ABSTRACT
Beginning in the late 1970s, the steadily increasing growth rate of the Chicano population captured the interest of demographers. This “rediscovering” of the Chicano people was also seen in the media (journalism and films). Lengthy news stories on Chicanos began to appear in national magazines. The articles ranged, for example, from the general (“Chicanos on the Move,” National Geographic, June, 1980) to the specific (“A Year with the Gangs of East Los Angeles,” Ms., July, 1978). A controversial movie (Boulevard Nights) that glorified Chicano gangs was viewed by millions of moviegoers in 1979. In 1981, Zoot Suit-a powerful movie about oppression against Chicanos in the early 1940s-was released.
