Great movie. Racial tensions were vivid in both the Mexicans and Americans. To say that Americans were racist to a group of people just because of what they wore is incorrect. Anyone knows that where there are parties and alcohol, there tends to problems. The sleepy lagoon group needed to respect what peace is about and keep their knives at home in their kitchens. Notice: nobody had a dislike for these boys until after they associated themselves with gang members. Gang members wore zoot suits. So why would a person wear a zoot suit and not expect to be thought of as a gang member? The movie shows how naivety is a disadvantage that any person can falter from.
