The proshot of Newsies places a lot less emphasis on the nicknames aspect of newsie culture compared to the 1992 film, which makes Crutchie’s name come across as more ableist.
In 92sies Jack is frequently called by his nickname Cowboy, dresses like a cowboy with his hat and bandana and carries a Western comic which he shows to Davey. Spot refers to Davey as a ‘walking mouth’, presumably due to how much he talks, which seems to have stuck as his nickname since Jack repeats it when introducing Davey to Pulitzer.
Race is addressed as Racetrack twice, specifically when Medda shouts for him after Snyder shows up at the rally and when Davey tells him to watch Les while they free Jack from the Refuge. His gambling habit is made clear, which explains where this nickname comes from. For example, he offers Wiesel a hot tip about which horse is likely to win (and later returns from the race having been wrong about this), wants someone to bet with him on Jack beating the Delancys, sings the King of New York line ‘a permanent box at the Sheepshead Races’ and wants to roll the judge for his sentence, “double or nothing.” Interestingly, he wears nicer clothes than the other newsies and is able to lend Jack money for Davey’s papes, so it is likely gambling does work out for him sometimes.
In the opening scene, Boots, Skittery, Snitch and Mush are addressed by name. When Jack is assigning boroughs, he addresses Bumlets, Specs, Pie Eater, Snoddy and Snipeshooter by name. These are all clearly nicknames, even if the reasons behind them aren’t obvious. Kid Blink - who Davey calls Blink in the scene after Seize the Day - wears an eyepatch, which explains his nickname. Crutchy uses a crutch, which explains his nickname.
With every newsie being known by a nickname based on a distinctive trait, as well as the clear camaraderie and loyalty of the group, this comes across as radical acceptance of their individuality. Especially since some of the nicknames come from traits it might be considered impolite to point out, but aren’t seen as negative by the newsies.
Whereas in livesies, Jack and Davey don’t have nicknames. Race is only called Race or Racer, with no indication of what it is short for or why they call him that. When waking the newsies after Santa Fe (Prologue), Jack shouts, “Hey, Specs! Racer, Henry, Albert, Elmer!” The last three could easily be their original given names. When assigning boroughs in the diner scene, Jack addresses Tommy Boy and Finch by name, which could also be more or less their original names.
There is a reference to nickname culture through Romeo’s name. He goes to flirt with Katherine during Carrying the Banner and Jack tells him, “Step aside, Romeo.” Later he flirts with her again during the diner scene, prompting her to say, “You thinks wrong, Romeo.” He replies, “How’d she know my name?” His flirtatious demeanour has led to this sticking as his name, as demonstrated when Crutchie shouts for him while being taken to the Refuge. But given that Romeo is a preexisting name and almost all other newsies are also called by real names, this doesn’t do much to single him out.
Unlike Crutchie and Specs, who are both named after aids they use. Without the context of everyone being named after what makes them different, this creates the impression that these traits make them too different to be called by their real names like everyone else.
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