Paris Is Burning (1991)

Paris is Burning is a documentary about the drag scene in New York City in the 1980s, but it is so much more than that. It is a story about people who have had to hide themselves and deal with being marginalized for being black, male and gay. When I sat down to watch this documentary, I was not expecting such a great story about and adversity. I truly began to want to see these people make their dreams come true, even knowing how unrealistic they were. It is a watching this documentary and then seeing how trans-gender and gay people are still dealing with the same problems today. I recommend it to everyone, no matter if they are for or against gay rights because it is truly a movie about humanity.

Being a fan of the RuPaul Drag Race show and all the references to Paris Is Burning, a movie I've heard of since high school but never saw until now. Every phrase I thought came from RPDR were actually from this movie 2 decades ago. From shady and fierce to the drag queen art of "reading", this movie seems like the inspiration for RuPaul's show.The film is about the ballroom circuit for the mostly black/latino gay community. The participants walk the ballroom floor in different categories, in a show referred to as "balls". Trophies are given to those who have the most "realness". Some competitions include the now famous "Voguing" - a dance which was popularized by iconic singer Madonna."Paris Is Burning" seems a bit dated now that being "gay" has gradually been accepted as a natural occurrence, but at the time of filming AIDS and homosexuals were synonymous and gays stigmatized. The titles before each sequence "BALLS", "REALNESS", "HOUSES", etc., were probably the inspiration for Ken Burns' documentaries. "Paris" flows seamlessly depicting the story of how for one night someone can live a fantasy and the struggle to deal back to reality. Filmed in New York City at the end of the 1980's, it's a great insight to an urban community that most of the "straight" world never new existed.

First of all I am a butch, straight white male. But even with that handicap I love this movie. It's about real people. A real time and place. And of course New York City in the 80's. I had many gay friends growing up in New York in the eighties and the one thing about them i always admired was their courage to live their lives the way they wanted to live them. No matter what the consequences. That's courageous. You have to admire that. This is a great film, watch it and take in what it was like to be a flamboyant African American or Hispanic Gay man in the New York of the eighties. It's real life. Bottom line it's real life.

After growing up in the gritty streets of Detroit, MI, and having friends who traveled to New York balls, I fell into the lifestyle of being a House member. I joined the House of Theieves. We adapted the same rules as most houses, but we were professional crooks that would boost and commit credit card fraud to obtain the fabulous jewels and clothes we desired. I even learned how to profess the making of checks and driver's license and cash them in over seventeen states, until a jealous queen called the Secret Service on me and I went to Federal prison. But, I learned a lot from these queens in this movie and I highly recommend you watch it yourself. You can even read about how I grew up in the houses here in Detroit and the criminal activity we indulged in. My book, Identity Schemes is available on sale at Amazon dot com or at Identity Schemes dot com. But trust me, It is a lot better than Paris is Burning, because its a 2005 make.