The Great Game

However, in Los Angeles, where Morrissey now resides, things are radically, not to mention racially, different. There, the white middle-class youth adopt 50 Cent to help them through the hormones, while the Latino locals have claimed the music of Morrissey and the Smiths as their own. Based mostly in the eastern suburbs of the city, this unexpected cultural development has seen the growth of Morrissey-themed club nights, the rise of the jet-black quiff and even supports its own Mexican-fronted Smiths tribute act, the Sweet and Tender Hooligans.

Burgeoning since Morrissey moved to LA, the Latino fan scene is the subject of Is It Really So Strange?, a documentary film by William E Jones, who immersed himself in fan nights, concerts and hair grease to record what he found to be a complex world. Embracing teens and twentysomethings from Mexican, Central and South American backgrounds, the Latino fan culture is a world away from Morrissey's UK following, though every bit as fanatical.

"The moment I experienced one of these events I thought that it was important to document it," says Jones. "I associated the Smiths in the 1980s with a particularly dark time, in politics and in general. These kids are dancing around and singing and for them this thing was quite joyous. That and the fact that practically everyone at the event was Latino."

That spirit of joyousness appears as much down to cultural heritage as to these fans being a new generation of Morrissey devotees not raised on his miserablist reputation. Mexican-American culture is imbued with a devotion to "oldies" from the stage, screen and stereogram, with the sounds of 1970s soul, doo-wop and rockabilly long enjoying favour with immigrants to the US. It would seem that Morrissey's similarity in stage persona to some Mexican pop stars means that he fits right in. His age and status as a Brit in exile also add weight to his popularity.

As a 42-year-old white man brandishing a camera, Jones at first found it hard to win the trust of his youthful subjects, despite religiously attending London Is Dead - a club night that played only the Smiths and Morrissey - as well as following the Sweet and Tender Hooligans at venues around the city. He had thought that his gently persuasive tone and an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Smiths' back catalogue would be enough. But it wasn't until he made a visible commitment that he started to get real results.

"The decisive factor was when I got a pompadour hairdo," he says. "People became much more approachable. They even asked to take my picture. It was a kind of initiation. We had something to share."

Once his coiffure gave him access all areas Jones spent his time seeking out subjects at fan events and Morrissey concerts, interviewing them about what the music meant to them, their home life and views on the ex-Smith himself. Questions around Morrissey's perceived racism, from conclusions drawn in the UK music press to the lyrics of songs such as Bengali in Platforms, are inevitably raised in this film about his largely immigrant fan base, though there is no consensus or outright condemnation. As with all things Morrissey, there are numerous interpretations of his intent, though it is patently obvious that he is hugely appreciative of his Latino fans.

"Before he had a record contract and he was living in near obscurity in Los Angeles this was the main group of fans who supported him," says Jones. "I saw a concert in Santa Barbara in 2002 and it was just an ocean of black pompadoured hair. He stopped the concert at one point and said, 'I just want you to know that without you folks I would be well and truly screwed.'" (Link)

# posted by Jacob @ 3/28/2005 01:09:00 p.m.