Overview

Written in less than ten days in 1994, The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert became a cultural phenomenon that fundamentally altered mainstream ideas about queer identity worldwide. The iconic imagery of Priscilla still resonates as a symbol of global queer pride and liberation in spite of a critical reception that has varied since its release. Renée Middlemost provides valuable insight into the key debates surrounding the film through an overview of its production, initial reception, and legacy – adaptation into a stage musical, theme for an Olympic float, and inspiration for reality television programs. The evolution of Priscilla’s reputation also offers insight into ever-changing cultural attitudes: wild praise upon release, academic and critical backlash, and finally a nuanced but warm welcome into the history of Australian cinema. Equal parts road movie, musical, and comedy, Priscilla moved between genres, pulling off a radical centring of queer lives for mainstream consumption in the mid-1990s. Passing its thirtieth anniversary, The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert endures as cult object and cultural touchstone, adored by devoted audiences while serving as a reminder of progress made and the work still needed for acceptance. As Middlemost says of her first viewing in a suburban Sydney multiplex in 1994: “It was rude, it was sparkly, it shocked the family members who had begrudgingly taken me; I loved it.”

Full Product Details

9780228027805

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Reviews

“As Priscilla, Queen of the Desert continues to shape queer and drag aesthetics worldwide, this book offers a timely reassessment of the film’s influence on global queer culture and on Australian queer politics. Engaging the film’s critics while offering a nuanced rereading of its most controversial elements, Middlemost demonstrates why Priscilla still matters – and still provokes – today.” – Vincent Doyle, author of Making Out in the Mainstream: GLAAD and the Politics of Respectability

Author Information

Renée Middlemost is senior lecturer in communication and media at the University of Wollongong.

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