Zoot Suits in the Movies

If you like watching movies, it won't take long for you to realize one thing. That Hollywood has always had a love affair with flamboyant Zoot Suits. Since movies don't have to always be in the present time and are allowed to go back or forward in time, creativity is always allowed to blossom. You will see zoot suits in movies in all types of cinema whether it's a 1930s to 40s time piece or even a more modern movie like "The Mask" with Jim Carrey. Hollywood has always had a love affair with zoot suits in the movies simply because zoot suits represent a counter culture attitude that smacks the face of society. 

Hollywood has always gravitated to that conviction because, since the very beginning, Hollywood has always tried to stretch the envelope of what was acceptable to put into movies. Government censors have always had a strong grip on what could or couldn't be shown on film. It's been a battle since the 1920s but little by little the envelope has stretched because Hollywood knows that if you push long enough and introduce new things into movies little by little, before you know it, the whole standard changes. What may have been offensive 60 years ago gets a big yawn now. Zoot suits in the movies 

are always a way to show bad boys doing what they want, wearing what they want,

and sticking their fingers out at anyone who disapproves. Let's face it. Zoot suits have always been and will continue to be outrageous-looking suits and would never be acceptable as business attire unless your name is Jim Carrey and your alter ego is the Mask.