Ru Paul's Drag Race

Episode 3 Reaction ==>

Even though the assignment was to just watch the last segment of the show, I had to watch the entire episode out of pure curiosity. The show combines competition, fashion, challenges, singing, judging, and basically all the elements of every reality show combined into an hour time slot. Watching the girls on stage at the end is a different kind of performance art then we are used to seeing. The two who were in the bottom two had to lip sync to stay in the competition. It reminded me of when we watched the clip of Mulholland Drive in class and Naomi Watts is watching the singer on stage and she all of a sudden dies. The purpose of that clip was to see how sound is being used in different performances now.

The drag queens had to lip sync their hearts out, and they treat lip syncing like regular singing, it IS a type of performance. You do NEED a talent to lip sync with the passion that they did. When Shannel's hair piece fell off her head she continued to perform. The judges were impressed nto by her confidence, but by her vunerabilty. Shannel didn't stop, she kept going and stayed in her drag queen persona. Performance art comes in all different forms, but no matter what you are performing there is a character you are portreying. Always hold that character throughout your performance because even though she lost her hair we still looked at her as Shannel lip syncing to Whitney Houston.

Fourth Episode===>
I've only watched two episodes but I already have a favorite! Ongina's Mac Viva Glam commercial was fantastic! Celebrate life. We need to always remember that even though we have tradgedy and heartbreak, sadness and defeat, Celebrating life itself can always bring us back to a beautiful place in our lives. I loved her message and I love her overall perfomance.

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Okay, I was writing this post while watching the show and Ongina just won and told on national tv that she is HIV positive. I mean talk about bringing reality into performance art. Looking at Ongina, you look at an artist, the makeup on her face, the character she has made, and the persona she portreys. But after admitting such a devastating disease, we see past her materialistic looks and Ongina became not a performer, but a friend to the viewers.