|
|
|||
Issue one: Contents Peaches
Christ |
Paris is Burning is quite simply the best movie about drag ever made. More than that, it's also a social commentary on gay sub-culture and the camaraderie that exists.
Set in New York 1987, it focuses on the Ball circuit where black and Hispanic gay men meet to compete in drag contests. Poor and undereducated, many people work as hustlers or steal clothes to wear at the Ball, it's more important to them than eating. The film talks to each of the participants to find out how their life has led them to the circuit where they seek their own reality and live out the fantasy of being a superstar. The film opens with Pepper Labeija, mother of the House of Labeija - one of the largest houses on the circuit. A person's House is their family and also the equivalent of their street gang. Unlike straight culture where gang wars mean violence, House members air their differences through more creative means: Reading - this is an art form of insults, find a flaw and exaggerate it. "Look at your hair, look at your shape … have you gone back to being a man?" Shade - a darker form of insult. Here I don't tell you you're ugly, but then I don't have to tell you because you already know. Voguing - taking two knives and cutting each other up in dance form. Instead of fighting, disputes are settled through dance competitions where the team with the fiercest moves wins. The highlights of the film are the Balls themselves, where contestants will turn up in fabulous creations to walk in themed categories. Some involve cross dressing - Butch Queen First Time In Drag At A Ball or High Fashion Evening Wear, while some are about acting straight and concealing all signs of your gayness. This can range from Executive Realness to Banji - looking like the boy who tried to rob you on the way to the Ball. What the contestants share is a dream of achieving success, the biggest celebration is of oneness. Why do the Balls exist? Because “the gay community want to be together.” |
