Paris is Burning: 30 Years Later
Paris is Burning elevated drag and ballroom into the public consciousness and permanently impacted LGBT culture. However, the performers featured in the documentary didn't reap the rewards of their visibility.
Melody Brooks, a sixth grader with cerebral palsy, has a quick wit and a sharp mind, but because she is non-verbal and uses a wheelchair, she is not given the same opportunities as her classmates. When a young educator notices her student's untapped potential and Melody starts to participate in mainstream education, Melody shows that what she has to say is more important than how she says it.
Paris is Burning elevated drag and ballroom into the public consciousness and permanently impacted LGBT culture. However, the performers featured in the documentary didn't reap the rewards of their visibility.
Remember when there was this amazing comedy titled "National Lampoon's Vacation"? To this day, it is a true classic of the genre and certainly put a new spin on precisely what KINDS of insanity could occur when taking the fam on the road. Then, like with so many successful films, there was the sequel (which for me was even MORE of a classic than the original!). However, the third film emerged....and then a fourth. Suddenly, the luster was gone and disappointment set in.
The film basically says she was a lost cause from the start. We don't get a sense of who Marilyn was.