Monday, March 23, 2009

Another one bites the dust

Well, another one is over. Another fabulously wonderful television show has ended and again, I am verklempt.
In case you have been living under a rock or your cable company is homophobic, like mine, and doesn't offer the Logo channel, the show I am referring to is "RuPaul's Drag Race."
First of all, this show has two of my most favorite things in the world, gay guys and reality show competition. I think the general idea was to make this "America's Next Top Model" meets "The Crying Game." Regardless, I effin' loved it!
RuPaul has always been FIERCE. In the show, we got a chance to see him in and out of drag. Personally, I like to see him in drag. Call me crazy but I somehow feel good about knowing that he has to put all that work into something I was born with! *sticks tongue out* Take that, Loca!
Like all reality TV shows, there are the stereotypes, all of them are gay so that one doesn't apply. What I liked about this one is that there were two people in that b$%tch role who played it very well. Then of course there's the minority, here though, there were a few and I liked that. The one you really rooted for but could never get it right. The weird one, the whiner who got on my good nerve and the one who smoothed things over.
I'm telling ya'll, this show was awesome!!!
For so long, all I ever knew about drag queens came from RuPaul, who we really didn't know, and the movie "Wigstock." Both were pioneering for drag performers, but I think this was a step in the right direction to have drag performers be humanized.
So much of what they do is illusion and make-up and wigs and a lot of people tend to see them as fake people who feel like they are stuck in the wrong body. This show challenged that and became, dare I say, pioneering?
While there was a whole lot of Tom Foolery going on, there were a lot of issues brought up like HIV/AIDS, poverty and homophobia. All of these things need to be discussed on a huge stage and I commend RuPaul and the show's other producers for giving us this awesomely entertaining show.
To all the performers - Victoria , Tammie, Akasha, Jade, Ongina, Shanelle, Rebecca, Nina and especially the winner Bebe Zahara Benet, you all made my Monday nights. And best of all, you didn't eff it up!

Picture is property of Logo.

5 comments:

The Jaded NYer said...

YES! And thanks to you and The F$%k It List for bringing it to my attention or I never would have seen it!

But girl, you need to watch my other favorite drag films:

To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar

Paris Is Burning

and of COURSE----

Priscilla of the Desert

LOVE THEM!

And to see RuPaul in a hysterical role, watch the indie flick, But I'm A Cheerleader. I won't even tell you what it's about. you just have to watch!! lol

Tiffany S. Jones said...

While you're playing, I've seen all but one of those movies. I've never heard of Priscilla of the Desert. In fact, I own "To Wong Foo." I couldn't pass up the atrocious mess that is Wesley Snipes in drag.
Now, I have to seek this movie and prolly add it to my collection. I recently watched a movie called "Dirty Laundry" where Rockmond Dunbar plays a character who has yet to come out to his family.
The story script was wretched, but I loved the concept. The writer could have gone a different way with that.

12kyle said...

RuPaul? *sigh*

Ohhhhh lawd!

The Jaded NYer said...

My bad, it's Priscilla Queen of the Desert... if I remember correctly it's an Aussie movie, so I hope you don't mind thick-ass accents! lol

PS- Wesley as Noxema LMAO!... John Leguizamo & Patrick Swayze? What better way to cast some drag queens? I thought it was a risk that paid off, even if it didn't do well commercially. The film had heart!

The F_Uitlist said...

You know how I loved this show! I think I watched every episode twice. And Bebe winning made me happy, she's FIERCE! though I hated that reunion outfit BLECCHH!

As for the movies listed above, I've watched To Wong Fu more times than I probably needed too. I can recite the lines backwards and forwards.

lastly; face face face, I give face beauty face! and I'll never say Cameroon the same way again.