MYTHIFICATION IN ZOOT SUIT
The process of mythification in the play of Luis Valdez is manifested in the portrayal of the circumstances surrounding the play. The backdrop of the play is driven by the trial in the 1940s where the issue of race comes into the charged drama of the Mexican-American culture. The mythification process starts when the historical significance of the Sleepy Lagoon Murder was discarded and presented the issues surrounding it in a sort of mythic musical where the central characters are in constant conflict with themselves.
One factor that emanates this mystification is the emphasis provided by the play on the visual representation of the characters. The use of sleek and stylish Zoot Suits represented the image of the era and the characters as well. Seeing it as a representation of the Mexican-American image of the 1940s, despite the lustrous and elegant exterior are subjected to stereotypical issues relevant today.
The racially motivated depiction of the Zoot Suit as a distinctive instrument of racial struggle is manifested in the arrest and trial of Henry along with his mates for the death of Jose Williams. Valdez has presented a scene where the style of dressing of the main characters is held closely with the actual behaviors that they adhere. The play portrayed the image of the pachucos with a swagger that the xenophobic society of the 1940s as equivalent to a behavior with high propensity towards unlawful acts. Along with the overstated coat-tails and switchblades, the defiant image of the pachuco is established as the anti-heroes of the play.
In considering the discussion above, the mythification of the pachuco in Zoot Suits implicates the realities that were evident in the said period. With the choreographed fights and the elaborate costumes, Valdes presented the existence of actual violence in the 1940s in such a way that it became glorified. It is glorified in a sense that it is presented as a commonplace activity among the pachuco generation. The fight scenes are choreographed with such swagger that such display of violence became provided a “cool factor” in the pachuco image.
El Pachuco, on the other hand, appears to be the narrator of the play, a Greek chorus of sorts. Shown as a mythical figure, El Pachuco represents the Chicano identity. Looking beyond the Zoot Suit switch blade wielding representation of the Chicano culture, El Pachuco in the play represents how the identity is perceived in the 1940s. “You’re me, your worst enemy.” It is in this line that Valdez manifests the propensity of the Chicano culture to ruin one’s self. With the rebellious image presented by El Pachuco, it manifests the capacity of the Chicano culture to be rebellious and the power that comes along with that capacity. In the same manner, it shows a side of the Chicano culture that cleaves to machismo and power. Subsequent scenes in the play present how this initiates a false impression and chimerical attribute which is ion essence perilous.
The mythification in the play of Valdez is highlighted in the existence of El Pachuco. The zoot suit worn by the characters in the story provides symbolisms of the Chicano identity. In the concluding scene, El Pachuco wears an all-white zoot suit representing what seems to be a happy ending, or a fresh start. However, he continues on saying that the “barrio’s still out there, waiting and wanting.” This represents that the Chicanos are still bound by social problems held by the American society. The play of Valdez painted a picture of a social problem that emanates even in the most remote area in the country. In his account, he presented a personal trouble of the central character that is concurrently an existing public issue. Though he has lucidly presented some of the good side of being branded as a part of a minority, he has also vividly presented the horrors that come from the self-fulfilling expectations of people in the real world. As presented by the article openly denounce the existence of bigotry. All in all, it is a social problem despite all the changes in policies throughout the ages, there is a part of this world that will be prejudiced. Though the events surrounding the Sleepy Lagoon Murder and the related Zoot Suit Riots were subjected to mythification, the struggles of the Chicano identity have been demystified in the play.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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