Shakedown

Refreshing, informative, stimulating, visually appealing

so nice to watch a queer film that doesn't center a white middle class romance

the film explores sex in public, outside of the couple form, in a queer community space

amazing that young queers at the time could have access to this world

I love how many different event posters the film features, for some reason the way the posters were put together really spoke to me

the aesthetic of the posters makes me feel like they were made by people close to the performers who really wanted the performers to be safe and surrounded by money and love.

An homage to expressive and queer sexuality, the dancers featured in this documentary are passionate and inspiring in their adulterated way of being. Thank you to the film maker for highlighting a part of this lesbian world. The footage is raw and the story very much in the moment as events are happening. The dancing is hyper sexual and for me as a queer woman empowering to see this expression is a lesbian run and owned space, by the female gaze for the female gaze. It portrays a magnitude of lesbian identities within the hour and 10 minutes it runs from hyper femme to trans masculine presenting. I would definitely recommend to any queer friends as educational and entertaining.

Shakedown was a club that had to close for financial reasons--and being raided by the cops must have played a part too. The interviews are often informative, the dancing can be very raunchy (a bit surprising for the high-minded Criterion Channel). The spirit of fun in the place is infectious. Beware of the murky lighting in some scenes, and strobe lights too.

The whole film to its core is raunchy, sexy and just a show of people full of life.

What makes this documentary so wonderful is it truthfulness, rawness and proximity to (primarily women) black and queer culture. Cultures that are heavily overlooked in the queer community - and the world at large, so to watch any media that broadcasts us on screen is amazing.

Shakedown is a documentary based on a 90s Black underground lesbian club started by Ronnie Ron. The documentary is simple yet endearing with its dancing, camera shaking, the host stumbling on their words or asking for tips, and no retakes. It consists of clips of the club in the 90s, the happenings of each night, the girls on stage and offstage and dealing with the police whilst also we are brought to the present (2013) where we hear some of the ladies who graced the stage about how they were introduced to the scene and how they navigated it.

I personally do extend other people's beliefs that this documentary should be talked about regularly amongst the likes of Paris is Burning - which has more of white and black gay orientation.

Amazing 10/10.