Paris is Burning chronicles the drag subculture of New York's gay community, dealing with a wide range of sociopolitical topics. But it's also kind of a sports doc.
Storytime: I first encountered Paris is Burning in a chipped plastic VHS case at the Silver Spring, Maryland public library, where it was shelved among the gay/sociology books, not with the rest of the movies, including documentaries. I guess the idea was that if a film was educational enough, it belonged to the Dewey Decimal, not the Blockbuster-style alphabet.
I kinda love that. It probably made it more difficult for people to find, but I'm betting it was a renegade librarian's way of signaling that the film is important, not just entertaining. And they're right!
Unique take! I don't disagree.
Storytime: I first encountered Paris is Burning in a chipped plastic VHS case at the Silver Spring, Maryland public library, where it was shelved among the gay/sociology books, not with the rest of the movies, including documentaries. I guess the idea was that if a film was educational enough, it belonged to the Dewey Decimal, not the Blockbuster-style alphabet.
I kinda love that. It probably made it more difficult for people to find, but I'm betting it was a renegade librarian's way of signaling that the film is important, not just entertaining. And they're right!
Note: "Paris Is Burning" is not to be confused with the 1960s WW2 film "Is Paris Burning?"
That's what I asked myself while watching Gojira perform at the Olympics two years ago.