New York. 1987. The city is in the middle of a violent crime wave, income inequality in Manhattan is among the worst in the country, and a callous presidential administration is ignoring an epidemic that has killed tens of thousands of people. But inside the Imperial Elks Lodge on West 129th Street, a group of performers have gathered to get away from all that for just a few hours.

Last month we looked at the 1967 documentary The Queen, which captured a slice of New York drag culture right before Stonewall changed everything. Now, let’s jump ahead twenty years to Paris is Burning, the groundbreaking documentary that captured another small slice of hidden queer culture — right before everything changed once again.

BET’s Queer as F**K:    • The Story Behind The Ballroom Scene &...  
LEGENDARY: 30 Years of Philly Ballroom:    • LEGENDARY: 30 Years of Philly Ballroo...  
Ballroom Culture: the Language of Vogue:    • Ballroom Culture: the Language of Vog...  
Ballroom Throwbacks Television:    / ballroomthrowbacks  
“Is Paris Burning?”: http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/gust...

Support Culture Cruise:   / mattbaume  

Paris is Burning is streaming here: https://amzn.to/35mafYj