Paris is Burning crackles because of its subjects, almost all of whom are natural performers in some way. The documentary profiles the LGBTQI “balls” that took place in 1980s New York City, in which competitors—almost exclusively of color—would walk a runway while wearing costumes according to various categories. Directed by Jennie Livingston, the doc consists of two basic components: footage from the balls themselves and interviews with the various contestants. These range from the officious and proud Pepper La Beija, who oversees one of the communal “houses” who perform as a team; to the sage ball historian Dorian Corey, who hails from the era of showgirl-style drag queens; to the doomed and wispy Venus Xtravaganza. All, in their own way, are piercingly perceptive about their own identities, as well as how they fit—or, more often, don’t—in larger society. (“That’s not what it’s like in the world,” Pepper says of the balls. “You know? It should be like that in the world.”) While the documentary captures how the balls served as places of love and affirmation for those who couldn’t find that anywhere else, it’s also honest not only about the rivalries that were also part of the competitions, but the fleeting nature of ball subculture. (The mainstream—from Madonna’s “Vogue” to this doc—eventually consumed it.) One of the many sage, philosophical asides tossed off by Dorian serves as a fitting epitaph: “You’ve left a mark on the world if you just get through it.”
(2/16/2025)
