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Being Edward James Olmos: Culture Clash And The Portrayal Of Chicano Masculinity, Nohemy Solózano-Thompson

Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature

This paper analyzes how Culture Clash problematizes Chicano masculinity through the manipulation of two iconic Chicano characters originally popularized by two films starring Edward James Olmos - the pachuco from Luis Valdez’s Zoot Suit (1981) and the portrayal of real-life math teacher Jaime Escalante in Stand and Deliver (1988). In “Stand and Deliver Pizza” (from A Bowl of Beings, 1992), Culture Clash tries to introduce new Chicano characters that can be read as masculine, and who at the same time, display alternative behaviors and characteristics, including homosexual desire. The three characters in “Stand and Deliver Pizza” represent stock icons of …