In 1980s New York, a group of poor, Black and Latinx gay and trans kids created an underground ball scene so powerful it would shape fashion, music, and language for the next 40 years
Shout-out to Naledi de Wee of The South African for putting this on our radar.
Trailer for “Paris Is Burning”
You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up
- Venus Xtravaganza, a 23-year-old trans woman in the House of Xtravaganza, is murdered during filming. Her “house mother” Angie tearfully speculates she was killed by a john after he discovered she was trans.
- Many queens admitted they shoplifted outfits—or turned to sex work—just to afford costumes for the balls.
- “Banjee realness” meant gay men competing to look like macho street thugs—passing so well that straight men wouldn’t clock them.
Watch “Paris Is Burning”
You can stream “Paris Is Burning” on HBOMax and Apple TV.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 93/100
- IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 88/100 (Users); 98/100 (Critics)
Director’s Note: Directed by Jennie Livingston. This is her breakout feature, filmed in Harlem, NYC in the mid-to-late 1980s. Livingston later directed “Who’s the Top?” and the AIDS documentary short “Hotheads.”
Release Date: Premiered at festivals in 1990 and released theatrically in the U.S. on August 9, 1991.
My Review of “Paris Is Burning”
The Setup
This doc drops you into Harlem’s underground ball culture of the 1980s. It follows Black and Latino gay and transgender performers—organized into “houses” like House of Xtravaganza or House of LaBeija—as they compete for trophies, status, and survival. You see categories like “Executive Realness,” where a queer kid from the Bronx struts in a Brooks Brothers suit, judged on whether he could pass as a Wall Street banker. The film’s stars—Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, Angie Xtravaganza, and Willi Ninja—explain why these fantasy worlds mattered when the outside world was stacked against them.
More Highlights from the Doc
- Dorian Corey delivers the film’s most iconic line: “You’re not really going to be an executive, but you’re looking like an executive. You’re showing the straight world you can do it too.”
- Willi Ninja demonstrates voguing—angular, martial-arts-meets-fashion poses—that later explodes into mainstream culture.
- Houses function as surrogate families for queer kids kicked out of their homes. Angie Xtravaganza explains: “I’m their mother. They need someone to care for them because their real parents gave up.”
- The trophies themselves look cheap—spray-painted plastic—but they’re treated like Olympic gold in this world.
Cameos
- Paris Dupree—the queen who lent her name to the title—appears hosting her signature “Paris Is Burning” ball.
- Famed designer Dapper Dan gets a shoutout as ball-goers show off knockoff luxury looks from his Harlem boutique.
Lesser-Known Details from the Doc
- Dorian Corey later became infamous in 1993, when a mummified body was found in her closet—something the doc never mentions, but fans always connect back to this film.
- The term “shade” (as in “throwing shade”) got one of its first mainstream definitions here—explained by Dorian with surgical wit.
- Some of the kids in the balls were as young as 13 or 14, finding community decades before LGBTQ centers existed.
Wrap Up
“Paris Is Burning” is a time capsule. If you want to understand queer history, drag, or why Madonna’s “Vogue” exists, start here.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc