Paris Is Burning

Normally, children live in a house with their parents. It is not as simple as that in New York, though. Here, the Children are a homosexual subculture in the world of entertainment. This group of 500 inhabitants of New York varies in age between fifteen and fifty. The Children live in two worlds: by day, these blacks and Latinos live in the backstreets, at night they do perfect imitations of media stars. The makers of this documentary follow them on the quays of Lower Manhattan and in their favourite nightclubs. These are the places where novelties and sex are exchanged. In the various clubs, they pose as filmstars and models; 'Voguing' is the trend.
The Children are all members of a 'House' that befits them best. There are about twenty 'Houses' and most of them are named after a fashion king, like 'Saint Laurent' or 'Chanel', but some have more aggressive names like 'House of Ninja', too. The leader of a 'House' is called 'Mother'. This man helps the members with their personal problems. Every month, a grand ball is organized. The guests are expected to completely transform themselves in accordance with the theme of the night. The winner of the contest gets a trophy. Some themes recur, owing to their resounding success: Face, Model's Body, High Fashion Eveningwear, Voguing, and Realness. On the Realness-night, transvestites do not present themselves as dressed up men but as real women. The homosexuals look like average heterosexuals. Other contestants pretend to be street criminals or decent schoolboys. Some guests of the ball wear three-piece suits and party all night with The Wall Street Journal and a suitcase in their hand.