Zoot Zoot Essay
Jose Bravo
Dec-10-2012
Zoot Suit Essay Assignment Discrimination is like looking at a box of crayons and not seeing all of the colors. The police brutalize to people in the U.S. who they frequently arrest entire groups of Mexican American kids who socialize on street corners and they charge them with vagrancy, crimes. Since Mexican Americans are the largest racial minority in Los Angeles, discussions about youth crime waves and rebellion inevitably focused on them. This is an example of how youth are criminalized in our community today and major theme in the play Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez. According to Luis Valdez the police create conflicts for marginalized groups as they try to form an identify that is resistant to hegemony. This is relevant to society today because the police are racial profiling people of color, dehumanizing of immigrants. The young generation of 1943 consisted of Mexican Americans who came up with their own distinguished style. This new look would become known as the zoot suit. Wide-brimmed hats, broad-shouldered long coasts high wasted peg-legged trousers and long dangling chains were part of this fashion trend. According to the book Zoot suit “They called themselves pachucos, originating in El Paso Texas, and then moving into the city of Los Angeles California. They would take their look to a new level, creating their own street slang of Calo”, a new walk and stance, “an attitude with their dark skin, tattoos, pompadours, and ducktails. (SWAG) In the article, PBS American Experience (2002): The Sleepy Lagoon Murder the origin of the Rios is explains that “On August 1, 1942 the Sleepy Lagoon became part of Los Angeles history when the murder of a young man on the Williams ranch resulted in a violent clampdown by the police against Mexican American young people.” The Author support his argument explaining by telling that the morning of August 2, 1942, a man named José Díaz was found unconscious but
Dec-10-2012
Zoot Suit Essay Assignment Discrimination is like looking at a box of crayons and not seeing all of the colors. The police brutalize to people in the U.S. who they frequently arrest entire groups of Mexican American kids who socialize on street corners and they charge them with vagrancy, crimes. Since Mexican Americans are the largest racial minority in Los Angeles, discussions about youth crime waves and rebellion inevitably focused on them. This is an example of how youth are criminalized in our community today and major theme in the play Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez. According to Luis Valdez the police create conflicts for marginalized groups as they try to form an identify that is resistant to hegemony. This is relevant to society today because the police are racial profiling people of color, dehumanizing of immigrants. The young generation of 1943 consisted of Mexican Americans who came up with their own distinguished style. This new look would become known as the zoot suit. Wide-brimmed hats, broad-shouldered long coasts high wasted peg-legged trousers and long dangling chains were part of this fashion trend. According to the book Zoot suit “They called themselves pachucos, originating in El Paso Texas, and then moving into the city of Los Angeles California. They would take their look to a new level, creating their own street slang of Calo”, a new walk and stance, “an attitude with their dark skin, tattoos, pompadours, and ducktails. (SWAG) In the article, PBS American Experience (2002): The Sleepy Lagoon Murder the origin of the Rios is explains that “On August 1, 1942 the Sleepy Lagoon became part of Los Angeles history when the murder of a young man on the Williams ranch resulted in a violent clampdown by the police against Mexican American young people.” The Author support his argument explaining by telling that the morning of August 2, 1942, a man named José Díaz was found unconscious but
Cited: Cosgrove, Stewart. “The Zoot Suit and Style welfare” History workshop journal. Vol. 18, Oxford University Press. 1984. 77-91 PBS American Experience: The Sleepy Lagoon Murder.” 2002. Salomon, Larry, “The Zoot Suit Riots.” Roots of justice. Valdez, Luis. Zoot Suit. Houston: Texas Arte Publico Press, 1992.