The Zazou was a subculture during the Nazi occupation of the Latin Quarter of Paris. The origins of the Zazou can be traced back to 1939 when a French cabaret singer, Johnny Hess, released his famous song “Je suis swing” that ignited the youth that flocked to the cabarets to express their individuality during a time when conformity under occupation was enforced (Seward 2007). The music scene was an outlet for a group of youth that felt oppressed and rebelled through their clothing and dance style. This subculture was brought about at a time when cultural differences, and any kind of culture at all, were being suppressed by fascism. The name for the Zazou is said to come from jazz singer Cab Calloway’s song phrasse “zah-zuh-zah” (Linder & Hussey 16).
The term Zazou was somewhat fluid during World War II to include youth of both jazz and swing that were emerging at the time (Schweitzer 12). Both groups of youth were drawn in by the escape the dance and music provided and it also acted as a form of rebellion against the adult authorities. These kids adopted a similar style to the American zoot-suit of the 1930s, with over sized and individualized clothing. What may have started out as youth simply enjoying music and expressing themselves turned into a political movement of youth pushing their limits against the political authorities, choosing an alternative lifestyle to what was being offered to them. They were not a reactive group, but rather just expressed themselves loudly through their appearance and superficiality (Shweitzer 12).
Zazou kids were typically under twenty-one years old and classified as pranksters and rebels before this type of attitude was identified and codified in popular culture years later (Linder & Hussey 16). The Zazou were very interested in American culture, literature and music and often derived many English cues to form their opinions, style and language. They would invent their own slang derived from English jazz lyrics (Linder & Hussey 16) and they would read American literature reveling in the forbidden books when they could find them (Schweitzer 13).
The greatest identifying characteristic of the Zazou was their outlandish style that was easy to spot during the time period. All members of the Zazou could be seen carrying an umbrella, even though they did not open it in the rain, as they preferred to get wet and muddy (Schweitzer 17, Linder & Hussey 16). At a time when the country was supposed to be dressed for mourning, the Zazou wore clothes that were not within the regulations and conservation of fabric. The women were seen wearing thin dresses, exaggerated squares, red lipstick and short skirts; whereas the men wore long vests that went past their thighs, tight pants, small wool ties and their longer hair slicked back with salad oil (Schweitzer 17-18). The women rebelled by having long hair as they were required to chop it off and donate it to the country, that was being used at the time to make thread (Schweitzer 18). This rejection of state defined regulations was a peaceful way of acting out again the authorities.
The Zazou did not intend to rebel outright against the authorities, as they did not wish to be like anyone else or wish to engage with any political identity, they simply wished to be themselves and acted indifferent to the world around them (Schweitzer 21). This non-rebellious rebellion was seen as a part of the National Revolution, but one that was not getting anywhere and seen as a failure (Schweitzer 21). Being under the age of minority made it difficult for the authorities to take significant action against the Zazou and they remained a resistance that other youth wanted to emulate.
The Zazou kids rejected everything about the life choice options presented to them. They were told they were not allowed to dance, so they danced. They were told they were not allowed to drink, so they drank. The parties that Zazous threw were loud and high-spirited, with a lot of dancing that was energetic and sexualized (Schweitzer 27). The Zazou had a more fluid outlook on sexuality and were promiscuous at their parties that would not peak until the late hours of the morning. The parties were used as a sexual outlet, where partners were not limited to a single member of the opposite sex in a bedroom location because rooms could be found full of numerous partners of the opposite and same sex (Schweitzer 29). At a time where the country and any differences were being completely oppressed, the Zazou found themselves doing whatever they felt like doing and did not care who knew.
While the Zazou were a wartime subculture, they continued on after the war to become ‘be-boppers’. It is interesting to note how the culture formed out of an interest to dance and enjoy music to becoming radicalized through their nonchalance attitudes towards the authorities. While not even trying, the Zazou became the original rebellion against clothing choices and breaking free of what was regulated and started their own fashion. Perhaps without their significant choices in clothing and being different the world would not have the variety in clothing and freedom of expression through clothes that it has today. They chose to be who they wanted to be, and while they were within the subculture they were free to act, dress and dance like they wanted to, paving the way for how culture is today.
References
Linder, Christoph, and Andrew Hussey. "Concepts and Practices of the Underground."
Paris-Amsterdam Underground. Amsterdam: Amsterdam UP, 2013. 13-19. Print.
Seward, Kate G. "Zazou, Zazou Zazou-hé: A Youth Subculture in Vichy France, 1940-
44." Thesis. 2007. Web.
Schweitzer, Julie Kathleen. "Irresponsibly (engagé) Boris Vian and Uses of American
Culture in France, 1940-1959." Thesis. 2005. Web.
