The Power of the Zoot

by Alvarez, Luis

• ISBN13: 9780520253018
• ISBN10: 0520253019
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-06-16
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr

Summary

Flamboyant zoot suit culture, with its ties to fashion, jazz and swing music, jitterbug and lindy hop dancing, unique patterns of speech, and even risqueacute; experimentation with gender and sexuality, swept the country's youth in the 1940s.The Power of the Zootis the first book to give national consideration to this famous phenomenon. Providing a new history of youth culture based on rare, in-depth interviews with former zoot-suiters, Luis Alvarez explores race, region, and the politics of culture in urban America during World War II. He argues that Mexican American and African American youths, along with many Nisei and white youth, used popular culture to oppose accepted modes of youthful behavior, the dominance of white middle class norms, and expectations from within their own communities. This vividly written book shows how young men and women zoot suiters created a social world that challenged both segregation and conventional gender roles at the same time urban authorities, the mainstream press, and the general public often considered them outside the boundaries of the wartime national polity. Drawing from a breathtaking variety of sources,The Power of the Zootsheds new light on the cultural landscape, shifting economy, and evolving identity of America during World War II, and reveals the multi-racial roots of youth culture in the late twentieth century.

Author Biography

Luis Alvarez is Assistant Professor of History at the University of California, San Diego.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Acknowledgments and Dedication	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Dignity Denied: Youth in the Early War Years
Race and Political Economy	p. 15
Class Politics and Juvenile Delinquency	p. 42
The Struggle for Dignity: Zoot Style during World War II
Zoot Style and Body Politics	p. 77
Zoots, Jazz, and Public Space	p. 113
Violence and National Belonging on the Home Front
Zoot Violence in Los Angeles	p. 155
Race Riots across the United States	p. 200
Epilogue: From Zoot Suits to Hip-Hop	p. 235
Notes	p. 245
Bibliography	p. 289
Index	p. 305
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