The Zoot Suit
Zoot Suits in Zoot Suit
Danielle Meyer
Watching the movie and even just recognizing the the reasoning behind the title, it is blatantly clear that “zoot suits” were not desirable attire for most people. And by most people, I mean the wealthy, white and conservative. Historically, in 1943 was the year the “zoot suits” took off. Mexican Americans were the main source of the apparel and it was no secret that the police began to discriminate against whoever wore them. In this specific movie we watched, they give the example of the “sleepy lagoon murder case.” the suit represented more than a fashion statement and was a way to showcase their identity within the chicano culture where the younger generation was given little to no social or political …show more content…
Obviously, this was all classified by race. Just like in the film, the judge was white, the opposing side was white, nobody was on the zoot suiters side because of the way they looked. And the people who were on their side, they looked past the color of their skin and realized that they were just young innocent party goers who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The initial reaction that all people had was to just group all people who wore the suits into the delinquent category, having no idea about the actual people inside of the …show more content…
One article i found was titled “Youth Gangs Leading Cause of Delinquencies,” in this article it stated “juvenile files repeatedly show that a language variance in the home, where the parents speak no english and cling to past culture, is a serious factor of delinquency. Parents in such a home lack control over their offspring.” This specific article only reinforced the ideas that the public had about the difference of mexican americans and themselves. By portraying mexican american youths as criminals, it gave people more of a reason to justify their opinions as true. By the time the riots started, the public already made up their mind about the zoot suiters as being guilty. On the contrary, In the Los Angeles Daily News on June 11, 1943 an article stated “every true Californian has an affection for his fellow citizen of Mexican culture that influence our way of living, our architecture, our music, our language, and even our food.” The press was backtracked from its previous claim of
Danielle Meyer
Watching the movie and even just recognizing the the reasoning behind the title, it is blatantly clear that “zoot suits” were not desirable attire for most people. And by most people, I mean the wealthy, white and conservative. Historically, in 1943 was the year the “zoot suits” took off. Mexican Americans were the main source of the apparel and it was no secret that the police began to discriminate against whoever wore them. In this specific movie we watched, they give the example of the “sleepy lagoon murder case.” the suit represented more than a fashion statement and was a way to showcase their identity within the chicano culture where the younger generation was given little to no social or political …show more content…
Obviously, this was all classified by race. Just like in the film, the judge was white, the opposing side was white, nobody was on the zoot suiters side because of the way they looked. And the people who were on their side, they looked past the color of their skin and realized that they were just young innocent party goers who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The initial reaction that all people had was to just group all people who wore the suits into the delinquent category, having no idea about the actual people inside of the …show more content…
One article i found was titled “Youth Gangs Leading Cause of Delinquencies,” in this article it stated “juvenile files repeatedly show that a language variance in the home, where the parents speak no english and cling to past culture, is a serious factor of delinquency. Parents in such a home lack control over their offspring.” This specific article only reinforced the ideas that the public had about the difference of mexican americans and themselves. By portraying mexican american youths as criminals, it gave people more of a reason to justify their opinions as true. By the time the riots started, the public already made up their mind about the zoot suiters as being guilty. On the contrary, In the Los Angeles Daily News on June 11, 1943 an article stated “every true Californian has an affection for his fellow citizen of Mexican culture that influence our way of living, our architecture, our music, our language, and even our food.” The press was backtracked from its previous claim of