Paris Is Burning by Jennie Livingston - Essay Example

Jennie Livingstons ‘Paris is Burning’ Introduction Jennie Livingstons ‘Paris is Burning’ is a documentary film that has been able to explore a rangeof themes in the American society, most especially focusing on the New York City, and its ball culture (Brown, n.p.). It is one of the films of the 20th century that has extensively painted the picture of sexuality, as well as exploring many other themes such as race, class and gender, with a keen emphasis on the ball culture that entails fashion dressing, dancing, modelling and competing for prizes. Therefore, the walking style, the beauty of clothing and competency in dancing style forms the major criteria through which the contestants are assessed (Dean, 14). The film extensively features the groupings and team formations of the members of the ball culture, with such social formations being the basis of the contestants’ protection strength. Thus, the film features a shift from the ballrooms contesting activities to interviews with the major participants in the contests, to clearly paint the picture of the LGBT community in New York, and summarize the theme of gender, sexuality and social classes as informing the ball culture (Leila and Verta, 44). Further, the themes of racism, homophobia and poverty also features in the film, to complement the experiences of the LGBT community encountered from interacting with the larger heterosexual community. Therefore, this discussion seeks to analyze the major themes exploited in Jennie Livingstons ‘Paris is Burning’, with a view to argue from two different perspectives. The first perspective of the discussion will hold that ‘Paris is Burning’ is primarily a film about gender; while the second perspective will argue that ‘Paris is Burning’ is primarily a film about race. Jennie Livingstons ‘Paris is Burning’ is primarily a film about gender, considering that it features the male gender that consistently tries to embrace the female gender’s culture, behavior and mannerisms, predominantly with the black and Latino men being featured in their gay context in New York (Rafferty, n.p.). In the film, the Black and the Latino gay men are involved in a series of competitions, and in them, they have devised cross-gender dressing and fashion style, which they then complement with the founding of the voguing dance style (Dean, 22). The film is primarily a portrayal of the Black and Latino gay men imitating the female poses, dance style, fashion dressing and walking style, which forms part of the gay mannerisms. In this respect, the film is a representation of the glorification of the female gender, which has enticed the male gender who are gay to embrace the culture of female socialization habits, which entails establishing an identity as a house, where the members of the social house have the same last name as the fundamental of their identity (Brown, n.p.). In the ball houses, the groups are competing on the basis of their realness in representing the female mannerisms, as well as in authenticity in selecting and applying fashion and clothing that entails both evening wear and executive wear. The social groups are formed into houses a means of forging a unity and protection amidst the harsh environment they live in; where heterosexuality is perceived as the norm, and thus any acts of homosexuality are castigate d as inappropriate. Thus, the ‘Paris is Burning’ fundamentally represents a group of socially underclass people who are outcasts in the eyes of the society, and who have refused to be ignored by the world that is so harsh to them, such that they are trying to assert their position in the society (Dunks, n.p.). Therefore, this underground community is forging a gender identity that is different from the normal gender categorization of the mainstream society, through demonstrating their established culture to the world that may not be so kind to receive them. The storyline of this film is the mimicking of the high-fashion models by Black and Latino gay men, as a way of indicating that the fact that the physical body form is categorized as either male of female does not in any way deter an individual from embracing and living the gender of the choice. Thus, the female gender, which has been marginalized throughout the history, has gained redemption in this film, as the most glorified and embraced gender throughout the film (Leila and Verta, 47). On top of glorifying the female gender in the film, the poor Black and Latino gay men features transvestites and transsexuals gender identities, in a bid to demonstrate to the world the existence of different gander identities that may not be apparent to the world, or the ones that the society has vilified. Further, the theme of gender is also advanced through having both genders compete for the authentic representation ad portrayal of the opposite gender. In this category both home boys and home girls compete in playing the roles of the opposite gender, where they represent such gender in its different contexts, ranging from banking professionals, college students and sophisticated airline briefcase fashions (Rafferty, n.p.). The film is a depiction of what it feels when a certain section of the society, more especially the LGBT community is always placed under intense pressure to conform to the social norm, whereas their biological makeup or individual choice dictates otherwise. This way, the film has been able to demonstrate to the society what concepts such of homophobia means to the minority social group, where the large heterosexual society does not accept or even buy the culture of the LGBT community (Dunks, n.p.). Such intense pressure is the basis of competition, so that the contestants can still manage to remain real and authentic, even under the intense pressures of social rejection. Further, the film also feature the struggles of both genders to fit into the society’s affluent classes, where vices such as prostitution and stealing are the basis of such genders making money, so they can be able to dress up like the affluent class that they might be perceive to be. In this sense, the film does not only represent gender as an aspect of the differences in sexuality of the members, but also in the different gender roles towards achieving the espoused social status within the society (Dean, 27). Nevertheless, the theme of rejection for men who wants to pass as women is the fundamental representation of the film, where violence and beatings area common occurrence. Therefore, the film represents the courage and the boldness that the men who want to pass as women must take to withstand the rejection, harassment and assaults. However, the film also represents some form of paradox, where the opposite genders are mostly trying to mimic the character, style and fashion of the people who may not accept them in real life (Leila and Verta, 45). Race is the other perspective that the film has taken, featuring the struggles of the minority groups within the society, but more especially demonstrating the nature of suffering that the members of such groups face, especially when going against the expected social norms. Therefore, the message that the film delivers is that, if an individual is a black male, who is poor and gay, then such an individual has to brace himself for much difficulties in the society (Dean, 35). This is because; the minority groups are already facing the difficulties of rejection in the society, simply because of racial discrimination that is still rampant within the American society. The Black men and the Latino face major difficulties especially in trying to advance into the highest social status, and thus the mere dramatization of a black or Latino gay man in the position of an executive turns out to be a paradox (Rafferty, n.p.). Racism has been demonstrated by the rejection that the Black and the Latino men in the film faces, which entails beatings and violence that they must to contend with, if they have to pass as women. The choice of the black and Latin gay men and lesbians is not coincidental, but a more elaborate and designed system of demonstrating the actual struggles that are involved in racially discriminated minority groups, if they have forged a social entity that is not accepted by the mainstream society. In this case, such members of the minority group faces double discrimination, considering that they will be discriminated against based on their race, and then they will face further discrimination on the basis of their gender conflicting gender identity (Dunks, n.p.). The Black and Latino gay community is well known for being discriminated against in the society, and the film has done no more or less than represent this form of discrimination in a more practical form. The discrimination of the two minority groups is extended though being seduced by the white lifestyle which is lavish, while also being ridiculed by the beauty of the white families (Leila and Verta, 49). The film also presents the theme of race through the demonstration of the means of earning livelihoods for such Black and Latino gay men and lesbians, who has to either engage in stealing or in prostitution, so they can earn money that can afford them a social status of the people they are trying to mimic in the film (Rafferty, n.p.). In this respect, racial discrimination is not only socially and culturally-based, but also economic, where such gay and lesbians from the minority groups do not have equal opportunities with their white counterparts to make a living. The strangest thing about film is that it has manifested the voguing dance style that was founded by the gay and lesbians from the minority community for the first time in its authentic nature, yet it has been there for a long period of time, but it could not be openly manifested to the society due to the discrimination that the Black and Latino gay and lesbian community faces (Brown, n.p.). The dance style has been performing underground for some time, but was not made apparent, because it could not be accepted, if it could be traced back to the gay and lesbian community belonging to the minority groups. Part of the discrimination that was disclosed later on is that even the gay community that is white also discriminates against the Black and the Latino gay community, such that the ball culture, which is an underground culture for homosexuals is dominated by the Black and the Latino gay men and lesbians, with little seen about the mainstream white gay community (Dean, 21). The fact that the ball culture is an underground culture emanates from the fact that it is a culture of the minority gay and lesbian groups, which cannot be portrayed openly in the society because it will be chastised and ridiculed. This defines the main theme of the film; to expose the underground culture of the minority gay and lesbian society, which is not apparent to the main stream society, obviously for racial discrimination (Dean, 36). Works Cited Brown, Joe. “Paris Is Burning.” The Washington, August 04, 1991. Retrieved March 19, 2014 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpsrv/style/longterm/movies/videos/parisisburningrbrown_a0add2.htm Canby, Vincent. “Paris Is Burning’ (1991) Review/Film; Aching to Be a Prima Donna, When Youre a Man.” The New York Times, March 13, 1991. Retrieved March 19, 2014 from http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D0CE7DD1738F930A25750C0A967958260 Dean, Tim. Beyond Sexuality. USA: The University of Chicago Press, 2000. Print. Dunks, Glenn. “Review: Paris is Burning”, October 4, 2009. Retrieved March 19, 2014 from http://stalepopcornau.blogspot.com/2009/10/review-paris-is-burning.html Leila J. Rupp and Verta Taylor, Drag Queens at the 801 Cabaret. USA: The University of Chicago Press, 2003. Print. Paris is Burning, DVD. Directed by Jennie Livingston. Miramax Films, 1991. [Film] Rafferty, Terrence. “Paris Is Burning.” The New Yorker. Retrieved March 19, 2014 from http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/paris_is_burning_livingston Read More