Hello and welcome to Tea ‘n History with your host, Felicia Angel. As it’s the Fourth of July Weekend, I decided to go through Netflix for a movie my mom had introduced me to, and one that I both loved because of the acting and music, but also helped remind me that, no matter how far we think we’ve gotten, we still have a history of problems.
Based on the “Sleepy Lagoon” murder, the Broadway musical Zoot Suit was later turned into a movie in 1981, bringing much if not all of the cast to filming. The story followed a fictionalized version of the characters, as the murder itself saw the wrongful arrest and imprisonment of 21 young Latinos for murder and was considered a major precursor to the Zoot Suit Riots, as they were called, of 1943. As this was during not only the Second World War but also during the Japanese-American Interment, racial tensions in Los Angeles were high, and the death lead to the media calling for an investigation of the so-called “Mexican Crime Wave”.
The story itself shows much of what lead up to the arrest and trial, with Edward James Olmos staring as the omnipresent El Pachuco, an idealized Zoot Suiter and one who sings most of the songs as well as acts at times as the protagonist’s, Henry Reyna, consciousness.
The movie shows much of what is going on and some of the trials that the defendants faced, as well as the prejudice shown to them by the courts at the time. Olmos’ Pachuco in general shows disdain for the whole thing, often acting contrary to the judge’s orders, complaining of the injustice because of Henry’s race, or simply not caring about it. Hints of the riots that followed, breaking out between white Sailors and Marines and the Latino zoot suiters, are also shown. In all, the film feels like it’s a stage play, and the whole effect is quite nice.
While the movie and play end with everyone speaking their idea of how Reyna will live after getting out of jail (in real life, the work of activists in the community and an appeal lead to a reversal in 1944), it speaks of many of the opinions held both by the people of the day and in general, as Henry is given endings that differ wildly depending on who is spoken to.
So for those who are wondering, what is a Zoot Suit?
Created by a culture of Mexican-American youths, Zoot Suits are described as a suit with a “high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoot_suit), which during the 1930s and 1940s became worn widely by many minorities such as Mexican-Americans, Italian-Americans and African-Americans, and which were not well-liked by some due to a few reasons, mostly that there was a ration for everything during the 1940s, especially for cloth, and thus the zoot suits were seen as not only being a luxury, but an act of rebelliousness.
With the imprisonment and round-up of various Mexican-American youths, as well as the way the trial for the Sleepy Lagoon murder was handled, what was to be known as the Zoot Suit Riots broke out in LA between servicemembers who saw the suits as unpatriotic and extravagant in a time of war, most of them minorities, the vast majority being of Hispanic origin and with much of the violence done by the servicemembers and later applauded by the newspapers. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoot_Suit_Riots)
The riots themselves are still major backsettings for crime and drama during that era: while Zoot Suit is only loosely based on the events of the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial and the Zoot Suit Riots, others such as movies like Black Dahlia and in various TV shows, books, and even in the game L.A. Noire (which, if it didn’t mention that I might wonder…), as well as popular songs from that era and during Swing Revival, most notably by the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies’ hit song and album (both named Zoot Suit Riot).
American History has a long list of good and bad events, with the ones inspiring Zoot Suit to not be the best of us but one that we need to remember. For all our good, we still have black marks, and to forget that is to forget who we are and what does make us great: the fact that we do what we must to correct our mistakes, and keep going to work for a better tomorrow and ensure the riots of 1944 don’t happen again.
Happy Fourth of July from Tea ‘n History.
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