The Art of Drag A retrospective look at some of the most revolutionary drag films to date

1. 17th - 22nd October The Art of Drag A retrospective look at some of the most revolutionary drag films to date

2. The Art of Drag A film festival that will showcase some of the most revolutionary drag films to date, in order to celebrate the performance art of drag.

3. Research Reflection My sudden interest in this subject stemmed from my own personal lacking knowledge of the subject and since becoming more recently informed about the queer community. Often the characters in films are not particularly complex, or the complexities shown are on the whole well known to a modern society. Moreover, when it comes to the art of drag, my feeling is that it’s a genre not particularity publicised to main stream media as something to be enjoyed by anyone and everyone. Due to the nature of drag both being unconventional and rebellious movement that can be used as a tool to mock modern society. Therefore, the combined lack of known context, or back-story of the queer community and drag as an art form, which is needed for both character development and audience comprehension in films, the art form is often not included. Vito Russo’s, The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies, is an extensive analytical work, looking at the depiction of LGBT individuals in film. The stereotypical character tropes of sissy and butch, recognised to be queer are examples of the very one-dimensional presentation which has survived into film today, despite shifts in societal views. The main argument presented throughout Russo’s book is the notion that queer roles are either provide a sinister character or comic relief in movies. As individuals to not be taken seriously or portrayed as depraved, abnormal and evil. The longevity of this tradition means mainstream queer roles are either a sidekick or character without humanity or integrity. Hollywood cinema uses the art of drag as a tool, outlined by Nicola Evans, In the article, ‘Games of hide and seek: Race, gender and drag’, in reference Nicola Evans to the movies, The Crying Game and The Birdcage, which feature drag. Evans presents the argument that, ‘... under the cover of drag’s new transgressive status, some very old- fashioned notions about race and gender are being smuggled back into popular culture...’. This use of drag queens on screen supports the outlandish notion that a homosexual male is a woman trapped in a man’s body. Therefore, making the art of drag a way of visualising the idea that this is their preferred sex. “...It is heterosexuality rather than homosexuality that is revealed in the drag act,” (Evans, p. 201) and though the creation of the “other”, a character is created that is not applicable in the real word. “Drag in contemporary Hollywood Cinema gives us a touch of innovation (cross dressing) in order to sell us some very bland forms of sexism and racism” (Evans,1998: p.214). By using drag as a mouth piece for the subversive, as an audience there is potential to try and look deeper into the roles, due to the pretext of drags as an art form, yet we are being fed the same banality that is rooted within society. In drag the gender is the performance, not the values or opinions that are presented, which is used to express and reveal satiric insights in society. However, the idea of a man in dress, to a mid-stream conservative audience would be ridiculous in its self, therefore any comments made, however true, would not be taken seriously. Moreover, whether it is taken seriously or not, the performance in its self would confront convention and challenge the status quo. This is why I wished to curate a film festival that both reveals queer characters in drag as both multifaceted and revolutionary on screen.

4. … The Program … The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, (1994) Pink Flamingos, (1972) To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, (1995) Hedwig and the angry inch, (2001) Kinky Boots, (2005)

5. Pink Flamingos Pink Flamingos is the story of a competition between two families for the tittle ‘The Filthiest People Alive’. The character of Divine is the grotesque trailer trash Babs Johnson, who lives with her perverted son Crackers, traveling companion Cotton or Vivian Pearce and her mentally-ill mother Edith Massey. Their rivals throughout are Connie and Raymond Marble who run an illegal adoption ring and hawk the bubbies to lesbian couples. As a glimpse into the American life John Walters was visionary. The humour presented throughout Walters Pink Flamingo is provocative and exploits the fears of people who have whole hearted faith in the establishment. By doing this Walters is able to expose the ridiculous nature of people. This is the reason Pink Flamingos will feature in the Art of Drag film festival, its revolutionary take on the exposing the ridged nature of society and creating a new cinematic language using the camp and tacky to celebrate the notion of being queer and push against cinematic convections. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is Stephan Elliott's queer road trip movie. As both intellectual, entertaining and creates an environment that enables the embrace of LGBT culture. Elliott's affection for each character give the movie the ability to portray robust personalities that use quintessential Australian values and qualities such as self-deprecation, blunt humor and determination in the face of adversity. Due to it popularity it enables bigger audiences to be exposed to a type of masculinity they may have never experienced before, in a fun and flamboyant way. Using this method a message is able to be deliver and received lightly through humour, a more powerful force than bigotry. This is why The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is to be featured in The Art of Drag film festival, its glittery, gorgeous and combines some crazy queens with the vastly beautiful Australian landscapes an with a constant message, that no one is more natural than anyone else.

6. To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar Too Wong Foo. Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar, staring Patrick Swayze, John Leguizamo and Wesley Snipes as drag queens know as Vida Chi Chi and Noxeema. The movie presents these men in drag throughout barring an opening scene with Vida. This film is able to highlight the true fun and beauty of drag. Without being in sexuality or controversy and includes an original plot. This is an extremely entertaining watch, and provides a lovely representation of drag onscreen with mainstream actors. Kinky Boots Kinky Boots is the tale of a failing footwear company in the Midlands in England that is saved from disaster by a drag queen called Lola. After Charlie Price, the reluctant new owner, assists Lola when being mugged. Once he has seen her perform, Price decides to transfer his company into a niche-market bootery for cross-dressers and dominatrix. Keeping Lola as a design consultant, which after a rocky start, blooms.

7. Hedwig and The Angry Inch - Conceptual Essay - My personal lacking knowledge of the subject and since becoming more recently informed about the art is what inspired my film festival, The Art of Drag. Often the characters in films are not particularly complex, or the complexities shown are on the whole well known to a modern society. My feeling is that drag is a genre not particularity publicised to main stream media as something to be enjoyed by anyone and everyone. As drag is both being unconventional and rebellious movement that can be used as a tool to mock modern society and used as a creative form of expression. I wished to curate a film festival that both reveals queer characters in drag as multifaceted and films that display a revolutionary nature on screen. Hedwig and the Angry Inch was written, directed and stared John Cameron. The film was previously an off-Broadway musical and due to great success was made into a movie, released in 2001. The film presented in a seemingly mockumentary type narrative, in which nothing is told directly to the audience. Hedwig’s past is told during the flashbacks in the movie and the lyrics of rock songs that she creates, this style allows for parody and satire in storyline and music the fictional transsexual led singer Hedwig (born Hansel). Hansel spent his youth in Communist East Berlin, contrasting dramatically to the world he listened to on American Forces Radio. After falling in love with a an American G.I., Hansel is strong armed to have a sex change so that they marry and move to America.

8. The operation is not successful, and then Hansel is left with, what she now describes as, an “angry inch,” both not male or female . Hansel becomes Hedwig. One year later Luther leaves and Hedwig is abandoned, left with nothing but her continuing love for music. After becoming friends with Tommy Speck (stage name, Tommy Gnosis), a young Christian teen, the pair fall in ‘love’, however once the truth about her sexuality is revealed Tommy abandons her too. From then on Hedwig follows Tommy around on his tour, playing her music to tell her story. Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a truly revolutionary movie, that is able to present a hybridity of unusual social aspects . The aspects seen throughout this film allow the audience to be pushed and perspectives to be altered. In an interview with John Cameron Mitchell he mentioned that “I certainly wanted Hedwig’s world to be one where identities and categories are fluid, changing, and confusing, as they are, really, in life…even just in doing Hedwig, I’ve learned a lot about definitions”. John Cameron Mitchell in using Hedwig and The Angry Inch can to give something completely different and wholly more complex representations of nonmain stream ideas and characters more so than most films. I want to celebrate how Hedwig’s able to use drag as a tool for expressive performances throughout the movie. As although the movie is not enterally drag centred in itself. It is used to shape issues from Hedwig’s passed through her musical performances the undercurrent for the movie is the complexities of love and the self-worth. All the choices made in Hedwig’s life were made out for love. Once the love didn’t last and the some of the decisions made failed, Hedwig is now not a man, but not a woman, on a journey to realise that he and we all are more than both those labels. The theme of strong messages also ties into drag through the use of outlandish humour meant to make you laugh combined with hard truths about life. Which is something I find compelling, as a seemingly bitter and unlikable character we can see the sacrifices she has made for what’s she believes in most, which is love. And these multifaceted element of Hedwig’s character unfold throughout the performances. Music is a huge influence in her life and seen through the movie. The different genres of rock that are alluded in the stylisation of her performance’s links to the ideas of masks, something which can be seen in glam rock and drag that tie into ideas of genderfuck and other punk rock movements. Which create an ‘other’ or persona as either separate from themselves or an amplified version, wholly used for creative expression and performance.

9. At the start of the movie, Hedwig expresses her quest to become whole through her rock song, “The Origin of Love”. Which referrers to Aristophanes speech in Plato’s Symposium, Hedwig depicts mankind as originally being one being. After separation via the gods, the rest of their lives are spent trying to find the other half. She believes her other half is Tommy. The idea she will never be whole without him is what drives her to follow him. “It is clear that I must find my other half. But is it a he or a she?” I find in this way the movie is not as politically charged as some movies which uses the elements of drag and drag performances to expel messages relating to society, race or religion. This definitely allows the movie to feel light-hearted, regardless of the unusual complexities in Hedwig's life, creating an very enjoyable watch. As a Metaphor, Hedwig the transsexual rock star, who was strong armed into an operation doesn’t openly speak for any trans-community. Her philosophy is using – “what I have to work with”, and how she copes with what she has. That is why she is able capture the hearts of the audience and find out “Who am I” – which I think is an important message this movie is able to expressed in a very unique way.

10. … References … Russo. V, The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies, 20.9.1987 Ebert. R. To Wong Foo Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar. 8.9.1995. Accessed 11.10.18 https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/to-wong-foo-thanks-for-everything-julie-newmar-1995 Evans, N. “Games of hide and seek: Race, gender and drag in the Crying game and the Birdcage” (1998) Benshoff, Harry M. and Sean Griffin. America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality at the Movies. Malden, 2004 Holden. S. With ‘Kinky Boots’, a Drag Queen Saves The Day. Accessed 10.10.18 www.nytimes.com/2006/04/14/movies/with-kinky-boots-a-drag-queen-saves-the-day.html Buckmaster. L, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: rewatching classic Australian films. 9.5.2014 https://www.theguardian.com/film/australia-culture-blog/2014/may/09/the-adventures-of-priscilla-queen-of-the-desert-rewatching-classic-australian-films Hemblade. C. Pink Flamingos Review. Published 14.10.2015. Accessed 1.10.18 https://www.empireonline.com/movies/pink-flamingos/review/