Summary
The documentary starts with a series of different images from Harlem in New York City.
A drag queen dressed in an elaborate, all-gold outfit enters a ballroom and begins performing for the exuberant audience.
In an interview with Pepper LaBeija, she explains that she is the mother of the House of LaBeija and has been "reigning" for two decades.
Bystanders familiar with ball culture explain that balls are analogous to sports games for other people. Others mention how growing up, they always idolized the wealthy white people in magazines for having more than they did. Pepper LaBeija explains that most of the people walking in balls are poor and/or homeless.
Participants in the balls explain some of the terminology associated with performance.
Dorian Corey, another well-known ball performer, explains that performing in a ball is an "addictive high... that won't hurt you."
Dorian Corey and Pepper LaBeija explain the evolution of balls and how they have changed to be more inclusive for those who do not or cannot aspire to look like a Las Vegas showgirl. An announcer at a ball announces the various categories like "pretty girl," "cheesecake," "schoolboy/schoolboy realness," "town and country," "butch queen," "military," "high fashion evening wear," and "executive realness."
Analysis
The beginning of the documentary establishes some of its major themes, characters, and arguments.
One of the primary tactics that Livingston uses to familiarize viewers with the subject matter is to show footage from real balls with a voiceover in the background – usually a bystander or one of the film's central drag queens. This structure in many ways lets the balls "speak for themselves," while providing viewers with insight into the context surrounding these performances. By presenting balls this way, Livingston gives viewers a first-hand experience of what was, at the time, a little-known phenomenon.
Occasionally, words will flash onto the screen in all-white lettering against a black background, a signal to viewers that this word is a special term used in ball culture (like "REALNESS" or "LEGENDARY"). Then, those being interviewed usually define the term in their own words. Notably, the terms tend to mean different things to different people – a testament to the fluidity, flexibility, and inclusivity of ball culture.
The beginning of the film also introduces viewers to two of its central subjects: Pepper LaBeija and Dorian Corey. Both of these queens are older and have been participating in balls for decades. They are framed in the film as wise figures whose experience has granted them particular insights into balls and the queer community.
As such, Pepper LaBeija explains the role that class (a major theme of the film) plays in ball performances: even the fact that these events are called "balls," an archaic celebration of the white upper class, points toward the class dynamics that create the cultural phenomenon. Balls are, Pepper suggests, an aspirational event in which the ostracized and the low class can inhabit the role of the wealthy. Pepper notes that most of the participants in balls are extremely poor or even homeless, but that they will steal something from a store in order to wear it to a ball and "live the fantasy." Pepper's explanation therefore emphasizes the film's focus on how balls are an opportunity to temporarily transcend one's social status in a safe environment.
