Review Of The Film Paris Is Burning By Jessie Livingston

The documentary “Paris is Burning” by Jessie Livingston is a film published in the year 1990 that explores the living situation of drag queens situated in New York City, NY, during the 1980’s. The documentary takes a closer look at the lives of not only African American, but also Latino, transgender, and gay communities that participate in “ballroom competitions”. This film is widely known to have a very strong representation of queer people of color, and it is also acclaimed for its portrayal of the complex intricacies of race and identity. I am going to explain how this film can be connected to two different readings that we received in class. I have chosen chapter 9 of “Black Looks” by Bell Hooks, and I am also going to use an article written

In this chapter, Hooks explains how the demasculinization of any person in a society is seen as a cross from a world of having little power into a world full of privilege. Hooks dives into the fact that many black comedians actually have their first success when they include their impersonations of black women. This is due to the fact that the black woman is often a target of ridicule and scorn. She also talks about how during her viewing experience many white people just treated the stories and hardships of these minorities as entertainment, and didn’t actually take it seriously. I would like to connect this subject to the actual documentary because it is suggested by multiple people in the film that black women are treated much worse than men, but despite this there are still many people in the film that either cross dress as a women, or that have undergone a sex change. Many people in this film claim that they know that their lifestyle is dangerous due to people’s views surrounding LGBTQ community, but they are still willing to cross dress and enter that world of powerlessness that Hooks mentioned. I have nothing but respect for the queer men in this movie that willingly put themselves in danger in order to enjoy their lives instead of just permanently living in the

Their stories are told first hand by the actual people that experienced it and I feel like it impacts the story in a way that makes it feel a lot more personal than if an outside source were to cover it. It also makes it very sad and emotional because you see all of these people that are being mistreated and oppressed tell their stories to you and it feels like they are right in front of you the whole time. This entire documentary just feels very natural and immersive so I think that it perfectly encapsulated the vibe of ballroom culture during the 1980’s. This same idea of immersion is what makes it extremely sad when a person dies in the film, because they felt so