MiramaxThis loving documentary is about New York's ball culture in 1980s. It was directed by Jennie Livingston (a pioneering lesbian director and onetime love interest to a friend of mine). This politically savvy and deeply empathetic film portrays the heartbreak and humility of a remarkable group who find themselves and each others in a hostile world. It is still an essential educational and organizing tool for trans and gay people.This is probably something you've seen before. Let's now discuss its meaning, 31 years after its release.The death of Venus Xtravaganza late in the film reminds us that QTPOC lives can be much more difficult, precarious and short than they should be. Many of the people featured in the film have died since its release. AIDS, cancers, diabetes, violence and other causes that we don't know about ended the lives of many people too early. Three of them! They are still with us. It doesn't have to be this way. Trans people continue to suffer from economic inequalities, limited access and affirming medical care, as well as the negative effects of hatred.It is both sad and disturbing to see Paris Is Burning as a reminder of the progress that has been made. This speaks directly to me. I was a victim of the violence in Paris Is Burning on multiple occasions in my teens and early twenties. This was twenty years ago, after the movie had been released. It is sad to know that for all the changes that have occurred, there are still many things that have not. Trans people, and Black trans women, are still being murdered "all the time" for no other reason than their existence. It is possible to look at it in retrospect (and this is a good idea if you are committed to improving the lives of trans people). Paris Is Burning poses some serious questions. How long will we have to wait before we can live the life we want? What are you going to do?Livingston accomplished an amazing job, and we now have the movie. However, someone with less cultural capital would not have been able to do it. Livingston is white and grew up in Beverly Hills. She graduated from Yale and began the project while a student. With the help of an editor she was able to leverage her footage to secure funding from the NEA and NYSCA. Madison Davis Lacy (maybe writer, producer, director and former WNYC-TV chief) is the real hero of this project. She seeded it with $125,000. Why is it a "maybe"? Miramax claims that the film made $4 million. However, people who were part of it received $55,000 each in 13 different ways. Pepper LaBeija said that she felt betrayed in 1993 interview with The New York Times. Jennie came to us when we were playing in our fantasies and she started throwing papers at us. We didn't read them out of curiosity. We enjoyed being filmed. Later, when she conducted the interviews, she gave us a few hundred dollars. She assured us, however, that we would be fine when the film was released. More would come." There would be more. Paris Dupree had planned to sue for $40,000,000 before the lawyer discovered the model releases.The question of what the film's legacy should be and is it worth it remains. It helped to make drag mainstream and brought attention to the talents of those who deserved it. Are cisgay people, Ryan Murphy's other shows, Madonna songs, and pop stars who use phrases like "reading" or "throwing shade," really worthy of the legacy that Paris Is Burning leaves behind? RuPaul's Drag Race is RuPaul's attempt to distill the resilience of selected families in ball culture into paltry competition and a refusal of casting out trans people for nine season. What is the best we can do for you? Yes, it is not. However, I will let you decide what it should be.You can watch it here for free.PS: The Hollywood Reporter published a interview with Junior LaBeija, June 11, 2021. It's available here.
