audiobook The Art of the Actor: The Essential History of Acting from Classical Times to the Present Day by Jean Benedetti in Arts-Photography

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Reet Pleats and Drape ShapeBy Rob HardyCab Calloway knew something about extreme styles. In his _The Hepsters Dictionary_ he listed "ZOOT (adj.): exaggerated." Just under it; necessarily; was "ZOOT SUIT (n.): the ultimate in clothes. The only totally and truly American civilian suit." He makes it sound patriotic; but some Americans looked at the zoot suit and were as horrified as only an older generation looking at the peculiarities of a younger generation can be. If the zoot suit was truly American; so were the anxieties it caused; and the race riots it sparked. Kathy Peiss; a professor of American history; has looked at these interpretations of a peculiar garment; its history; and its influence. It isnt all superficial fashion; her book _Zoot Suit: The Enigmatic Career of an Extreme Style_ (University of Pennsylvania Press) is a deeply researched; scholarly; yet entertaining account of all aspects of a frivolous garment that Peiss dares to take seriously.The design of the suit had many modifications; and came in all colors; but it consisted basically of "the long killer-diller coat with a drape shape and wide shoulders; pants with reet-pleats; billowing out at the knees; tightly tapered and pegged at the ankles; a porkpie or wide-brimmed hat; pointed or thick-soled shoes; and a long; dangling keychain." It took the idea of a suit and stretched it almost to caricature. In one way it was a practical garment. A regular suit during the forties would have been too confining for the gymnastic movies of swing and jitterbug. The zoot suits roomy pants accentuated leg movement; and pegging them at the ankles meant that they didnt get tangled with the clothes of other dancers. The style spread nationwide; predominantly among non-white young men but also taken up by whites. The War Production Board banned the suit; ostensibly because it used too much cloth that otherwise ought to have gone to the war effort. The order had no teeth and few tailors ever got into trouble. The outlaw nature of the garment was perceived by those who did not wear it; and elders in the Hispanic and black communities cluck-clucked as their sons dressed so outlandishly. The most famous confrontation over the style was the Zoot Suit Riot that occurred in Los Angeles in 1943. Sailors assigned to the area appointed themselves as fashion police; and started harassing and beating up Hispanic men who had the garment on. One sailor told the press; "Well destroy every zoot suit in Los Angeles before this is over;" but this did little to explain why the white sailors were also beating up non-whites who had on ordinary work clothes; nor why no white zoot-suitors were similarly assaulted. It was handy to say that this was an operation against the zoot suit; but it was a simple race riot. The riots spilled into theaters; where management was forced to turn on the lights so that the audiences attire could be checked. Young men were pulled from trolleys; and private homes were invaded. There were five days of rioting; with over a hundred people injured; a climax of growing discontent between races who had been competing for jobs and status. The newspapers in Los Angeles; especially the Hearst press; were hostile to the zoot suiters; associating them with criminality. The _Herald-Express_ explicitly printed instructions on how to "de-zoot;" as follows: "Grab a zooter. Take off his pants and frock coat and tear them up or burn them. Trim the `Argentine ducktail that goes with the screwy costume." The police and FBI claimed to have reports of wives of sailors being robbed and raped by zoot suiters; the unfounded rumors would churn up hostility and keep the riots going. The press continued to claim that it was the suit itself that was the problem; not any racial hostility; which is to attribute a lot of power to some fancy clothes.The suit is still around; Cab Calloway wore one for his turn in The Blues Brothers. A form of zoot suit was adopted by young people all around the world; causing international fretting among the elders; who saw the zoot suit as part of the secret weapons the west was deploying against youth; weapons such as "jitterbugging; boogie-woogie; Bikiniism;" according to one Romanian commentator. Peisss engaging book is best when it examines those who examined the zoot suit and tried to put some higher sociological meaning to it; and simply failed or came to contradictory conclusions. I think the best understanding that one can come to is that the younger generation dresses funny and it bothers the older generation. The older generation ought to have the maturity to laugh it off; but then that would break a cycle that is stable and enjoyed at some level by both sides. The next Goth you see; the next kid with a belt around his knees - smile and just be glad the get-up isnt an excuse for riots.1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. great bookBy Cameron K.I came across this book at the library and it sparked interest because I have always been interested in chicano culture.This book is short and sweet as well as very entertaining.The author did an outstanding job in her research and there are some great pictures to go along with the story.This book has six chapters all very detailed from the origins of the zuit suit;the LA riot;and the spread of the style.The afterword is great as well as it indulges into the mystic and any last thoughts on the subject.This book explores a lot and if you are interested in black or chicano history then this book is a must read.1 of 6 people found the following review helpful. "When; and under what circumstances; a fashion has been understood as political; and when not."By ROROTOKOThis book is on the Rorotoko list. Professor Peisss interview on "Zoot Suit" ran as the Rorotoko Cover Feature on August 29; 2011 (and can be read in the Rorotoko archive).