DORIAN COREY: I always had hopes of being a big star. But as you get older, you aim a little lower. Everybody wants to make an impression, some mark upon the world. Then you think, you've made a mark on the world if you just get through it, and a few people remember your name.
Hello everyone! I'm back this week with the brilliant Paris Is Burning by Jennie Livingston! As we're fast approaching the end of Pride Month, I couldn't think of a better film to close the month as well as my special series consisting of LGBTQ+ cinema. To read my previous posts of the series, I invite you to visit the last three posts (too lazy to attach a link) and give them a look! Now, let's talk about our film/documentary for the week and explore its glamorous characters more in-depth!
Paris Is Burning is a documentary that focuses on New York's drag scene in the 1980s. This underrepresented community was shown beautifully along with glamorous balls, stylish voguing, and most importantly touching interviews. As a genderqueer herself, the director Jennie Livingston wanted to show the young generation of queers that it's okay to accept themselves just the way they are. In one interview that I truly love, Livingston says that: "Our community has a lot of self-hate. We have a lot of difficulty feeling okay about ourselves. I think with each generation, we hope to have it a little easier than the last. I think that's another value of the film: People can rally around it and have a lot of love for those in the ball scene and for themselves."
In the same interview, even though she admits that she didn't expect this film to be the cornerstone of LGBTQ+ cinema, she's grateful that she managed to share the stories of these wonderful people who aren't afraid to be themselves. I, too, as a both viewer and a queer person, am beyond grateful for these brave people who have paved the way for our voices to be heard.
Let's talk more about the characters of the documentary. I'd like to start with Willi Ninja, recognized as the "Grandfather of Vogue" as he took the dancing form of voguing from Harlem's ball scenes to the world. As also the founder of the House of Ninja, he inspired generations of people to express themselves with this dance form. We see Willi rising in his career in the documentary: as he shows his dance moves to his community, we also see him giving runway walk lessons to cisgender women to help them unleash their femininity. Willi Ninja was the master of choreography, runway modeling, and an inspiring dancer to the world. We see him saying: "I want to take voguing not to just Paris Is Burning but I want to take it to the real Paris and make the real Paris burn." and needless to say, he did just that.
Let's move forward to Dorian Corey, my favorite character of the documentary. Throughout the film, we see Dorian nonchalantly giving life lessons while she puts her makeup on as if the audience can hear these words full of wisdom from anywhere else in the world. The most effective scene was, for me, where Dorian tells the truth behind "leaving a mark on the world" and having a legacy after death. He says that people's ambitions of being a star get smaller as they live longer and realize that not everyone can "bend the world" - and when a person wants to be remembered by millions of people after their death, in truth only a handful of them remembers them. Dorian Corey was, hopefully, an exception of all those people whose names were forgotten. I truly hope that his words will be a guide to the next generations to come and keep inspiring queer people.
Lastly, I'd like to talk about Venus Xtravaganza. Venus highlights both the tragedy of the film and the lives of transgender people in the community. Throughout the film, we hear her ambitions in the world such as leading a simple life in Florida as a woman (and maybe buying a car) and having a loving husband. Venus's personality is so gentle yet alluring - it leaves us with goosebumps when we hear that she was murdered brutally by a transphobic person in 1988, leaving the world at such a young age. Out of all the brilliant characters in the film, Venus's story was the most touching and unforgettable one to me.
Slowly reaching the end of this post, at this point I find it unnecessary to give this movie a score. It was such a touching and brilliant production that it doesn't even need to be rated anymore. Watch this movie and make it watch. Never stay silent for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, never normalize homophobia or transphobia, and -most importantly- love yourself first. This film tells a lot about accepting one's self when society doesn't, but try to remember that there is always a community that will love you the way you are. Again, I'm so happy to be finishing the month with this meaningful film.
Before finishing the post, I'd like to remind you that leaving a comment is always encouraged as well as sending me an email to: moviesatdawn@gmail.com. You can also follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr, all with the same nickname moviesatdawn. I'd like to thank you a million for reading this far and, as always, see you next week!
VENUS XTRAVAGANZA: Some of them say that we're sick, we're crazy. And some of them think that we are the most gorgeous, special things on Earth.
Next post: Night On Earth (1991) dir. Jim Jarmusch
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