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Zorro's Shadow
Zorro's Shadow: How a Mexican Legend Became America's First Superhero | Stephen J. C. Andes
7 posts | 1 read | 2 to read
Long before Superman or Batman made their first appearances, there was Zorro. Born on the pages of the pulps in 1919, Zorro fenced his way through the American popular imagination, carving his signature letter Z into the flesh of evildoers in Old Spanish California. Zorro is the original caped crusader, the first hero to have a band called the Avengers, and the character who laid the blueprint for the modern American superhero: the mask, the alter-ego, extraordinary physical skills, and a struggle against arch-villains. Famed comics pioneer Bob Kane even wrote that &Zorro was a major influence on my creation of Batman.& In Zorro's Shadow, historian and Latin American studies expert Stephen J. C. Andes investigates the legends behind the mask of Zorro, revealing that the origin of America's first superhero lies in Latinx history and experience. Andes begins his investigation in Mexico City at a statue of William Lamport, the so-called &Irish Zorro,& who was burned at the stake by the Mexican Inquisition. There, he discovers new documents at the Mexican National Archives and travels to the Sonoran desert to find the birthplace of Joaqu&n Murrieta, a California Gold Rush bandit who many claim inspired the creation of Zorro. Based on the never-before-seen letters of Zorro creator Johnston McCulley, Andes describes how the legends around Lamport and Murrieta influenced the development of the masked hero in black, and further, how Zorro went from a real life Mexican bandido to a distinctly white, aristocratic hero. Revealing the length of Zorro's shadow on the superhero genre is a reclamation of the legend of Zorro for a multiethnic and multicultural America.
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ravenlee
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A really interesting and insightful look at the influences that shaped Zorro, historical/cultural/literary, as well as the influence Zorro has had on other characters (notably Batman). It‘s not the best book I‘ve ever read but I found a lot of it thought-provoking. I wish there had been more about the Disney TV version (Guy Williams as Don Diego/Zorro was my first crush) but the breadth here was fantastic.

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ravenlee
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Not entirely accurate - the PG-13 rating was added in 1984, after uproar over Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom being released under a PG rating. Red Dawn was the first movie to be released as PG-13.

vivastory I just recently learned about this. I have very vivid memories of watching TOD when I was a kid. (edited) 3y
ravenlee Thanks @Megabooks - I recently read an article about the PG-13 rating and how it‘s become almost useless as a catchall/shorthand for “really cool movie that isn‘t rated R” and encompasses all sorts of content, from stuff that should be rated PG but wouldn‘t appeal to older kids to just barely squeaking in under R. 3y
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ravenlee
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A warning shot across a BOUGH? Oh boy. Earlier there was a bit about the original signing cowboys, too. Sometimes typos are a doozy.

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ravenlee
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Memory has a bad habit of always telling the story from the knowledge of the present.

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ravenlee
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I wasn‘t expecting a section on code-switching, either linguistic or cultural, in a book about the history of Zorro, but it makes sense. So far a really interesting read.

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ravenlee
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My November #bookspin list - nothing like coming in at the eleventh hour! I have a mix of MG reads (to increase my likelihood of finishing something), NF for November, a couple of new releases, and some series continuations. I‘m not doing any of those challenges for real, just dabbling. Trying to clear some shelf space. I‘ll have a go at #bookspinbingo but doubt I‘ll make much headway. November is going to be a month of upheaval for me.

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Hope November isn't as complicated as you anticipate!! 4y
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ravenlee
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#bookmail from the last two days. Well Played is the sequel to Well Met, one of my top two books of last year. And the tagged is a signed copy, with another on the way to my mom. She raised me on Guy Williams as Zorro (my first crush 😍), and I just introduced my daughter to the magic. Not sure when I‘ll dive into the Zorro book, but Well Played is on my October list.