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A look back at a benchmark documentary 'Paris Is Burning'

By Jeff Strickler

August 1, 2019 at 9:04PM

A restored print of the 1991 documentary “Paris Is Burning” is screening at the Lagoon. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The digitally remastered 1991 drag-scene documentary "Paris Is Burning" (⋆⋆⋆, rated R) shows how far society has come — and how far there's still left to go.

This look at "voguing" — called such because participants struck poses both emulating and ridiculing the high-fashion models in Vogue magazine — was considered provocative at the time and drew calls for a boycott from conservative Christians.

Now the practice is so commonplace that there's even a TV series about it, "Pose." But not everything has changed. In interviews, many of the subjects talk about their biggest wish: to be accepted by mainstream society as who they are and be able to live a "normal" life like everyone else.

The film could use a little more analysis — especially when seen three decades in retrospect — but one has to remember that then-29-year-old director Jennie Livingston was making her very first film — she hadn't even made a short film before that — and, under those circumstances, this was truly remarkable. (Showing at the Lagoon.)

about the writer

Jeff Strickler

Assistant Features Editor

Jeff Strickler is the assistant features editor for the Minnesota Star Tribune. He has spent most of his career working for the Variety section, including reviewing movies and covering religion. Now he leads a team of a reporters who cover entertainment and lifestyle issues.