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Due to having to lead the discussion of this particular play, I spent a great deal of time with it. Fortunately, this has been one of my favorites so far. While reading the play, I would listen to the corresponding music mentioned in the direction to try and better experience it as it was intended. Watching the film brought a whole new dimension to the story. It had exceptional character portrayals and had distinct set pieces that were larger than life, like the mythical Pachuco himself. While I had heard of the Zoot Suit Riots, I had never heard of the Sleepy Lagoon Murder or its horribly fixed trial. I found the film extremely impressive thanks to its ability to portray a historical injustice but maintain a good humor throughout, ensuring there is a balance between the despair of reality and fancy of the stage. El Pachuco’s various musical interludes are bombastic in the best ways and color the scene in their own ways. The best example of this in the film being the trial, which seemed to deviate slightly from the play with the role of the Press changed significantly. El Pachuco’s piano solo as the defendants are forced to stand up when their names are mentioned emphasizes how much of a farce the trial has become. I feel that this play, or the film itself, should be brought up more in the modern day, with the current political climate it has an extremely relevant message and the injustices associated with lumping a social group into criminality is something that literally every faction of society should learn to understand.
ReplyDeleteEnrique Perez
Luis Valdez’s play Zoot Suit is a timeless piece of theatrical art as our nation sees an uptick in racial prejudice and violence towards people of color. After reading the play, watching the play on the BlogSpot and the ensuing articles assigned to us I came away with an overwhelming sense of pride in my Chicanidad but, also a feeling of anger and outrage that even in the year 2019 we are still seeing the same injustices leveled against people of color. And fueled by what? Fear, fear of otherness, fear of differences, fear of the unknown. Lupe Valdez adapted the play from real-life events that transpired in the 1940’s to shine a light on the truth and the Pachuco’s side of the story. If not for Lupe Valdez’s need to tell this story white media coverage would have everyone believe that all young Mexican Americans should be beaten, stripped in public, incarcerated without a fair trial, and eradicated altogether. With his rich use of language, music and imagery we get a real sense of what life was like for Mexican American youth and Mexican Americans in general in these embattled times. Henry Reyna as son, brother, friend, lover and leader is what makes this play so powerful. He epitomizes the spirit and resilience of Chicanidad and the plight of all people of color. Despite unsurmountable odds his resolve stayed true and he was able to see himself free of his shackles with the help of some very dedicated people. It is this dedication to truth and the dismantling of racism and bigotry that will see our country breaking free of our shackles, maybe not in my lifetime but we must resist and persist if we intend to better ourselves as a human race not just races that separate us. Indeed, we must pump up the volume on the artwork, theater, music, films, writings, and voices of our Raza to rise against white male patriarchy.
ReplyDeleteJulietta Rivera
One sentence that stands out in Lucas' article is "Valdez effectively argues that the media tries and convicts the defendants in the Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial long before the court does." The entire premise of the play is based on the fact that the 38th Street Gang are arrested for no reason other than their identity. While this problem likely still exists today, it was definitely a significant issue during a time where civil rights were still fairly young. I'm never been familiar with the Sleepy Lagoon murder or the Zoot Suit riots, but I could already tell what type of issue this play was going to tackle just by seeing the main premise. It's been seen in other stories. The minority is found guilty for no reason other than being the minority. The investigators are certain they've found the culprit just by knowing the suspect's background. I've always felt that "innocent until proven guilty" has never been a principal that's been given the proper treatment. This is apparent with how the suspect is treated even after the case has been solved and the true culprit is caught. In a way, the principal that society seems to follow is "guilty from the beginning and never proven innocent." This is shown even when race isn't an issue. Life is not a crime show. The instant you are suspected of murder, rape, burglary, or any crime, your name is tainted forever. And race honestly isn't an issue. Being a minority may give you less of chance of being proven innocent by a court, but you are not innocent in the eyes of society. In a way, the court isn't the largest issues when handling serious cases such as these.
ReplyDeleteMichael McCormick
This is now the fourth time that I’m looking at Zoot Suit for a course, but I will never grow tired of the visual and auditory mastery that Valdez employed in his exploration of this pivotal period in Chicanx history. From El Pachuco’s introductory monologue to the entire play to the very existence of said character as a mythical presence, and even the stage details (i.e. the projection of headlines behind the actors, highlights of the real events) Zoot Suit is a prime example of self referential performance.
ReplyDeleteThis is where I think Lucas’s article intersects most for me personally; there is a consistent theme of identity as performance within the events of Zoot Suit. Lucas proposes that Valdez left the target audience of these performances ambiguous so that it could be any number of groups, however, I would argue that it isn’t so much an ambiguity as it is purposely a performance meant for all these groups. Identity as performance in this case is stemming from a need to show those in the know that you’re among them, those on the outside that you won’t be confined to their ideal image, and to those adjacent yet stuck in tradition that you can make your own way (by this I mean the older generations within the minority group). Caló is probably the best representation of this argument, other than the zoot suits themselves of course. Among fellow pachucos the play on language creates community, to outsiders it subverts the perception that Spanish is “other” or somehow inferior, and finally to the older generations it shouts independence from traditional images.
The article by Herrera and McMahon strikes a similar cord, though it focuses on the more musical aspects of sonic protest. The idea is the same regardless, that sound is central - even integral - to the Latinx performance. The whole idea hearkens back to the creation of slave songs, a music/art created out of an urgent need when most avenues of communication were harshly muted.
Joaquin Castillo
Zoot Suit is a powerful play that tells of the struggles of the Mexican American youth back during the 1940s, a less than tolerant time for anyone who wasn’t a white, middle class male. Plays like this are particularly strong with this region, due to its heavy Mexican and Hispanic population. I honestly wish I could say that I have heard of this play before. But unfortunately, this is the first time I have heard of, or read, this play. Before today I had not heard of the Zoot Suit Riots or the Sleepy lagoon murders. So learning about them through this play encouraged me to look up the history.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that struck me in particular was before the very beginning of the play, El Pachuco, essentially, breaks the fourth wall in a sense, and also, breaks out of character to greet and talk to the audience. In Lucas’ article, he brings up that part, explaining how through the use of El Pachuco’s words, he establishes a sense of intimacy as well comradery with the audience, addressing them as though long time friends, and telling them of the “pachuco lifestyle”.
For me, I interpreted this as not only trying to build a sense of comradery but also establish a sort of relationship with the audience as well. I like to imagine that, let’s say, the audience may not be fellow Hispanics or Mexicans, but white. What if through this play, El Pachuco is trying to tell the audience what exactly the Pachuco lifestyle was to form a sense of commonality. And what I mean by that, what if they’re trying to tell its white audience “you and I are not that different. We are people, too. And we want to be treated with dignity like you. But unlike you, we must fight for it”.
Mirella Martinez
Zoot Suit pulled a ton of emotions out from under me. The style the play is written caused me to feel like I was the persecuted, Henry Reyna. Valdez’s use of stage directions, letters, newspaper headlines, and breaking the fourth wall makes Zoot Suit a play of multiple medias. The viewer/reader is forced to acknowledge the outside world while also putting themselves onstage. This technique is crafted and apparent at the very beginning of the play, which gives the viewer/reader multiple levels of understanding. The play asks for something more than an applause from its audience. I think the open ending of Henry Reyna after the trial puts the audience’s own biases and expectations on trial for a brief moment. Multiple paths are laid out and the audience clings to one, but then is challenged by the following. Valdez creates a narrative that not only engages the audience, but includes them as the play progresses.
ReplyDeletesamyra
In the article Ashely Lucas talks about the terror in Luis Valdez’ play, “Zoosuit”. She points out that “Valdez uses the tools of media terrorism,
ReplyDeleteincluding language and visual imagery, to dismantle the ideology that
stigmatized Mexican Americans in the mainstream media of the 1940s and
to promote a positive conception of Chicana/o identity in the 1970s through
the reworking of previously negative media images.” What Lucas said still is relevant today with the rise of social media. Anything you say or send to someone is basically stuck in the cloud for eternity. This reminds me of the end of the play where Henry is left with a decision with what to do. He either goes outside and helps his friend and goes to jail as a result or stays inside home and continues on life while looking the other way. Also in the scene where Della refuses to speak in court when she’s bombarded with questions. Whatever she says will be used against her. I enjoyed reading this play, I really liked how some things were done in the play. The part where Della says her testimony, Henry stands next to her and holds her hand as she says they were holding hands in her memory. This somewhat reminded me of “Equus” to a certain extent. Another thing I thought stood out in the play was the use of writing letters. I was a little confused at times like when Alice was writing to Henry’s crew. The scene where ALice writes to Henry but the guards reads the letters outloud to the audience was a nice touch and I thought was creative. I plan on using a technique like this in my play for this semester.
Danny
While reading, I was surprised at how relevant this play still is. Lucas’s article explains how “negative media representations of Mexican American youth in the early 1940s” affected the public’s perception of pachucos and Mexicans overall. After reading that, I realized that although the media does not outright do this anymore, television still adds the negative stereotypes regarding Mexicans. There are still many movies and tv shows which depict old-school stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteSome better-known stereotyping portrayals include Family Guy’s Consuela. Throughout the show she is shown as speaking little to no English, rude and as the housemaid. Maid in Manhattan also adds to the stereotype of Latinas. In the movie, Marisa Ventura who is portrayed by Jennifer Lopez, is a single mother and poor maid. Other depictions which add to stereotypes include Sofia Vergara’s character Gloria, from Modern Family. Her character’s accent, rather than improve, has worsened over the years.
There are also other stereotypes, overall, of what a foreigner looks like. One example of this, which has been pointed out online, can be seen in That 70s Show. In the show, Wilmer Valderrama who portrays a foreigner, is actually an American in real life. Meanwhile, Mila Kunis who is a foreigner (Ukrainian) if real life, plays the role of a white American girl.
Overall, we still lack writers such as Zoot Suit’s Luis Valdez who help reshape Mexican culture and stereotypes. I was greatly impressed by the small detail the article points out about how El Pachuco “literally cuts through the defamatory press coverage” (66). El Pachuco is a realist character who shows unfairness in systems and points this out throughout the play such as when he harshly tells Henry, “Not to expect justice when it isn’t there” (64). These kinds of characters help create dialogue between viewers, point out the harsh realities, and create calls for change.
Zugay Trevino
For those who know me and are familiar with my writing tastes and niches, you can probably figure out that this play was solid to say the least. I’m not sure what it is, but if a work has some type of racial ties sewn to it, gang affiliation, or even some type of rap/hip-hop notion to it, then it resonates something within me. What it is, I can’t tell you. Furthermore, this Luis Valdez piece brings in interesting devices to help transition the story to its climax. For starters, the dialogue exchanges between characters show chemistry that’s weaved through one another. Although my Spanish is poor, I could still follow along what was being said. For example, there are some solid lines and devices being used for the audience. An example is the chorus that is depicted by Pachuco when he sings to swing in a new scene. On a side note, it’s also a nice touch that there is a journalism aspect with the usage or a reporter character and even the headlines that are read aloud. Alice and the Press are distinguishable and a contrast between one another because Alice wishes to print out the truth and free Henry Reyna from prison, while the Press seems to bask and attack the Pachucos for being Latinx.
ReplyDeleteIn regard to the Lucas article, initially I was not aware that the play had any historical ties. Yes, I have seen the Zoot suit before but didn’t pay too much of it. I found it interesting on the overall design of the suit. As stated in the article, the outfit, “consisted of ‘undershirts, baggy pants, long and colorful jackets, chains and little hats with a feather on the side’” (Lucas, 63). It also states that this outfit somewhat rebelled or contrasted American fashion at the time since clothing is supposed to be comfortable in usage and not baggy or excessive. Pachucos do resonate some interest in me because not only does the clothing unify this unique group, but as well as the slang that is spoken. The group of minorities is unified through these means against the views that are shadowed on them by the press and other official figures. The clothing sort of reminds me of “The Fab Five” which was a unique roster of players who were enrolled at Michigan University. With high-caliber names such as Jalen Rose and Chris Webber, the starting five players decided to wear more baggy shorts against the national uniformity choice of having short shorts. Through this attire change, the Wolverines made headlines and were the buzz in the league at that moment in time. Similar to how the Pachucos make headlines throughout the play.
With regard to the article by McMahon, it’s refreshing to read about the public performances that are mentioned in the article because it still shows that even though Latinos and every other person of color are considered to be minorities, the combined voices and effort debunks that. In a sense, the unified effort makes us the majority. In addition, the display of music and dance in Zoot Suit as written in the article mentions that these notions help an oppressed community “speak up and speak out” against white supremacy.
P.J. Hernandez