1 of 16
Non-Fiction
The latest addition to the Queer Film Classic series, dedicated to monographs on classic LGBT films. Edited by Thomas Waugh and Matthew Hays, there are now ten titles in the series, including Death in Venice, Law of Desire, and Gods and Monsters.
Paris Is Burning is a vital documentary about the colorful members of New York’s drag subculture (whose theatrical gestures were appropriated by Madonna in her video “Vogue”). What emerges is not only a snapshot of a genuine pop-culture movement (specifically, the end of the “Golden Age” of New York’s drag balls), but also an honest, moving portrait of gay and trans African-American and Latino men, and a compelling dialogue on race, class, sexuality, and gender.
The film explores the elaborately-structured drag ball competitions in which contestants, adhering to a very specific category or theme, must “walk” (much like a fashion model's runway) and subsequently be judged on criteria including the “realness” of their drag, the beauty of their clothing, and their dancing ability. Most of the film alternates between footage of balls and interviews with prominent members of the scene, including Pepper LaBeija, Anji Xtravaganza, and Willi Ninja.
Non-traditional market: museums and galleries with film sections; LGBT; academic.
© 2013 Arsenal Pulp Press (Ebook): 9781551525204
Release date
Ebook: 25 November 2013
1 of 16
Non-Fiction
The latest addition to the Queer Film Classic series, dedicated to monographs on classic LGBT films. Edited by Thomas Waugh and Matthew Hays, there are now ten titles in the series, including Death in Venice, Law of Desire, and Gods and Monsters.
Paris Is Burning is a vital documentary about the colorful members of New York’s drag subculture (whose theatrical gestures were appropriated by Madonna in her video “Vogue”). What emerges is not only a snapshot of a genuine pop-culture movement (specifically, the end of the “Golden Age” of New York’s drag balls), but also an honest, moving portrait of gay and trans African-American and Latino men, and a compelling dialogue on race, class, sexuality, and gender.
The film explores the elaborately-structured drag ball competitions in which contestants, adhering to a very specific category or theme, must “walk” (much like a fashion model's runway) and subsequently be judged on criteria including the “realness” of their drag, the beauty of their clothing, and their dancing ability. Most of the film alternates between footage of balls and interviews with prominent members of the scene, including Pepper LaBeija, Anji Xtravaganza, and Willi Ninja.
Non-traditional market: museums and galleries with film sections; LGBT; academic.
© 2013 Arsenal Pulp Press (Ebook): 9781551525204
Release date
Ebook: 25 November 2013
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