Chicano: A Film About Being Mexican In Japan

Culture & Community By Richard R, For Latin Life16125 views

Chicano or Chicana (also spelled Xicano, Xicana) is a chosen identity of some Mexican Americans in the United States. The term Chicano is sometimes used interchangeably with Mexican-American. Both names are chosen identities within the Mexican-American community in the United States. However, these terms have a wide range of meanings in various parts of the Southwest. The term became widely used during the Chicano Movement by Mexican Americans to express pride in a shared cultural, ethnic and community identity.

The term Chicano had negative connotations before the Chicano Movement, and still is viewed negatively by more conservative members of this community, but it over time gained more acceptance as an identity of pride within the Mexican-American community in the United States. Still, many American-born Mexicans view the term to be distracting, as it often represents a refusal to identify with either Mexican or American identities, while Mexicans from Mexico usually aren't familiar with or do not identify with the term.

The pro-indigenous/Mestizo nature of Chicano nationalism is cemented in the nature of Mexican national identity, in which the culture is heavily syncretic between indigenous and Spanish cultures, and where 60% of the population is Mestizo, and another 30% are indigenous, with the remaining 10% being of European heritage and others racial/ethnic groups. Ultimately it was the experience of Mexican Americans in the United States which culminated in the creation of a Chicano identity.

But that's pretty much it in North America.

It's about to get a whole new meaning when it's applied from across the globe - especially coming from Japan.

There's a mini-documentary by filmmakers Louis Ellison and Jacob Hodgkinson, and is over 5 minutes long - but it gives insight about a peculiar Japanese subculture: those who love Chicano gang culture. Japanese “Chicanos” emulate the ’90s-era looks of Los Angeles gang members (and their associates) from dress code to mannerism. As the film delves into this, it also reveals that their attraction to the culture is far from superficial.

Some would say it is akin to Ameriboo - someone "obsessed with American/Western Culture", but with Latin tones. But all in all, the film is pretty good! You gotta have respect to them to go so far as to actually get creative and flourish in it. They've got just about everything from lowriders, clothing, music, and certain mannerisms down to a "T". Color me impressed!

According to one of the directors: "Chicano is an exploration between the similarities and differences between Chicano culture in America and Japan, and how the scene is not all about gang culture, but has a deep-seated root in family values."

You can watch the short film below: