Paris is Burning opens with an observational tone in that
the characters are seen to talk uninhibited to the camera. Occasionally a
producer is heard directing the flow of information (what is being said) from behind
the camera. It gives the impression of fidelity by appearing to be purely
observational. The camera is allowed to observe uninhibited during the ball
scenes because the performers are showing off to the audience in any case; the
camera is not unduly distracting them from their normal (ball) activities. The subjects
of the documentary are given a free reign to explain their world and its
cultural elements from their perspective. The impression that is conveyed by
the interviews is a sense of the dearth of opportunities that have driven the
characters to find meaning in this cultural activity. Somehow (as mentioned the
questions are not often revealed) the producer has managed to hit the vein as
to why they participate in the “balls” to begin with: they are used as an
escape from the normal. How the interviewees came upon this vein of
conversation is not revealed to the viewer, in this regard it is not reflexive.
But in relation to an accurate depiction of the world that is documented in
this film: the fact that they are allowed to shape their representation is
indicative of the transparent methods utilized by the director. She has stood
aside and allowed others to express themselves through the medium she has made
available to them. Several aspects of the ball culture are explained in turn
and this structure gives the film a well-paced rhythm, this rhythm is something
that is created in postproduction. Although it is not how events unfolded in
actuality this interspacing of elements stops the balls from becoming just a
show or a spectacle. It is also informative, the interviews providing an
expositional element to the film.
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