My sister-in-law also subscribes to Netflix, and she gave me a DVD the other day. It was Paris is Burning - she said she had to watch it for a course she's taking, but it's about drag queens so she thought I might like it.
It was great. For all of my involvement in the gay community and leather pageantry, and even with my awareness of drag queen competitions, I had no idea that Harlem in the late 1980s was a hotspot for performance art and drag shows like those shown in the movie. I also didn't know that these balls were vogue-ing long before Madonna - well, at least a little bit, since the documentary was already in production when her song came out.
Ultimately, though, Paris is Burning is a tragic story. The participants find great joy in the balls, but the viewer is frequently reminded that this is often their only joy, as many of them are poor and lower-class, and some experience discrimination for being gay or transgender. And although I didn't realize it while watching the movie, most of the stars have died since the film was made - several from AIDS-related causes - and one who is still alive is living with AIDS herself. This movie is educational and fascinating, but it makes me sad to realize that the world it depicts has been morphed beyond recognition or even left behind completely.