Paris is Still Burning......

This commentary was taken from my brotha J.Brothalove's blog (thebrotherlove.com). I didnt get a chance to sum up my thoughts on this, so I will share his thoughts since we viewed it the same. By the way, thanks for the plug on the ball!! To catch this on his blog, goto: Revisiting Paris is Burning

**************************************************************



I caught the Scion-sponsored screening of 1990’s Paris Is Burning last night (11/29/07) at CenterStage in Atlanta. I’ve seen the legendary documentary countless times but not recently. The crowd was a good mix of race, gender and age groups. Watching it again brought back bittersweet memories of growing up during the 80s.

Afterwards, there was a question and answer period with Richard Ninja, Andre Mizrahi and Stephaun Elite Manolo Blahnik.

Some of the questions:

Has the ball scene changed since the movie?
Like everything else in the world, the ball scene has changed quite a bit since it grabbed the world’s attention in the early 90s. Andre mentioned that you learn to adapt to the changes if you want to survive in the scene.

Is there a ball house scene in Atlanta?
I forget how "underground" my interests are to many. So I was surprised by this question because I know that there is a very active ball scene in Atlanta. In fact, Final Fantasy is Sunday, December 2 at The Georgia World Congress Center, sponsored by AID Atlanta. Doors open at 5:00, ball starts at 6:00pm. Best of all, it’s free.

Where is ______? What is s/he doing now?
Unfortunately, most of the featured subjects of Paris Is Burning are dead. Dorian Corey, Pepper La Beija, Angie Extravaganza and Willi Ninja have all passed on. Octavia St. Laurent is still being fabulous and slated to judge a ball during Martin Luther King weekend in Atlanta.

How do ball mothers and fathers address psychological needs of their children? / How are HIV/AIDS involved with the ball scene?
There was quite a bit of discussion about these topics. Richard and Andre admitted they give their guidance to the hundreds of kids in their houses but there is a noticeable disconnect with AIDS Service Organizations (ASO) in general. Andre attributed this to fear. However, many ASOs are becoming more active in connecting with kids in the ball scene.


**********************************************************************
My feedback: I was honored to be granted an opportunity to be connected to the discussion and respond to some of the questions of the audience. I am committed to speaking and addressing the concerns and disparities of the LGBT communities of color and larger People of Color community in anyway that I can. HIV is a disease that is not going anywhere anytime soon, and as long we as a community close our eyes to it and its effects, how can we expect anyone else to care about how it affects us?