Queering the Oscars: "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert"

For Pride Month Team Experience is looking at queer and queer-adjacent moments in Oscar history...

by Cláudio Alves

It was the night of the 67th Academy Awards when a Vera Wang-clad Sharon Stone stepped on stage to present the Best Costume Design Oscar, the second category in an evening most remembered for its Forrest Gump lovefest. And yet, amid celebrating that epic of political passivity and proto conservatism, the Academy found time to tip its metaphorical hat at two classics of 1990s queer cinema. The second such picture, Trevor, would have its moment later when the Live-Action Short race resolved itself in a shocking tie. For now, slotted after a resplendent Dianne Wiest accepted the Supporting Actress trophy, it was time to honor The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert…

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Drag Race RuCap: "Grand Finale"

CLÁUDIO ALVES: It’s over. RuPaul’s Drag Race has finished its fifteenth season, crowning one of its best winners yet while putting on a show full of musical interludes, political messaging, and gorgeous gowns. Though the excitement of lipsync tournaments à la season 9 is somewhat missed, the queens seem happy with a repeat of the season 14 format, where each finalist presents a solo number before Ru picks a top two to lipsync for the crown. Anyway, that’s a matter for later. First, dear Nick, tell me your general thoughts on the finale...

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Drag Race RuCap: "Reunited"

CLÁUDIO ALVES: RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15 is almost over, with the finale airing next Friday. This week, however, was time to honor the traditional reunion in the form of an extra-large 80-minute episode. If you’ve been following the queens on social media, you know these bitches have plenty to say, from tales of thievery to bullying accusations and everything in between. Not that this was an especially inflammatory reunion - too many dolls are level-headed individuals for that to happen. Sanity prevailed, drama abated, and it was still an entertaining chapter. If nothing else, it gives us an excellent opportunity to reminisce about the season and our coverage. What say you, dear Nick? 

NICK TAYLOR: It was a good time! The reunion had a fun balance of pure shenanigans, rehashing tensions from the show, and even some serious political ruminations on what it means to be a drag queen in the wake of so many drag bans across the United States…

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Drag Race RuCap: “Blame It On the Edit”

CLÁUDIO ALVES: I knew they were bluffing! Apologies for starting this RuCap at the end of the episode, but there was no other way this episode could end but with the whole top four moving to the finale. All that talk of a final elimination was always a baldfaced lie, a mere attempt at adding stakes to an episode with none. Whatever faint redundancy this chapter might exemplify, it’s inconsequential in the face of these bitches’ collective serve. But maybe I’m exaggerating, too drunk in affection to think straight. 

NICK TAYLOR: As the one of us who dared to believe that RuPaul would actually send a queen home this episode, I’m really happy I was wrong...

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Drag Race RuCap: "Teacher Makeovers"

NICK TAYLOR: I know both of us are less jazzed about the makeover staple, so let’s just get that out of the way now. This episode didn’t alleviate any of my usual feelings about how this challenge is judged or executed. I’m glad the teachers were so uniformly game, unlike some of the surlier participants from older seasons, and the basic cloning/color swapping made the peaks among this group somewhat limited. Imagine the ramifications of Crystal Elizabeth Methyd rightly winning this challenge in season 12 and encouraging future queens to really go apeshit on what “family resemblance” means. The race is tight enough at this point that winners and losers truly come down to hair-splitting, yet this week’s choices release that tension into something inevitable without being totally satisfying. How did this week’s episode sit with you?

CLÁUDIO ALVES: For a bitter curmudgeon like me, who thinks the makeover challenge is the worst Drag Race staple, this was an enjoyable hour. It could have been much worse…

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