Paris Is Burning (1991)
Discover the extravagant 1980s Harlem drag-ball scene — perfect for fans of "RuPaul's Drag Race" or "Pose."
Genres: Documentary
Cast
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Paris Is Burning(1991)
Overview
Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.
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Cast
Full Cast & Crew
Pepper LaBeija
Self

Octavia St. Laurent
Self

Venus Xtravaganza
Self

Dorian Corey
Self

Willi Ninja
Self

Paris Dupree
Self

Freddie Pendavis
Self

Sol Williams Pendavis
Self

Junior LaBeija
Self

Angie Xtravaganza
Self

Carmen Xtravaganza
Self

Brooke Xtravaganza
Self

Kim Pendavis
Self

Sandy Ninja
Self

Avis Pendavis
Self

Andre Christian
Self

Stevie St. Laurent
Self

Bianca Xtravaganza
Self

Danny Xtravaganza
Self

David Xtravaganza
Self
Featured Comments/Tips
After binge watching 8 seasons of RuPaul'#39;s DR this movie made me understand things better. Also made me realise how gay americans perceived and developed their community, while that wasn'#39;t happening in Italy for example, and now I can see how and why differents we are (sadly for us). At the end of the day this movie should remind us what we'#39;ve been through not long time ago. And I can see, back at the time, even among other gays, this movie could have been received vary bad or in a despicable way, like there is just one right way to be gay and show to straight people that if we pretend to be like them we maybe worth a bit; This movie is a big fat fuck to these bullshits and a good way to remember or learn it again.
Watched with commentary this time, just as illuminating, and it’s fascinating to hear the generational differences as well as the stories that would reverberate and influence things like Pose. Well worth a listen in addition to a phenomenal doc.
What else is there to say that hasn'#39;t been said? A snapshot of a time all too short but that still reverberates and lives on to this day. It'#39;s a beautiful display of pride, yes, but also of longing, of loss, of determination, and of survival. It'#39;s people making their way in a world that shut them out, and so they had to make their own. And being remembered by even a few in that world... it'#39;s enough. I wish it went on for hours, just listening to these men and women talk and share. It'#39;s history. Our history. But it'#39;s alive and vibrant by presenting these people not as sterilized paragons but as full people, warts and all, their highs and lows. It'#39;s required viewing for anyone and everyone. '#34;I'#39;m a quiet person. And, you know, if you believe that, I own that island right over there too'#34;.
Pride Month 1 film a day challenge: #1 The most fascinating documentary I'#39;ve ever watched. Gay black men, drag queens and trans women are the backbone of our current pop culture, and this film shows the backstage of it all. Unfortunately they still don'#39;t get credited, their culture is stolen by white folk and praised by other white people. But the lgbt+ community knows, and we celebrate them. 10/10
Featured User Reviews

[8.5/10] This is just a fascinating movie on so many levels. For one, it’s fascinating as a chance to learn about a particular subculture. Just getting to immerse yourself in the different houses, the different trends, the different rules and practices, is completely engrossing. The rich ecosystem and history and web of norms that connect these people is a potent topic all its own, and hearing it described and detailed is engaging. But it’s also fascinating as a story of people held at the margins of society who build their families and communities there. As the interviews make clear, these people want mainstream stardom and success. But given how much of an uphill climb that is given their skin color and sexuality (despite sustaining, pie-in-the-sky hopes frequently expressed), they construct their own version of it, within their own space, to help fill that need. It’s also fascinating as a story of privilege. It’s not that the people featured in the documentary possess it, but it is very much what they aspire to. Some of that is in the costuming and performative elements of the balls, where there’s plain imitation of pop cultural signifiers of style and success. Some of it is in the monetary element, where so many of these people are poor or struggling, and so the notion of financial security, both protecting it and fantasizing about it, becomes one of the central ones. And then there’s the aspiration toward a funhouse mirror version of mainstream (read: straight, white, and wealthy) American life in the 1980s. The film juxtaposes the places the queens and children occupy with images of O-P-U-L-E-N-C-E and paradigmatic Reagan-era prosperity. It’s striking how aware so many of these folks are of their lack of privilege and how much they reach toward it and yearn for it, even as they have built their own spaces. That’s the heartening part of a film that has a certain grimness in the background. These are folks with few places to turn, who nevertheless find that familial bond and support with one another. Most importantly, they find acceptance, the place to express their truest selves and, even when donning a different guise, express their hopes and dreams in a place that will support them. That support is inspiring, and the most energizing part of the documentary. And yet, in just the two-year jump, *Paris Is Burning* gives us untimely death, a changing of the guard, and even a slow but sure mainstreaming of what was once an underground necessity. You can see the older mothers lamenting the changes, remarking on how things were different in their day, expressing the same “end of an era” sentiment that all communities feel at times of change. I think that’s what’s so striking about the movie for me. The lives depicted here could hardly be more removed from my own, and yet there’s something universal to them, not just in grief and beefs and found families, but in the way that these social and fraternal bonds come with their own changing of the seasons, old guards and new, wishes and wants that fade into the next. Of course what gives it power is also its specificity to this time and place and group. As a slice of life for the LGBTQ community in 1980s New York City, the movie is just as engrossing. It’s interesting to hear different members of the scene offer differing perspectives on sex changes, on whether they see themselves as women or as men presenting as women or as something else entirely. It’s interesting to see the veneration of “realness” and passing in some quarters at the same time self-expression is praised. And it’s also quietly harrowing to see the warts and all depiction of people who’ve been rejected by their families finding ways to survive. It is, in short, a profoundly human movie. The characters here are colorful, which makes the talking head interviews especially unique and entertaining. But it is also an unvarnished look at a community in flux, with its own unwritten rules and its own American dream, watching both change and slip away before their eyes and ours. The realness on display in the film's runtime matches the realness on the runway, and makes *Paris Is Burning* a powerful and memorable documentary.

[8.5/10] I watched _Paris is Burning_ the other night and found it absolutely worth the watch. This documentary offers an intimate look at the Harlem ball scene and the brave people who created joy and freedom in a world that tried to erase them. The balls were safe spaces for self-expression, full of energy and fun that really radiated off the screen. I also appreciated learning about the queens, women, and men who lived their truths beyond the spotlight. One of my favorite moments was watching Brooke and Carmen dancing on the beach, singing, **“I am what I am; I am my own special creation!”** All I could think was, "Yes. Yes, you are." It was beautiful. Though many of their lives were cut short by tragedy, their courage has profoundly shaped every generation since, and their legacy lives on through this film. I’m in awe of how those who survived have continued to share their authentic selves with a world that desperately needs to see and hear them. Decades later, the challenges faced by the trans community—particularly women of color—persist, often with heartbreaking consequences. This film honors their resilience and affirms the value and worth of trans people and others in the LGBTQ+ community. It is also a reminder that the fight for equality is far from over. I'd love to watch again with the commentary! But after this round, I feel ready to finally take _Pose_ off my watchlist and experience how the legacy thrives today!

Set over a seven year period, this follows not just the evolution of a group of 1980s New York African-American and Latino drag artists, but it also shines quite a light on changing societal attitudes as these lively, strong and characterful folk try to assert their own identity amidst a city not always accepting or willing. It’s all about balls - literally and metaphorically, and showcases a community determined not to be ground down by using their exuberant fashions, dancing, extroversion, competitive spirit and overwhelming sense of community to provide each other with strength and inspiration. They are all from a working class background, but again are bent on using their wits to start businesses, to travel the world, to achieve stardom and to prove their worth to themselves and their frequently hostile and/or bamboozled neighbours. As you’d expect, there’s a lively soundtrack that epitomises the spunkiness of these people, there’s a flamboyance and there is also a vulnerability - rather tragically illustrated towards the end that shows us that being different, proud and “out” is not necessarily the same as being safe and respected. The contributors are passionate, erudite and engaging and though the timeframe offers us a degree of hope that lasting change is coming, slowly - it also reminds us that that change is neither consistent nor guaranteed. At times a little repetitive, maybe one too many catwalks, but it’s still a fascinating insight into an urban sub-culture set upon flourishing.
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