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Drag (mostly RPDR - Spoiler Heavy)

Of the last three divas to make an appearance since the show switched to VH1, the only one who felt genuine to me was Gaga. At least Christina gave us the peekaboo curtain meme. But Miley Cyrus ... It was merely another feather in her cap wrt kooky shit she's done over the years. Total pandering. Thank god the biggest fraudulent faux-ally Katie Perry hasn't stained the runway yet. I suppose we'll have to see how Minaj handles it.

tldr: angsty early 30s white (BAN ME PLEASE) bemoans drag race's spiral toward the zeitgeist (which arguably had already begun with Season 4 when me & my fellow white (BAN ME PLEASE) jumped aboard).

I mean, the other day in a MtG stream the caster joked, "Not today, satyr!" (in lieu of Satan). Ffs.
 
Has Nicki really never been on drag race? I guess I just heavily associate her vibe with that of the show.

I have a full ass manufactured memory of her in a long, white and pink, center-parted wig parting her hair w/ her fingers and going "Well helloooo Ru"
 
MikeDawg said:
Has Nicki really never been on drag race? I guess I just heavily associate her vibe with that of the show.

I have a full ass manufactured memory of her in a long, white and pink, center-parted wig parting her hair w/ her fingers and going "Well helloooo Ru"
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nicki-minaj-rupauls-drag-race-snatch-game-1.jpg
 
btw, how do we feel about the cast reveal and promo?

The reveal was very much a take on Dragula, with the way queens/kings on that show strutted down a hallway in the last season. Even some of the costuming was similar with the goth/spikes (tho considerably less ... horrific). Do you see it as a nod? A swipe? A rip-off? Coincidence!?

The promo is an echo of the final four episode of S10, "American." I interpreted it as a response to the rise of nativism over the last four-ish years while furthering Ru's cult of celebrity ("I pledge allegiance to the drag of the united queens of Ru-merica."). Yes, LGBTQ+ are Americans just as much as everyone else, etc.

Last thing I want to touch on is the renewed controversy stemming from lack of diversity on the show, specifically wrt non-binary/trans/women representation. A handful of alumni have directly called out production for advancing the "Everyone say love," mantra while still keeping the cast almost exclusively cis gay/bi men. While I do appreciate the concern, I find it rather easy for the show's veterans to stomp and scream after having experienced fame since their season aired. It feels rather unfair to diminish the show now, in a way that appears to delegitimize the current season's cast. I don't want to fall into "be grateful for what you got" trappings, but considering the detractors are operating in a hindsight is 20/20 world and only have influence to exert due to the show itself, I can't help but wonder where was their courage when their livelihood depended on drag race bookings exclusively. Maybe there's a way to do it without shaming the entirety of drag race? I could be wrong here.
 
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EV said:
btw, how do we feel about the cast reveal and promo?

The reveal was very much a take on Dragula, with the way queens/kings on that show strutted down a hallway in the last season. Even some of the costuming was similar with the goth/spikes (tho considerably less ... horrific). Do you see it as a nod? A swipe? A rip-off? Coincidence!?

The promo is an echo of the final four episode of S10, "American." I interpreted it as a response to the rise of nativism over the last four-ish years while furthering Ru's cult of celebrity ("I pledge allegiance to the drag of the united queens of Ru-merica."). Yes, LGBTQ+ are Americans just as much as everyone else, etc.

Last thing I want to touch on is the renewed controversy stemming from lack of diversity on the show, specifically wrt non-binary/trans/women representation. A handful of alumni have directly called out production for advancing the "Everyone say love," mantra while still keeping the cast almost exclusively cis gay/bi men. While I do appreciate the concern, I find it rather easy for the show's veterans to stomp and scream after having experienced fame since their season aired. It feels rather unfair to diminish the show now, in a way that appears to delegitimize the current season's cast. I don't want to fall into "be grateful for what you got" trappings, but considering the detractors are operating in a hindsight is 20/20 world and only have influence to exert due to the show itself, I can't help but wonder where was their courage when their livelihood depended on drag race bookings exclusively. Maybe there's a way to do it without shaming the entirety of drag race? I could be wrong here.
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I feel like RuPaul made his position clear when he said fully Trans women wouldn't really fit in a drag competition, but then apologized and quickly recovered in AS4 with the inclusion of Gia. There's always been a prevalence of gay/bi men (some would say white males too), but I do agree with the fact that it's not fair to criticize the show for lack of diversity, especially since most trans women have always been so supported (eg: Monica or Peppermint).
Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the cast reveal promo! (Gigi Goode looks like James Charles lol)
 
ok so rly quick fill me in, is there a new season out rn or if not when does it come out

cant read the thread cause if there has been ive missed it and dont like spoilers
 
well, the SP situation is... unfortunate. And it's clear that production is pushing/likely will continue to push her... since imo she was realistically the 4th/5th best of the week but they gave her top 2. Rock M and Jan were both robbed of top two imo, with Jaida 3rd.

All in all a great cast though between both premiers and the only real filler queen seems to be Dahlia.
 
I don't think a queen would be eliminated extraneously unless she were still in the running for the crown, i.e. wasn't eliminated during a lip sync. So the bitch must have gone to top 4 of the entire competition. How tragic.

Anywho, I thoroughly enjoyed the first opening, but the second was still fine. Right now I love love love Jan. She was easily top 2.
 
lot of queens doing shows from home during coronavirus, I watched Jynx Monsoon's show, it was excellent. and am going to watch Miz Cracker and Sharon Needles next.
 
More thoughts on Sh*rry Pie's elimination and why I think it's screwing over Jan.

Each episode of Drag Race typically focuses on only a cross-section of the current competition. You have your front runners, villains, losers, and sometimes red herrings. This is the case for all reality TV competitions, and the roles can shift episode to episode. It helps guide the audience through the intended narrative of each season and conditions us to like or dislike certain contestants.

Initially, the show aired with the original edits, which meant Sh*rry was getting substantial attention as a front runner. Eventually, the re-edits caught up with the pace of episodes being released and Sh*rry's presence notably diminished. No longer do we get her confessionals or interactions with other queens on the set unless it specifically pertains to an important plot point.

So what has this got to do with Jan?

Jan is a lovely gal and a solid contender. She serves strong looks, her personality is magnetic in the confessionals, and she knows how to be campy. But clearly the judges aren't ready for her to be a front runner and have largely ignored her (Gigi is beating her in looks and Sh*rry is beating her in camp). However, she is being edited like a front runner. Why? Because they had to fill the void that removing Sh*rry left behind. Subtracting an entire queen's airtime (and one who's doing well) requires a lot of filler, which also helps to explain why the workroom scenes seem to drag on.

Here's why this is bad for Jan and for the show as a whole. For one, it makes the judges look even more out of touch than usual. Two, it makes Sh*rry's win(s) look unearned (obviously). Three, it inflames the "she was robbed!" tribalism that follows bad judging. And four, the robbed queen -- in this case Jan -- has more to prove with less headroom to do it in. If she's already operating at a level above queens in the middle of the pack but being judged like them, we'll need edits showing her putting in even more effort or otherwise her sudden materialization at the top each week will risk exacerbating the issues with point one (bad and arbitrary judging).

It's hard to blame production too much, however, because ultimately their hands were tied. No way could they have aired the season uncut and no way could they have canceled it altogether without fucking over their credibility and the rest of the cast. It just sucks that one of my favorite queens of the season has unintentionally become collateral damage. I really want to be proven wrong ASAP, though, and I'm hoping that last week's episode and her placement as "top 6" is an indication of that.

Now, can somebody please address the Aiden gang-bang from last week's untucked?
 
Aiden's is clearly getting an unflattering edit, imo. There's a disconnect between what we see in the work room and his actual placements. It's like a weird mix of Serena Chacha and Trinity K. Bonet.

It's frustrating that Brita was in the bottom despite putting in more effort, but that's not Aiden's fault. We've all been on both ends of that situation. Work doesn't necessarily translate to success.

Don't get bitter, just get better. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
1) Jan is absolutely going to get the Alexis Michelle edit of "full of herself, not as good as she thinks she is, tries too hard which makes it not spontaneous and fun" even though that's not at all true of Jan (and frankly not entirely true of Alexis either). She'll likely place 5th or 6th, though that may bump her to top 4 depending what they do about SP.
2) Aiden is 100% going home tonight. That's the current edit and edit is better at predicting the future than actual guesses based on the challenge at hand. I mean if you asked me just purely based on it being snatch game, I'd say the queen least likely to pull of an impression and think on their feet quickly to be funny would actually be Crystal, despite how much I love her. But it'll be Aiden.
 
Bughouse said:
1) Jan is absolutely going to get the Alexis Michelle edit of "full of herself, not as good as she thinks she is, tries too hard which makes it not spontaneous and fun" even though that's not at all true of Jan (and frankly not entirely true of Alexis either). She'll likely place 5th or 6th, though that may bump her to top 4 depending what they do about SP.
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Oh no I cannot accept this. Periodt.

Alexis got the villain edit. We have not seen any inkling of that with Jan. So far, the biggest braggart and closest comparison to Alexis this season would be Brita ("I'm a New York theater queen!" was literally Alexis's shtick). Jan is far too likable and toothless at this stage of the competition to be "full of herself". And Alexis had one of the worst runways of that season and no sense of humor (about herself).

The only part of your statement that could count against Jan would be a lack of spontaneity/too forced, etc. Sort of what happened to Miz Cracker season 10. Actually, I think Cracker and Jan are in similar situations. Relatively polished, generally likable and genuine, but in their heads and being overshadowed. Fortunately, Cracker has redeemed herself since. Let's hope the same will be said of Jan before the show's over.
 
Fair enough. Cracker may be a better comparison. Regardless I don't see Jan in the finale based on the edit, aside from them making adjustments for SP's disqualification.

I'd say Brita has the Alexis edit, but that assumes Brita will be around long enough to have an edit that matters...
Brita's already been low twice and the last time someone was low twice early on but still made it far was Pearl I think, which was purely for the narrative of "wake up pearl". I can't see them giving such a sympathetic edit to Brita. Adore was low twice early as well, but still didn't have to actually lip sync until top 7.
Even just lip syncing once early on usually means you're doomed. The only examples I can think of a queen lip syncing in the first few episodes and still making the finals is Eureka on S10, Raven all the way back on S2, and Chad on AS1.
 
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As far as I can think of the only queen to survive the week after being the bottom 3 consecutive times is Vanjie, who was then high for the makeover challenge. Brita should hopefully follow the trend of everyone else ever and get eliminated next week and spare us of the attitude.
This is ironically what happened to Alexis on S9. She was bottom 3 for all of Top 8, 7, 6 until being eliminated at Top 5.

Speaking of which, my favorite read of all time is Sasha's chuckle
 
So now that I've had time to collect myself, I just have to say I can't believe how right I was, re: Jan getting robbed.

And the preview for the next episode is (unsurprisingly) leaning into the whole debacle. Even the official Drag Race YT thumbnail for the episode's first act pits a laughing Gigi juxtaposed with a crying Jan.

Fuck this season's production. They look incredibly petty right now. It's only hurting the show's legitimacy, along with Gigi's, because she'll be getting undeserved backlash from Jan Stans. (It's not her fault Ru has a boner for skinny white boys.)
 
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