Paris Is Burning is a documentary which was filmed in the mid-to-late 1980s. This film chronicled New York City’s ball culture, which is an underground queer community competition where people walk (i.e., compete) for prizes, trophies, and recognition. The balls were developed in an underground queer culture mainly comprised of multiple marginalized intersecting social locations, such as affectional/sexual orientation, gender, race, ethnicity, gender identity, gender expression, and socioeconomic class. Thus, the documentary showcased a subgroup within the queer community. In documenting the lives, narratives, and culture represented within the queer ball scene, the documentary highlighted the unique language, practices, relationships, and culture, which has more recently been integrated and appropriated by queer and heterosexual culture.

This documentary can be utilized in many master’s or doctoral level counseling courses or topics, such as multiculturalism, social justice, family systems, and clinical supervision. The documentary focused on the intersections of multiple social locations, which exposes counselors to a community that has many strengths, resiliencies, unique qualities, and oppressed experiences. Thus, the documentary can be used to engage in dialogue, expose students to a new culture and concepts, and highlight the importance of intersectionality. However, it is crucial that the instructor or classroom facilitator engage in critical and responsive dialogue, as well as processing the experiences and learning points of their students. Given the richness and complexity of the documentary, it would be important to consult, further research, and provide resources before using this documentary in a classroom or lecture.