Paris Is Burning - Journal Entry 27 Xiongyue Yu

Pairs Is Burning – Jennie Livingston

 

Paris Is Burning is a 1990 documentary film directed by Jennie Livingston. Filmed in the mid to late 1980s, it documents New York City's prom culture and the African American, Latino, gay and transgender communities that participate in it. A chronicle of the New York drag scene of the 1980s, focusing on prom, voguing and the aspirations and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and energy. In the film, the resilience of these gender non-conforming people gives them the ability to assert self-affirmation in the face of personal and impersonal forces that seek to deny their humanity. The most important impact the film brings to us, both past and present, is on the concept of intersectionality, as discrimination intersects in every aspect of our existence, whether it is about race, gender, sexual identity, age, class, or even appearance, body image, or personal ability. With the authenticity underneath the various characters in drag at this carefully planned ball in the film, a multi-layered exploration of African-American and Latino subcultures is shown through different talents, choices and perseverance, but also a microcosm of fame, race and wealth in the larger American milieu of popular culture.