Paris is Burning is a striking documentary about the life and struggle of Drag Queens in the 1980’s New York and the outcasted queer community that they provided safety and refuge for. Amidst the adversaries and social ostracizing, Paris is Burning shows the passion, determination, utter beauty of the drag world, and the history of drag before their time. This documentary has lived continuously through the decades and still impacts us in modern-day communities, including but not limited to, RuPaul’s Drag Race and commonly used phrases.

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          Paris is Burning is an LGBTQA+ documentary film that takes place in the 1980’s New York in the underground drag scene. This film was released in August 1991, directed, and produced by Jennie Livingston. Jennie Livingston is an award-winning director with awards such as the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award (1991), Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Artists (US and Canada, 2000), National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Non-fiction Film (1992), and GLAAD Media Vito Russo Award (1992). Paris is Burning also won awards alongside Jennie’s awards are as listed: National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Non-fiction Film (1992) and GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary (1992) (IMDB, 2020. Pg.1).

 

          Jennie Livingston is the reason Paris is Burning was made into the documentary we all know today. Livingston went to a ballroom scene in New York and was astounded by the world they had walked into. According to Livingston, “I’d identified as a lesbian for many years. I now identify as genderqueer, but if I look at myself as a young person, I always envisioned myself as a boy. And so I think the fact that people in the ball world were embodying identification that wasn’t so simple was really transformative and beautiful” (Maclay, 2020, para.8). This life-changing moment in their life inspired them to tell the story of the balls. Livingston learned not only about the culture of drag but the individuals themselves. If just a moment in Livingston’s life was impacted by watching a ball, then imagine the large impact of such a film showing the story of Drag.

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          Many key figures in this film never got to witness the impact they helped instill and the path they paved for the future of queer communities as well as the drag community. One key figure in his film was Dorian Corey. Corey was one of the older queens who remembered the beginning of drag where they supposedly “only wanted to look like Vegas showgirls,” but changed more and more to be inclusive for all categories of drag. Corey was sympathetic toward other queens and those ostracized for who they were. She gave us the inside scoop of the history of houses, balls, and more. Although Corey does provide a startling detail later on in death as mentioned in this review, “The straight-shooting Corey always keeps it 100% real (though the footage shot in her apartment takes on a new, rather ghoulish meaning with the knowledge that a mummified body was discovered in the closet after her death in 1993)” (Walsh, 2019, para. 4). Another key figure who takes on an important role is Angie Xtravaganza. She was a kind and compassionate Mother of the Xtravaganza house, so much so that she won the best Mother at the balls more than once. She was one of the queens who fully transitioned to a female with surgery. She says in the film, “I am a real woman now,” when she was at the beach. 

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          A few more key figures in Paris is Burning are Pepper Labeija, Venus Xtravaganza, and Octavia St. Laurent. Pepper Labeija gave the audience his story of where he started and how he knew he wanted to dress femininely. Labeija told us how he was accepted for being gay by his family, but when they found his stash of women’s clothing in his closet they were burned and told he cannot dress that way. Another sad story is the story of Venus Xtravaganza in the documentary. Venus was a dreamer who wished to one day be wealthy, transition fully into a female, and one day marry a man she loves. Venus did many things to reach her goal and achieve her dreams, but sadly we find out near the end of the documentary that she was found, “Strangled to death under a bed at a sleazy hotel by a [client]” as said by her friend in Paris is Burning. On a lighter note, one key figure that made a life and living doing what she wanted was Octavia St. Laurent. She wanted to be a professional model and was very passionate about her work. 

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          Paris is Burning showed the diverse network of the queer community and the struggles of all sides of this spectrum in the 80’s New York. They explored the transgender community within drag that was until recently, talked very little about, they spoke on the young children whom they took under their wings after being kicked out of homes for being gay, it explored the nitty-gritty parts of the world back then that was hardly spoken on. It teaches the beautiful, long, and dramatic culture of Drag. Not limited to the lingo, dances, clothing, and activities they had a part in creating and installing into our lives. As a quote from the Guardian explains well, “As Daily Dot writer Mary Emily O’Hara pointed out: [‘If you’ve ever used words like ‘fierce’ or ‘shady’ or commented ‘yassss queen’ or ‘work’ on a cute Instagram pic, you’ve been speaking the language of the ball scene – likely, without ever realizing where it came from’]” (Clark, 2015, para. 2). This documentary successfully grips your heart and shows the very human side of the struggles in the LGBTQA+ scene in our extremely recent past and the pains these people have gone through just to be who they are inside. 

​

          Paris is Burning is the film to watch to better understand the drag, queer, and trans community, especially if you do not know that area of the world well. And if you know this side well watch it and see how such a film changed the LGBTQA+ world today. Play this film for your friends and family to discuss the world we live in now and how members of the LGBTQA+ communities are treated, what is better? What has not changed? What needs to change? You can watch this film for free with ads on YouTube or buy the DVD on Amazon. 

 

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                                                                  Works Cited

 

Clark, Ashley. “Burning down the House: Why the Debate over Paris Is Burning Rages On.” The

Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 24 June

2015, www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/24/burning-down-the-house-debate-paris-is-burning.   

 

Livingston, Jennie, director. Paris Is Burning, Off White Productions,

1991, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBVBipOl76Q&ab_channel=FelipeCavalcante. 

“Paris Is Burning.” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt0100332/awards.

 

Schindel, Dan, and Willow Catelyn Maclay. “Jennie Livingston on Paris Is Burning 30 Years

Later.” Hyperallergic, 29 Feb. 2020,  https://hyperallergic.com/544265/jennie-livingston-interview-paris-is-burning-criterion-collection/.

 

Walsh, Katie. “Review: Before RuPaul, the Documentary 'Paris Is Burning' Illuminated

Drag.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 3 July

2019, www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-paris-is-burning-review-20190703-story.html. 

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          Second Draft(Oct. 12, 2020: 

 

          Paris is Burning is a striking documentary about the life and struggle of Drag Queens in the 1980’s New York and the outcasted queer community that they provided safety and refuge for. Amidst the adversaries and social ostracizing, Paris is Burning shows the passion, determination, utter beauty of the drag world, and the history of drag before their time. This documentary has lived continuously through the decades and still impacts us in modern-day communities, including but not limited to, RuPaul’s Drag Race and commonly used phrases.

          Paris is Burning is an LGBTQA+ documentary film that takes place in the 1980’s New York in the underground drag scene. This film was released in August 1991, directed, and produced by Jennie Livingston. Jennie Livingston is an award-winning director with awards such as the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award (1991), Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Artists (US and Canada, 2000), National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Non-fiction Film (1992), and GLAAD Media Vito Russo Award (1992). Paris is Burning also won awards alongside Jennie’s awards are as listed: National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Non-fiction Film (1992) and GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary (1992) (IMDB, 2020. Pg.1).

 

     Jennie Livingston is the reason Paris is Burning was made into the documentary we all know today. Livingston went to a ballroom scene in New York and was astounded by the world they had walked into. According to Livingston, “I’d identified as a lesbian for many years. I now identify as genderqueer, but if I look at myself as a young person, I always envisioned myself as a boy. And so I think the fact that people in the ball world were embodying identification that wasn’t so simple was really transformative and beautiful” (Maclay, 2020, para.8). This life-changing moment in their life inspired them to tell the story of the balls. Livingston learned not only about the culture of drag but the individuals themselves. If just a moment in Livingston’s life was impacted by watching a ball, then imagine the large impact of such a film showing the story of Drag.

          Many key figures in this film never got to witness the impact they helped instill and the path they paved for the future of queer communities as well as the drag community. One key figure in his film was Dorian Corey. Corey was one of the older queens who remembered the beginning of drag where they supposedly “only wanted to look like Vegas showgirls,” but changed more and more to be inclusive for all categories of drag. Corey was sympathetic toward other queens and those ostracized for who they were. She gave us the inside scoop of the history of houses, balls, and more. Although Corey does provide a startling detail later on in death as mentioned in this review, “The straight-shooting Corey always keeps it 100% real (though the footage shot in her apartment takes on a new, rather ghoulish meaning with the knowledge that a mummified body was discovered in the closet after her death in 1993)” (Walsh, 2019, para. 4). Another key figure who takes on an important role is Angie Xtravaganza. She was a kind and compassionate Mother of the Xtravaganza house, so much so that she won the best Mother at the balls more than once. She was one of the queens who fully transitioned to a female with surgery. She says in the film, “I am a real woman now,” when she was at the beach. 

         A few more key figures in Paris is Burning are Pepper Labeija, Venus Xtravaganza, and Octavia St. Laurent. Pepper labeija gave the audience his story of where he started and how he knew he wanted to dress femininely. Labeija told us how he was accepted for being gay by his family, but when they found his stash of women’s clothing in his closet they were burned and told he cannot dress that way. Another sad story is the story of Venus Xtravaganza in the documentary. Venus was a dreamer who wished to one day be wealthy, transition fully into a female and marry a man she loves. Venus did many things to reach her goal and achieve her dreams, but sadly we find out near the end of the documentary that she was found, “Strangled to death under a bed at a sleazy hotel by a [client]” as said by her friend in Paris is Burning. On a lighter note, one key figure that made a life and living doing what she wanted was Octavia St. Laurent. She wanted to be a professional model and was very passionate about her work. 

          Paris is Burning showed the diverse network of the queer community and the struggles of all sides of this spectrum in the 80’s New York. They explored the transgender community within drag that was until recently, talked very little about, they spoke on the young children who they took under their wings after being kicked out of homes for being gay, it explored the nitty-gritty parts of the world back then that was hardly spoken on. It teaches the beautiful, long, and dramatic culture of Drag. Not limited to the lingo, dances, clothing, and activities they had a part in creating and installing into our lives. As a quote from the Guardian explains well, “As Daily Dot writer Mary Emily O’Hara pointed out: [‘If you’ve ever used words like ‘fierce’ or ‘shady’ or commented ‘yassss queen’ or ‘work’ on a cute Instagram pic, you’ve been speaking the language of the ball scene – likely, without ever realizing where it came from’]” (Clark, 2015, para. 2). This documentary successfully grips your heart and shows the very human side of the struggles in the LGBTQA+ scene in our extremely recent past and the pains these people have gone through just to be who they are inside. 

          Paris is Burning is the film to watch to better understand the drag, queer, and trans community, especially if you do not know that area of the world well. And if you know this side well watch it and see how such a film changed the LGBTQA+ world today. Play this film for your friends and family to discuss the world we live in now and how members of the LGBTQA+ communities are treated, what is better? What has not changed? What needs to change? You can watch this film for free with ads on YouTube or buy the DVD on Amazon. 

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*Didn't know I was supposed to save drafts so the first draft is lost*

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