by Michael Anthony Farley on April 11, 2017
RuPaul’s Drag Race never ceases to entertain. This season is a little weird, though, right? It seems like an awful lot of drama (even by both reality TV and drag standards) directed at seemingly inoffensive people. Case and point: last week’s episode of Untucked. Basically, Brooklyn’s own Aja was seriously resentful towards goofy California newcomer Valentina because the judges always seem to praise the doe-eyed West Coast ingénue and criticise the seemingly-no-eyed New Yorker.
Anyway, an awful lot of rage spewed forth in the behind-the-scenes Untucked segment—so much so that I found the episode off-putting. I like this GIF, however, because out of context it looks like an alien giving you a compliment.
But what are others’ thoughts? Is Valentina overrated? Did Aja deserve to lip synch? Is she just kinda mean? Can you wear this many clashing warm-and-cool red tones?
Read the full article →
by Michael Anthony Farley on August 25, 2016
Is everyone else this overjoyed that Rupaul’s Drag Race (arguably the best thing to ever happen to reality television) is airing a second All Stars season, starting tonight?
As the show has brought drag to primetime televison, it somehow doesn’t feel quite as transgressive anymore. That certainly doesn’t mean it can’t be surprisingly smart and undeniably entertaining. And the first All-Stars season was especially good because of on queen: Tammie Brown.
One of the first-ever RPDR contestants, Tammie managed to subvert all the expectations of reality tv, often to surreal ends. When she didn’t feel like participating in a challenge, she didn’t. When the other contestants were supposed to throw shade at each other for dramatic backstage footage, she veered their attention-grabbing tactics off course with bizarre outbursts.
In a race characterized by an obsession with glamour, Tammie Brown just aimed to be really, really weird and self-aware. And even though she ended up getting voted off the island faster than other queens, she sashayed-away a far more memorable personality than many a “top 3” finalist. I hope this season of All Stars lives up to the last one, but without Tammie, it’s hard to imagine it can.
Read the full article →
