IVIV: Let's race

[John Bailey]

As I've already mentioned, I find it a bit mysterious that Tariq's
ethnicity is such a point in chapter One - explicitly bringing
together the displacement of African-American, Japanese, Mexican and
American Indian families in the history of LA land use - when other
characters are treated differently. This chapter drops a number of
markers suggesting Lourdes and Motella's ethnic background, along with
those of their beaux - all except Motella use non-English phrases, and
Motella's afro (and "what it be, girl!") sound pretty black to me. But
Doc's got an afro too, which complicates things, and in this chapter
the narratorial voice doesn't do any racial profiling at all. Which I
like (as an aside, one of the things for which the recently mentioned
Disgrace by Coetzee is so interesting is in the way race is implied by
the power relations it offers while rarely being made explicit).

Anyway, just before Doc is off to hook up with Lourdes and Motella he
has a brief glimpse of the Chick Planet girls. We know he has trouble
telling one Californian blonde (Bambi) from another (as noted during
his meeting with Hope) and when he spots Jade she's an oddly
italicised *oriental cutie*.

Orientalism. Hmmm. Paging Edward Said.

Where's Jade from? I'm guessing California, the way she speaks. But in
1970 LA she's just a "bubbly young Asian lady" or an "oriental cutie".

They tell him to meet them at 'Club Asiatique'.

Another orientalist name that glosses over massive regional difference
in the name of commercial good times. Kitsch.

The French aspect of the name might hint at Indo-China, which, given
the time setting, ties in nicely to both the war in Vietnam and the SE
Asian heroin cartel connection to the Golden Fang.

So Doc hooks up with those pan-continental stewardii, and hits those
metaphysical freeways at an "unnecessarily suicidal velocity" and to
the tune of a race-song by the Boards...

(Note: the song puts a particular emphasis - twice - on Leo Carillo,
an actor: his wikipedia site states: "Although he played stereotypical
Latins, Leo Carrillo was part of an old and respected Californio
family who could trace their roots back to the conquistadores." He
also played the sidekick Pancho in the TV series The Cisco Kid.)