Zoot Zoot Essay free essay sample

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 â€Å"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, â€Å"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 â€Å"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 Jose Diaz was found unconscious but later died in hospital. 0 year old Henry Leyvas and 24 members of what the media termed the 38th Street gang were arrested for the murder. They suspected that rival Pachuco gang fights were the cause of Diazs death. The Author purpose is to inform that zoot suit symbolize for youth of color a style paradoxical, since Latinos teens sought to be more American; they wanted to be part of higher society. This paradox revels that that Pachucada was a symbol of strength and hope to the Mexican people, the zoot suit was the young men’s way of trying to look â€Å"American†. The zoot suit represents pride to Pachuco youth and rebellion to the dominant culture. This is clear in the prologue of the play Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez. The play was written in the 1940’s and describes the sailor Riots when Mexican-American youth were being discriminated against by institutions. In the prologue of the play the Pachuco states â€Å"Ladies and gentlemen the play you are about to see is a construct of fact and fantasy. † In addition the press played a major role in the Sleepy Lagoon Trial Valdez highlights this in the play in the prosecution the press criminalized youth of color and his determined the ensconce of the sleepy lagoon trial. In scene 11, the press, also the prosecution argues â€Å"set these Pachuco’s frees and you will unleash the forces of anarchy and destruction (35). From this one can infer that the media’s language had the power to shape people’s opinions which ultimately defined. The result of the trial words like â€Å"anarchy† and â€Å"destruction† characterize Mexican youths as delinquent. Clearly, this is an example of criminalization and media bias Valdez is demonstrating the extent to which our society is corrupt. In today’s society, it is known to see police cars roaming around the poorest neighborhoods. Racial profiling in the education zone is a major problem that we still see it today’s society and in the poorest communities. Even though students, parents, and examples of student English learners that we can see against racial inequality, cultural, linguistic and socio-economic. The unfair treatment of an individual based solely on their use of language. This use of language may include the individuals native language or other characteristics of the persons speech. Therefore Latinos teens and people of color sought to be dehumanized by the dominate culture. To the dominant culture it might have represented, challenge and marginalized group getting well educated. Education is considering a power to express your thought in various ways which affects the dominant culture, since we learn to fight four rights. Consequently in the 1940s exited tensions between young Chicanos in East Los Angeles and white military personnel. for instance in the book Zoot Suit say They came into our community and took our hospitality for shit, said Lucy Rivera and also in this same decade exactly 1943, thousands of whites filling the streets between Main and Broadway, destroying property breaking into bars and restaurants and dragging chicanos into the street. Dehumanization was so present in those times. But in today’s society, the inequalities that target both Latino teens and people of color. One might even hear the radio station and televisions blasting with words of inequalities to elaborate our minds with trash and hatred. Even still regarded the criminalization in California, of course in the days of the Sailor Riots There was more, but every day it gets better. Work Cited Cosgrove, Stewart.