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October 05, 2018 - Image 6

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Walking into the Javits Center,
I immediately felt safe. There was
something oddly comforting about
this year’s location of RuPaul’s
DragCon, an annual convention
that caters toward fans of VH1’s
award-winning “RuPaul’s Drag
Race” and general devotees to
drag culture. Enclosed within
Javits’s glass walls and industrial
architecture
were
convention-
goers of all ages, abilities, genders,
sexual orientations, racial and
ethnic backgrounds, dressed to the
tens in multicolored attire.
For those familiar with drag icon
RuPaul’s immensely successful
reality competition show — or
for anyone who has participated
in or watched live drag shows —
the aesthetic forwardness and
diverse array of people shouldn’t
come as a surprise. Both “Drag
Race” and drag culture are known
for championing boldness and
queerness through their emphasis
on high fashion, self-love and
extravagant, campy performances.
With its origins dating back
centuries ago, the drag movement
has always encouraged people
within the LGBTQ+ community
and
beyond
to
challenge
preconceived notions of gender,
as well as to express themselves
regardless of whatever judgment
may come their way. “RuPaul’s
Drag Race,” which premiered on
Logo TV in 2009 and recently
received
two
Emmys
for
Outstanding Reality Competition
Program and Outstanding Reality
Host, remains an important and
influential staple in maintaining
that doctrine by making drag
more
accessible
to
modern
audiences. After a record-breaking
40,000 attendees gathered at last
year’s DragCon in Los Angeles,
DragCon’s expansion to New York
City seemed like the perfect way to
continue establishing drag’s legacy
in pop culture.
On Friday, Sept. 28, day one
of DragCon, my friend Ariel
Friedlander — a Stamps junior and
local Ann Arbor drag queen who
goes by the stage name Daya Bee-
Dee — and I arrived at the Javits
Center at exactly 2:00 p.m. As we
waited to check in for our tickets,
I noted that almost everyone in

our line adorned elaborate garbs,
colorful
costumes,
outlandish
outfits and lavish dresses. Once we
made our way onto the upper level,
the atmosphere was welcoming
and
unexpectedly
calm
for
such a highly anticipated event,
though it gradually became more
overwhelming on day two when
attendance nearly doubled.
Fortunately, the vastness of
the Javits Center allowed for easy
navigation. To help orient people
through the gaudy spectacle of
DragCon, the main floor was
divided into avenues with tongue-
in-cheek street names: 500 Death
Drop Alley, 600 Backrolls Blvd,
700 Charisma Court. In the middle
of the room laid a long, wide pink
carpet, which operated as both a
convenient refuge away from the
controlled chaos and a runway for
“Drag Race” queens and fans alike
to serve sickening looks.
Beside the carpet and “Drag
Race”
meet-and-greet
stations
stood rows of booths that sported
jewelry, gloves, twunk trunks,
leather tights, fetish accessories,
stripper
poles,
makeup
and,
perhaps most importantly, wigs.
Classic bops by Britney Spears,
Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga
blared from overhead speakers,
echoing throughout the room. On
the far left side, a multitude of posts
featuring artists like NYC-based
designer, author and personal hero
of mine Adam J. Kurtz offered a
selection of queer artwork and
other knick-knacks to purchase.
Even the younger attendees had
their own “Kid’s Zone,” a space
that consisted of a bouncy house
and a large green foam mat, where
children and their parents sat
and listened to drag queens read
picture books with messages about
self-acceptance. This was queer
heaven if I ever saw one.
Throughout the weekend, the
convention
radiated
relentless
positivity
and
support
from
every direction. Walking around
with Ariel, I couldn’t help but
notice the frequent rate at which
compliments — namely “Yas!”
and “Love your makeup!” and
“Slay, mama!” — and Instagram
handles were exchanged between
ourselves and other DragCon
attendees. Each convention-goer
we met were not only friendly, but
acted as if we were already friends.
The first person we greeted was

Desmond is Amazing, an adorable,
up-and-coming child drag star
who flaunted a patriotic outfit
with strawberry-colored jellies.
While waiting in line for season 10
fan favorite Miz Cracker, we came
across Miss Sherry Pie, a jubilant
New York queen dressed in an
“Alice in Wonderland”-inspired
get-up. Later on, we met Double
O Sexy, a flashy drag queen duo
from Westchester, Pa. comprised
of Ophelia Hotass and Onyx Black.
“DragCon means a collective
group
of
creative
individuals
and inspiring people joining and
banding together and slaying the
world,” said Ophelia, who, along
with Onyx, was dressed as a hybrid
of a pink-and-yellow Troll doll
and a zombie with eyelashes as
flamboyant as Esma’s from “The
Emperor’s New Groove.” “People
are coming here and just being
themselves, being whoever they
want to be.”
Indeed,
all
walks
of
life
seemed to be present at DragCon,
including a few notable standouts.
Among the varied streams of regal,
spooky and silly personalities
were muscular, scantily clad men
in assless chaps and neon speedos
— known on the show as the
“Pit Crew” — while “Adventure
Time,”
“Rugrats,”
“Clueless,”
“It” and “The Handmaid’s Tale”
cosplayers strutted around. Casual
encounters with popular queens,
like season 10 winner Aquaria
and season six contestant Gia
Gunn, made for pleasant surprises.
RuPaul
himself
remained
an
elusive figure during DragCon,
but as serendipity would have it,
he strode past us on day three,
decked out in a pink vest and white
shirt. A throng of followers tailed
behind his slender, formidable
figure, as he carried a sign that said
#TakeBackTheHouse and waved
hello to fawning fans basking in his
glory.
Even
with
the
non-stop
promise of fun festivities and
queer liberation, DragCon wasn’t
without its faults: Merch was
expensive, certain vendors were
overeager, lines to meet “Drag
Race” contestants were long and
time-consuming. In one particular
instance, Ariel and I waited four
hours to see season seven and
All-Stars
season
two
favorite
Katya, whose line extended for
what seemed like miles but whose
Red Room-styled station made
the trip worthwhile. Though
most of the meet-and-greets
were free, taking a picture with
more top-tier queens like Detox
and All-Stars season 3 winner
Trixie Mattel required paying a
ridiculous cost. Even non-“Drag
Race” contestants like Nikki
Blonsky, the lead actress from
“Hairspray,” were trying to make
a quick buck; an autograph was
worth $20 and a picture with
Blonsky was $30.
The
absurdity
of
these
incentives — and the general
exhaustion that comes with an
event as spectacle-heavy and
pricey as DragCon — was lost on
neither of us, nor on other drag
queens present.
“(DragCon) is like a drag
queen’s
shopping
mall.
It’s
basically where all get to come
together,” Onyx said. “It’s like a
family reunion, but also like, ‘Girl,
I wanna get this makeup. I need a
corset. I need some lashes.’ It’s so
easy to get everything.”
“For me, (DragCon) is a
pleasure, but it’s also an assault
on the body,” said season nine
contestant and University alum
Alexis Michelle, who wore a
stylish
black-and-silver
dress
with a matching feather and

Everyone loves a diva. From
Mae West to Marilyn Monroe
to Aretha, Céline, Madonna,
Beyoncé and more, the poise
and inimitable power of the diva
archetype continues to proliferate
through time. Arguably the most
memorable and unique diva of
our time is Lady Gaga, an artist
who has fused visual culture,
the avant-garde and her singular
voice into a brand which changes
with the wind, but always
maintains its originality. Gaga’s
music alone is a celebration of
individuality, and combined with
her experimentation in fashion,
she consistently creates art that
will last the test of time. She is
truly an idol, a perfect example
of American iconography and
pop culture at its finest. For
these reasons, she is heralded as
an innovator in the public eye,
but it is also why her upcoming
film “A Star is Born” is already
so successful at its release —
seeing Gaga bare-faced and raw
highlights the soul at the heart
of her fame, the thing that makes
her different from the rest.
But the Gaga phenomenon is
not new, even if this version of the
movie is: “A Star is Born” has been
made and remade three times
before the current iteration, the
first being released in 1937. The
original version starring Janet
Gaynor and its first remake in
1954 with Judy Garland follow
the classic storyline that all of
the films share; a washed-up
alcoholic male star stumbles
upon a budding female talent,
and with his help she becomes
famous. These first two movies
ran with the framework to create
full classic musicals — Judy
Garland’s film was almost three
hours of dance numbers and Old
Hollywood songs — drawing
on the allure of a rags-to-riches
narrative to highlight young
starlets in typical Tinseltown
fashion. But the most recent
versions — Barbra Streisand’s
epic rock musical in 1976 and
the Lady Gaga / Bradley Cooper
behemoth this year — take a
different approach to the conceit,
instead focusing in on the grit and
reality behind the shiny image of
stardom. In both, a well-known
star is momentarily stripped
down to her base, allowing an
eager audience to see the woman
behind the diva.

When I first saw the trailer for
this year’s “A Star is Born,” I was
more excited than I think I’ve
ever been for a movie release. 2018
is the year of great music movies,
“A Star is Born” is among great
company, like Freddie Mercury
biopic
“Bohemian
Rhapsody”
and others. The teaser itself
is a great film, full of emotion
and a crescendoing close that
emphasizes the serious approach
Cooper made as a director to

fill his movie with music that
actually holds up alone. I’ve
listened to the soundtrack’s first
single, “Shallow,” probably more
than is healthy. Anyone who
lives in my dorm has definitely
heard me screaming it in the
shower — “I’m off the deep end,
watch as I dive in, I’ll never meet
the ground!” This is a testament
to the power of Lady Gaga; I
haven’t even seen the movie,
but the clip of her, no makeup,
t-shirt and jeans, singing her
heart out has lodged itself in my
mind permanently. Many of my
friends have also fallen prey to
the trailer, and I assume they too
are screaming that song in the
shower. Above my own personal
excitement, this is evidence of
why “A Star is Born” has been
remade three times: It’s not just
a movie, it’s a phenomenon, one
that audiences will always love.
But why do we love it so much?
At the core, “A Star is Born” is
all about the diva in question.
Audiences are always a sucker
for a transformation, whether it
be in the purest circumstances (à
la “The Princess Diaries”) or in
classic rom-coms like “She’s All
That.” But “A Star is Born” does
this in a different way, showing
the artist as a real woman at the
beginning of her career, being
brought up the ranks into the star
we know and love. In this year’s
version, Lady Gaga is stripped

down to her roots, upholding
the conceit of remakes past but
enhancing it even further. From
the promotional material and her
press interviews alone, it is clear
that the movie is an opportunity
for fans and the masses alike to
see Gaga in a new light. This is
the most obvious draw of the
film, to take a glimpse behind the
mask of extravagant excess that
the singer often creates around
herself, but the plotline of “A Star
is Born” adds to its status as a
phenomenon just as much. It’s an
interesting take on the American
Dream, but through the eyes of
a woman, a relationship and the
failure of a famous man. In that,
audiences are given a chance
to dream for themselves and
ruminate on the inherent luck
of fame, stardom and talent in
the American music industry
through an interesting lens.
The gender dynamics of “A
Star is Born” are not uncommon
in the business, as many women
in the past have been guided to
fame by self-destructive men
over the years. So it’s even more
powerful to imagine yourself in
Lady Gaga’s place, knowing that
her character’s story is not so
unique in the scape of history. It
is not all glitz and glamour, and
“A Star is Born” doesn’t ignore
this: The film’s common plot
instead uses the male character’s
alcoholism as a device to bring
realism and candor into an
otherwise fairytale story. That
realism
is
ultimately
what
makes the movie’s formula work
time and time again, and why
a fourth rendition is popular
before it has even been released.
The combination of a common
story, the allure of seeing the
diva stripped and a balance
between the joys and darknesses
of success allow the viewer to
simultaneously place themselves
in the movie and watch as it
unfolds at the same time. At its
foundation, “A Star is Born” is
about rebirth, something that
through the prism of fame
becomes vastly more powerful
than it already is. We all search
for a sort of rebirth in our lives,
but it is often hard to tell if you
are enough to achieve it. The
success of “A Star is Born” tells us
that we are enough, and that even
a diva doesn’t need anything but
herself to be seen.

The ‘A Star is Born’
formula & why it works

DAILY GENDER & MEDIA COLUMN

CLARA
SCOTT

Pride & positivity abound
at RuPaul’s 2018 DragCon

SAM ROSENBERG
Senior Arts Editor

SAM ROSENBERG / DAILY

jewel-encrusted crown. “These
convention
centers
are
made
of concrete, so stepping on this
cement floor is really, really painful
for the body. When you spend two
days setting up and then three
days, all day on your feet, a lot of
the time in heels, the body hurts.
But it’s great other than that.”
In addition to the economic
and physical fatigue that comes
with the DragCon experience,
the notion of gender and trans
inclusivity posed as a prominent yet
barely discussed issue. Inclusion
is, by and large, a central theme of
both drag culture and “Drag Race,”
but it’s often dismissed in the case
of anyone who isn’t a gay man.
In
the
words
of
Evah
Destruction, an Atlanta-based drag
queen who dressed as Elphaba in
“Wicked” for DragCon, the biggest
misconception about drag is “that
it’s a boys game. That it’s all just a
man’s world because as of now, it’s
so much more than that.”
“I know that we need more
people on the front lines that are
genderqueer, cis-female,” Evah

continued. “Anyone that wants to
do drag should be able to do drag
the way that they want, but also
have the exposure just as much as
everyone else gets. We’re not in the
’70s anymore. It’s not just for men.
We need to do better.”
This problem directly affects
RuPaul, who became the subject
of
discourse
last
May
after
making a series of controversial
comments
about
prohibiting
openly transgender queens from
competing on his show. Given the
disproportionate rates of violence
and murder against the trans
community, proper representation
of queer non-cisgender folk in
both straight and queer media
remains to be seen, which is why
events like DragCon provide a
potential beacon of hope for those
who feel excluded from their own
community.
“There’s still so many people
that are confused as to what drag is
and how the line is drawn between
being a drag queen or a transgender
individual
or
genderfluid
or
anything in between,” Ophelia

remarked.
Even
with
the
immense
progress made in the growing
mainstream exposure of drag
culture, there is still a lot of work
to be done in terms of making it
even more accessible for more
marginalized sects of the queer
community. As Alexis Michelle
pointed
out,
DragCon
will
hopefully keep getting bigger and
fill up entire convention centers in
the years ahead. Onyx joked that
she wants DragCon to transform
into “RuPaul’s Drag Resort.” For
now, though, the size and scope
of DragCon represent a radical
example
of
celebrating
drag
culture and “RuPaul’s Drag Race”
for what they are and the potential
for what they can become.
“It’s so big for the LGBTQ
community and everybody within
that spectrum,” Ophelia said. “It
gives a place where everyone can
come together and not be judged or
picked on. There’s no issues here.
Everybody is happy and friendly
and living their best life and living
their truth.”

WARNER BROS.

FESTIVAL REVIEW

6A — Friday, October 5, 2018
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

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