Saturday, July 26, 2025

Paris is Burning: A Review (Review #2000)

PARIS IS BURNING

Long before Madonna told us to "strike a pose and Vogue", there was an underground world doing just that, filled with glamour and outrageousness. Director Jennie Livingston takes into the demimonde of fierce queens who throw shade to their rivals in Paris Is Burning, capturing the decadence and tragedy of this formerly hidden subculture. 

It is New York City, 1987. We learn that to be black, gay and male is a hard burden in the world. However, there is a place, a very special place, where those are not impediments to taking the spotlight. That world is the New York ball circuit. These balls are where black and Hispanic drag queens can strut their stuff for trophies and recognition. The various personalities have something of a sponsorship with various "Houses", a formed family that can be considered something like a gay street gang. The houses provide training and guidance for these warriors of glamour.

One of the queens of the New York ball scene is Pepper LaBeija, who is the "Mother" of House of LaBeija. There are other Houses, like House of Xtravaganza. The various competitions at the balls are a wide-ranging set. There are those who aspire to be like the characters on the television soap opera Dynasty. However, there are other categories, some quite surprising to those on the outside. A group of ball participants compete in a Military category, where one competitor tells us, "Simple wins". The realness (to be able to pass for whatever you are dressing as) is a major factor in winning various competitions.

It is not just about the most beautiful or glamorous. It is also about being the most authentic looking. This world of balls has their own nomenclature. "Throwing shade" is knocking out your competitor with subtle insults. Being able to "read" someone is trash talking someone but with specific quips. If you want to have a dance off, you have to do some voguing (the name coming from Vogue magazine). 

Two years later, we learn a few things. This world has now attracted such figures as Fran Lebowitz, Geoffrey Holder and Gwen Vernon, who love the voguing. However, some old school ballers like Dorian Corey see these changes with a disdainful eye, preferring the glamour over the realness. We also learn that Venus Xtravangaza, a young aspiring ball queen, was murdered. Venus had been dead for four days when found under a bed in a sleazy motel, strangled.

The world of Paris is Burning is a fascinating one, almost like an alternate universe. The various figures that are profiled would probably be quickly rejected in the straight world. They would especially be rejected in a black or Hispanic macho world. Yet here, the various Houses could be seen as a variation of street gangs. You are loyal to them. They take the place of your biological family. The rumbles are not done on the street. They are done on the dance floor. I think one of the participants interviewed even said that walking at the ball (going down to compete) was like getting jumped. 

The viewer sees the ball contestants strip away from the stereotype of drag queens attempting to look as glamorous, if not as outrageous, as one can. Yes, there are those who do go all-out in elegant to elaborate costumes. However, there are also competitions where it is more about how much you mirror the world that rejects you than about how elegant you appear. I think many, me included, would be surprised to learn that some of the house members can win trophies for looking downright bourgeoise. Who would think that one could win a drag ball competition for looking like a businessman on Wall Street?

It is almost as if the world of Paris is Burning is a reaction and mockery of the world that has excluded the participants. Even in the drag world, the black and Hispanic men felt exclusion due to their race. Here, they created their own universe, one where they not only fit in but rule. The world bends to their will. Here, they can both integrate and be separate from the straight world. Paris is Burning not only captures this world of men strutting their stuff for the world to marvel at. It is an affirmation of themselves and an open mockery of those who reject them due to race or sexual orientation. In some ways, the drag balls are an act of resistance, a successor to cakewalks danced to mock dominant white culture.

Paris is Burning probably did not create some of the vernacular that is fully part of everyday American speech. I figure that perhaps it introduced it to a wider audience. Being able to "read" someone, delighting in "throwing shade" at a rival, these are things that we say without thinking where they came from. 

Paris is Burning is an extraordinary look into an almost lost world. While I figure that balls still exist, we saw at the end how they were coming out into the mainstream. Some of the old school ball members did not like it. The film also does not hide the tragedy and danger in this world. Venus Xtravaganza was the most extreme example, murdered during the filming. However, the specter of AIDS hangs over this world, which would claim some of the people interviewed. 

The men and women in Paris is Burning are fierce, fabulous and unafraid. They are masters and mistresses of throwing shade and not answering to anyone other than their housemates. 

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