Last chances to see THE QUEEN (1968) and PARIS IS BURNING are TONIGHT [Thursday, July 25]. Both depict the foremothers of the competitive drag that is so popular in our society today. Thankfully, it’s difficult to imagine today that much of what happens in THE QUEEN was illegal at the time. When the film premiered the year before Stonewall, cross-dressing was a felony in much of the U.S. A man wearing lipstick or eyeliner could be, and often was, arrested. 1️⃣ Performer Crystal LaBeija, who basically steals the show, highlights the marginalization of people of color in the drag scene. She went on to establish the house system that we see in PARIS IS BURNING. 2️⃣ Filmed over several years and released in 1990, this doc shows a flourishing community of Black and Brown performers, but sadly not much had changed in the attitude of larger society, and it’s disturbing how little has changed since then. The film itself was controversial, as the people depicted in the doc accused director Je...