Paris Is Burning
The film's controversy bothers me a lot. Of course, I learned nothing from it, not because I'm a trans woman, but also because I believe no one who sees this film will learn anything from it, because those who don't know won't want to know.
And this is crucial, because I believe that a documentary doesn't always have the intention or need to have the objective of teaching something to those who watch it.
“Paris Is Burning” for me is this, nothing more than a celebration and appreciation of a community that had no opportunity to be seen, and was forever immortalized in this piece of art that respectfully immortalizes them in moments of glory and insecurity.
People try to challenge the legitimacy or integrity of the film by claiming that a white woman used the community to grow up and make money from it and I don't think I can think of a more stupid and dumb way to look at things.
The LGBT community wasn't even profitable, and incredibly, "Paris Is Burning" isn't a blockbuster or anything like that, so much so that the director doesn't even have a big name within the industry or was able to use the film's money to continue an artistic legacy that basically never took off due to lack of opportunity.
This film was clearly made with blood, sweat and tears out of love and appreciation for a community that needed to be seen and remembered, and without the director having this idea, we wouldn't have one of the best (or even the best LGBT film of the 90s), so much so that in 96 Cheryl Dunye released the FIRST feature film made by a black and lesbian woman, "The Watermelon Woman," which already portrayed how black people didn't have opportunities within the film industry and were never represented on screen with respect or even with their own names.
Or also for those who complain that the film is white-centric because black people like Venus longed to be white and much of the community too 😭? It's not because it's a documentary and any minority longs to be the person who is considered beautiful and above others in this case any black person will long to be white, any trans person will long to be cisgender and any gay person will long to be heterosexual and that is the magic of the community: the way they manage to, from these insecurities, exalt their own queer beauty, challenging and questioning what is considered normal in society because that's how they feel good!!!
As for the fact that they weren't paid (they were later), that's a matter of agreements made within the film's production. In many documentaries, the people interviewed aren't paid, but of course, in this situation, where many of these people had significant trouble finding work and supporting themselves, one would expect some help from the director. In this case, the 55K distributed to those who participated was "more than what they would earn in a drama film," as Jennie claimed. Honestly nothing to point out because I extremely doubt that this film moved masses in any way. 😭
I think those who criticize are the minorities who, thanks to the struggle of these people in this film, were able to forget that they are minorities, and that is a big step that the world has taken.
Of course… a memorial before the credits…