic freedoms enjoyed by the white population (Oja, 15). ). In 1958, a new influx of Cuban immigrants gave another push towards white supremacy to an already white supremacist nation due to America's fear of being overrun by immigrants (Bach, 72). , as the Jets sing, "We're hanging a sign, / It says 'No Visiting' / And we're not kidding!" The message of this song is clear: foreigners are not welcome. West Side Story portrays the social atmosphere of the 1950s, while the ending.