Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
¶ … Paris is Burning chronicles the lives of African-American drag queens and gay men during the heyday of the New York City 'vogue-ing' fad. The filmmaker follows several men involved in the scene and shows the release mechanism the theatrical space of the club provide in their lives. The main protagonists are marginal figures in the mainstream world that often denies their existence or threatens them with violence. They are ostracized from the African-American community because of their 'queerness' and from much of the gay community because of their poverty and their color.
Introductory material
Paris is Burning presents a world that likely seems strange and unfamiliar to many people on its surface. Even people who have seen 'drag acts' and are familiar with gay culture may know very little about this New York City subculture of the 1980s. The film begins with little explicitly introduction, showing the viewer scenes of the main character's lives, and contrasting them with scenes of the drag balls. The characters talk a bit about what makes a good performance at a drag show, and how the participants are judged. But rather than telling the viewer explicitly what is going on, the viewer is instead encouraged to deduce things by implication.
The racism...
However, the film's early juxtaposition between life on the streets and life during the drag shows; between the struggles of the characters to survive and also to dress themselves and create an illusion of beauty is informative for the viewer and immediately establishes the tone of the film.
Q2. Music/sound
Music is a vitally important part of the protagonists' lives. It makes them feel connected to something larger than themselves, as they desperately search for dignity. When dancing in drag and pretending to be either a gender or wearing the clothes of someone of a higher social class, these men feel 'the most themselves.' The dances or 'balls' they participate in are competitive events, and the ability of the drag queens to convincingly walk to the music and embody the music in their movements is a critical component of how they are judged. Understanding the importance of music in the lives of the drag queens is an important part of understanding who they aspire to be.
Q3) Narration
Paris is Burning is free of any overriding narrative voice of the filmmaker. Many of the subjects are very garrulous, and they…
Work Cited
Paris is Burning. Directed By Jennie Livingston. 1991.
Paris is burning achieved the status of controversy when it came out as a documentary that offered a white view of the black and Latino drag world. It is important to understand that Jenny Livingston, the director of the film, is a white lesbian whose sexuality and race had a bearing on the way the film was made and presented. The film documents the lives and dreams of drag performers in
" Rather the participants described different aspects of the ball and the culture themselves. I think in this film the lack of narration worked well. It let the viewer form their own opinions of what they were seeing without any guidance. Since most of the viewers were probably unfamiliar with such cultures, the lack of narration made the film thought provoking. 4) Native voice -- Did any members of the group
In "Piaf," Pam Gems provides a view into the life of the great French singer and arguably the greatest singer of her generation -- Edith Piaf. (Fildier and Primack, 1981), the slices that the playwright provides, more than adequately trace her life. Edith was born a waif on the streets of Paris (literally under a lamp-post). Abandoned by her parents -- a drunken street singer for a mother and a
It seems to her, says Flaubert, that her being, rising toward God, is going to be annihilated in love like burning incense that dissipates in vapor. But her response during this phenomenon remains curiously erotic... The waving of the green palm leaves relates this scene to the previous scenes of sexual seduction. (Duncan para, 5) At times, the green in the novel moves from springtime to the idea of the
The matters finally reach a limit and in the end the reader should have reached the end. The author does not really take the opportunity from all the characters that he has introduced, yet this may be viewed as an act of restraint on his part. The position of Daniel remains a low positioned individual, and that probably takes care for the other individuals who seem to have much