Drag Queens from the past
02 Oct 2021.

PS Please Burn this Letter is a documentary about the drag scene mostly in post-WWII New York City. Lots of discrimination and police brutality, but also lots of feathers and sequins. The premise of the documentary is interesting - a recently opened storage facility unearthed hundreds of letters (written by the drag queens of the period with names like Daphne and Josephine) to a radio DJ named Reno Martin, who knows why. As historical documents, written in the breezy hip vernacular of the time, they are invaluable. Martin kept the letters safely hidden away, and the filmmakers use this treasure trove of history as the basis to tell this story. Interestingly, Reno, whose real name was Ed Limato, went on to be a renowned talent agent in Hollywood.

At first it is fascinating, with actors voicing the letters as they scribble across the screen. The filmmakers found many of the letter-writing queens, now octogenarians, and they’re a feisty lot. Some of them dislike the term ‘drag queen,' preferring the term ‘femme mimic.' The movie’s greatest strength is the wealth of Super 8 footage of drag performances and campy parties. Cops be damned, they seemed to be having a really fun time.

Much is made of the fact that drag queens were outlaws, prone to stealing stuff. There is an interesting story about two queens who stole $3,000 worth of wigs from the Metropolitan Opera House. Also interesting is the fact that at the time a rep from the Mattachine Society dissed the queens for being too big, too showy. Honestly, does drag even have anything to do with male homosexuality? Isn’t it closer to show biz than sexual revolution? Drag comforts and placates bigots with dazzle. Straight people don’t think about anal sex while watching Ru Paul’s Drag Race.

Lots of people will love this movie, because it reveals drag’s rich past. But much like an actual drag show, it tends to numb. The only time I felt anything was when one man talks about some drag queen who attracted the attention of none other than Salvador Dali, who regularly sent sketches backstage as a gift, but this stupid queen would just look at the drawings with haughty disdain and throw them in the garbage. Imagine the monetary value of those little sketches nowadays. Well, no one ever accused drag queens of being too intellectual.