Being a fan of the RuPaul Drag Race show and all the references to Paris Is Burning, a movie I've heard of since high school but never saw until now. Every phrase I thought came from RPDR were actually from this movie 2 decades ago. From shady and fierce to the drag queen art of "reading", this movie seems like the inspiration for RuPaul's show.
The film is about the ballroom circuit for the mostly black/latino gay community. The participants walk the ballroom floor in different categories, in a show referred to as "balls". Trophies are given to those who have the most "realness". Some competitions include the now famous "Voguing" - a dance which was popularized by iconic singer Madonna.
"Paris Is Burning" seems a bit dated now that being "gay" has gradually been accepted as a natural occurrence, but at the time of filming AIDS and homosexuals were synonymous and gays stigmatized. The titles before each sequence "BALLS", "REALNESS", "HOUSES", etc., were probably the inspiration for Ken Burns' documentaries. "Paris" flows seamlessly depicting the story of how for one night someone can live a fantasy and the struggle to deal back to reality. Filmed in New York City at the end of the 1980's, it's a great insight to an urban community that most of the "straight" world never new existed.
The film is about the ballroom circuit for the mostly black/latino gay community. The participants walk the ballroom floor in different categories, in a show referred to as "balls". Trophies are given to those who have the most "realness". Some competitions include the now famous "Voguing" - a dance which was popularized by iconic singer Madonna.
"Paris Is Burning" seems a bit dated now that being "gay" has gradually been accepted as a natural occurrence, but at the time of filming AIDS and homosexuals were synonymous and gays stigmatized. The titles before each sequence "BALLS", "REALNESS", "HOUSES", etc., were probably the inspiration for Ken Burns' documentaries. "Paris" flows seamlessly depicting the story of how for one night someone can live a fantasy and the struggle to deal back to reality. Filmed in New York City at the end of the 1980's, it's a great insight to an urban community that most of the "straight" world never new existed.
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