As a queen, I’m never at a party early. How the hell are you supposed to make an entrance if there’s no one there to see you do it?
But there’s one party I’ve been remiss about joining and I’ve only just got there. Over the last week, I’ve binge watched the first two seasons of ‘Pose’ and now I’m scolding myself for not getting around to it sooner!
Coming from Producer Ryan Murphy, who also co-created the show, ‘Pose’ tells the story of the ball culture in New York in the 1980s and early 1990s. For those who don’t know, ball culture was an African-American and Latin LGBTQ+ subculture in which people ‘walk’, or compete, in different categories in the name of prizes, glory and a damn good time and judged on skills like Voguing, costumes, appearance and attitude. They arose as an act of defiance for these marginalised cultures to stick together and hold a strong sense of community and the legacy of this culture is still felt today.
I have to say, this show is absolutely incredible! I’ve hardly been able to tear myself away from it. From a writing standpoint, the characters are beautifully written and realised and the casting of each and every one of them is superb. There’s not a single bit of weak acting in the whole series and it’s so easy to get attached to these people.
The setting of the late 80s and early 90s means that a major component of the show is the HIV/AIDS crisis and reminds us of the fear and terror those living through it then faced. Now, this obviously means there are some heartbreaking, sometimes gut wrenching scenes, but the production is so beautifully done that these scenes are interspersed with incredible dramatic moments, some hilarious lines and situations and over the top camp and super glossy glamour. But throwing all of these elements together, it never feels anything less than completely real and familiar.
The ball culture has long held a fascination for me, as it’s where a lot of modern day Drag culture originated, particularly American Drag. If you read my piece in February about Polari, the secret gay language of the past, you’ll remember I made reference to Ball Culture and how it had its own lexicon, which you might be familiar with if you watch shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race and most definitely ‘Pose’. This is the culture from which we get phrases like ‘realness’ and ‘The library is open!” The traditions of ‘reading’ and the concept of Voguing. While Madonna may have brought the choreography of Voguing into the mainstream in 1991 with her hit ‘Vogue’, it actually came from the Balls. Learn your herstory, hennies!
The show draws heavily from the 1990 documentary film ‘Paris is Burning’ which chronicled the Ball culture in New York City towards the end of what many refer to as the golden age of Ball culture. In fact, ‘Pose’ wanted to be faithful to it that several people featured in ‘Paris is Burning’ or involved behind the scenes have been credited as consultants on ‘Pose’ and some have even made cameo appearances. The goal to make it faithful has been achieved. In abundance!
There are so many iconic characters in the show, such as house mother Blanca (played by MJ Rodriguez), the master of ceremonies, Pray Tell (played by Billy Porter who won a Golden Globe for best actor for his work on ‘Pose’) and rival mother Electra Abundance (played by Dominique Jackson) alongside a host of other fantastic characters and, while the adventures they all have, the performances they put together and the struggles we see them grapple with are all non-stop, there remains an honesty and a realness that really speaks to the viewer. This is the kind of show you don’t get all that often. Beautifully made, beautifully written and so packed full of heart. It’s inspiring and grounding at the same time and I have to say, as I’m running out of episodes, I’m getting a little sad, as I want to spend more time in this world!
Producer Ryan Murphy seems to have featured heavily in my watch list over the last few months. He’s the man who brought us ‘Glee’ and the long running anthology series ‘American Horror Story’ (which I’ve yet to watch, though I keep meaning to), ‘911’ and it’s spin-off ‘911: Lonestar’ (which both follow the work of emergency first responders in LA and Texas respectively), ‘American Crime Story’ (I saw the Versace series and it was amazing), ‘Feud: Bette and Joan’ (A stunning story of the real-life battle between Joan Crawford and Bette Davis centred around the making of ‘Whatever Happened to Baby Jane’ – an absolute classic!) and more recently ‘Hollywood’ and ‘Ratched’ which I’ve watched in the last few weeks. ‘Hollywood’ told a story of discrimination in Golden Age post-war Hollywood and dealt with the struggles of getting work, race, sexuality and the seedy underbelly of tinsel town and included the delightful Patti Lupone, a Broadway and West End legend (Who you’ll also see some of in ‘Pose). ‘Ratched’ tells the story of Nurse Mildred Ratched, the nurse from the movie ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ but this is a prequel taking place in the late 40s and full of dark, scheming mystery plotlines and very noir take. The thing these all have in common, aside from their wonderfully glossy production is that they let representation of all kinds shine. The leading characters are often up against their circumstances be they to do with gender, sexuality, disability, race or any combination of these. There’s always a degree of camp, beautiful use of colour, a wardrobe department that needs celebrating and the ability to be compelling, dramatic and heartfelt all at the same time. Could Ryan Murphy be the perfect producer?
Another thing I love is the ability to tie real history closely into the narrative. For example, in the 1990 set second season of ‘Pose’ there’s a plot line that specifically mentions auditions for Madonna’s Blonde Ambition Tour and some of the characters wanting to audition. There’s an episode where Vogue is played twice and frequent gleeful references to it bringing their culture into the mainstream. Hollywood showed us familiar faces and names from the old days and intertwined them in the narrative as if the story was taking place around real history. It’s a tool used often by writers, but I’ve never seen it done so perfectly as these shows seem to do it. There’s a precision and an elegance to it.
So, a couple of weeks ago, I was saddened to hear that the upcoming third season of ‘Pose’ will be the last. It’s not been cancelled or anything – heavens no! There’s nominations and awards galore for this show! It’s simply run its course and they explained that they’ve told the story they wanted to tell. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Season Three, but I know it’s be fabulous!
