<Student Name>
<Student Affiliation>
At the time this documentary was made the gay and transgender lifestyle was largely unknown and considered taboo. This documentary helps to shed light onto this lifestyle and place into context why this lifestyle exists. The documentary seeks to present this lifestyle as more than just a joke, but rather a presentation of the stories of real mean that desperately seek to fit into a society that has no desire to accept them. The men in this story are poor, black, gay, transgendered and desperate to fit into society and find self-realization. This duality is portrayed through the constant juxtaposition of interviews with the subjects of the documentary, clips of the balls and clips of mainstream society. The overall sense of the movie is that these men have created a sense of family necessary to survive their disenfranchised lifestyle.
Soundtrack
The music of Paris is Burning brings to life the “voguing” and stylized dancing of this community. Played throughout each of the ball scenes the music provides a subliminal commentary on the aesthetics of this subculture. For example when Cheryl Lynn’s song Got to be Real is played at the same time the documentary examines the concept of “realness” and how each of the participants seek to be real in this environment in an effort to say I can be anything I want to be if given the opportunity. In the participants effort to be real they in essence become a caricature through dress-up that is a commentary on “normal” society. On one hand this sub-culture resents the normal white heterosexual culture, but on the other hand they want the privileges that come with being a member of the normal white heterosexual culture. The music also creates a dichotomy between the two cultures when the documentary switches between the normal white heterosexual culture and the scenes of gay and transgendered black men dressed like the main stream culture demonstrating that if they can pass then they are real and can fit in.
Narration while used sparingly throughout the documentary is used midway through the movie to emphasize the importance of the “house” families that this sub-culture has created to replace their real families that have rejected them. The narrator explains that these houses can be compared to gangs that adopt the names of “house mothers”. This prevalence of these “houses” is further emphasized when the house names are scrolled across the screen and then the young men on the street proudly proclaim their house names. It is during the interview with Extravaganza that the emotional and social support of these “houses” is explained verbally and visually when Extravaganza’s breast are openly admired by her fellow house members.
Native Voice/Ethnographic Information
Throughout the movie the director uses individual testimony to convey the heartfelt desire to fit in. It is through the emphasis on realness that each individual expresses how they see themselves fitting in with real mean and real women. They explain how this desire is expressed during the “balls”; confessing that they are willing to steal to acquire outfits for the ball to compete in one of the many ball categories: pretty girl, sportswear, luscious baby, school and others. The objective is to look real rather than flashy to blend in. Their ability to dress “real” will help them to eventually erase the barriers that keep them separated from society when considers their society taboo. It is this ostracism from society and their families that brings rise to the formation of house families from the larger gay community.
Conclusion
The agenda of the movie is clear – the director desires the viewer to understand and perhaps sympathize with this group of poor, gay, disenfranchised black men in New York City. It is the ball that provides a cultural cohesiveness to this group of men. Support for each other is express through the ball competitions and confidence and a sense of self is developed through the perceived glamour of the balls. It is through these balls that gay and transgender black men are able to step out in front of society and proclaim who they are in a safe environment. This sentiment is aptly captured through the statement that they already have two strikes against them being black and male and life is made doubly hard when they are black, male and gay.
Reference
Livingston, J., Labeija, P., Pendavis, K., Pendavis, F., Corey, D., Xtravaganza, V., Ninja, W., Orion Home Video (Firm). (1992). Paris is burning. United States: Fox Lorber Home. Video.
