RuPaul’s Drag Race: Season 7, Episode 4
Joining me this week is Dixie Lynn Cartwright! She's a real sweetheart when she's not being a total a#%hole. But seriously, she's great. Generally.
Chad: So, Dixie, we OBVIOUSLY have a lot to discuss/critique/bitch about in this episode.
Dixie: Lord, yes.
Chad: But I wanted to speak with you in the first place because of your own work writing and performing song parodies. So, before we gnash teeth and rend our clothes, let's talk about this week's challenge.
Dixie: Well, first off, I love that the producers are catching on to this ridiculous, fun, stupid side of drag that I adore. Obviously, DWV brought drag musical parodies to a whole 'notha level, but it's really grown. I think it's incredibly exciting to be able to use comedy and music to creatively tell a story or a dumb joke. It's my drag dream come true.
Chad: I liked the general concepts of the different parodies. I thought "Tan With You" wasn't brilliant, but it had funny visuals and slapstick goofiness. The "Sissy That Walk" parody was really smart, since impersonations are an endless source of material. And I LOVED the idea of Ginger's team riffing on Ru's various merchandising and licensing hijinks.
Dixie: Which one was your favorite?
Chad: Overall, my favorite was actually "Get Ready to Clock." Even though those three queens were stuck with each other and seemed an odd match, I found all three impersonations really funny and spot-on. What about you?
Dixie: I agree, totally. I think "Get Ready To Clock" was fully developed and the girls werecompletely focused on their characters. I didn't agree with the critiques of Max at all. Courtney is not a large character. Doing an Australian accent with a blonde wig and some lip gloss is the epitome of Courtney (ooo... is that a read?). I thought everyone did well. Violet, although not my favorite, did her best Adore, and I didn't mind it. I agree with Michelle that she could've done more. The parody that I was MOST excited about was "Tan With You."
Chad: Oh yeah?
Dixie: It's a concept that is right up my alley. It's ridiculous, it ridicules trainwreck Z-list celebrities with felony convictions, and it has the potential for great sight gags.
Chad: Did they deliver?
Dixie: Outside of Katya, no... no, they didn't deliver.
Chad: Katya's quirky characters are a gift to us all. Bless that bitch.
Dixie: Trixie was adorable and should be given a lot more credit for developing the concept. And if Pearl is on your team, play up her drugged-up persona. Have her fall asleep in the tanning bed and she stays silent the entire video. Have her emerge at the end dazed and confused (as always) and crispy. Miss Fame was okay. I feel like my personal feelings for her cloud my judgment.
Chad: What are your personal feelings about her? Deep-seated jealousy of any queen whose beauty rivals your own? I basically imagine you as alternating between Disney princess and villain.
Dixie: My dream is to be Disney's first true villain princess.
Chad: I actually have been kind of charmed by Miss Fame over the past few episodes. I feel like she's actually fairly goofy and doesn't take things too seriously.
Dixie: Miss Fame is beautiful. Absolutely. She knows her look. I admire her for that. My look changes weekly, depending on the lighting and how much I've had to drink that day. However, she seems intensely insecure in her strong opinions and non-stop mouth. I don't read it as bitchy, I read it as trying too hard. That is tough for me to stomach... possibly because I do the same thing...
Chad: Ha!
Dixie: ...that's your cue, Chad. "Oh no. Dixie. That's not you at all."
Chad: Do you struggle with that?I was wondering, because you have a very sharp tongue and a sweet charm, too. I feel like you handle that balance well. I think it's interesting how certain queens can pull off bitchiness, and others can't.
Dixie: The balance comes with practice from being in front of people. She doesn't have a lot of performance experience, so she hasn't had a chance to hone those skills. When I first started hosting, I was just mean. I thought it was funny in the moment, then I'd go home and feel terrible about what I said. Not because it wasn't funny, but because I didn't know how to say something bitchy and then recover. Trannika Valtrex does a great job at ribbing people, but then immediately thanking them or brushing it off so that they are now in on the joke. It takes practice. When I'm in front of an audience that knows me (my family, the night-shift staff at the free clinic, etc.), I'm much more bitchy, because they get that I'm not coming from a dark place. If it's a new audience, I try to stay positive.
Dixie: What did you think of the green looks? I'm interested to see which ones you drew.
Chad: So! I didn't really love this runway.
Dixie: Me neither. I don't like color themes. It's too vague, yet they judge so specifically.
Chad: I'm a HUGE sucker for powdered wig looks, so I had to draw Max. But I didn't actually like her pasties, so I awkwardly came up with a pose that hid them.
Dixie: I LOVED the pasties. I didn't get the negative reaction to them
Chad: I liked the idea of them. But they were so dark and glittery compared to the light, matte effect of the rest of his look!
Dixie: Max is so, so good. She's going far. She has to.
Chad: I LOVE how Max approaches drag as a visual artist.
Dixie: It's something I don't truly understand, honestly. I'm kind of with Kandy in that I just want to be sparkly and pretty, but the more I venture into drag as art, I love it. It's something I truly admire in her.
Chad: Well, you're not just trying to be pretty and sparkly. You're also trying, and at times even succeeding, to be funny and charming and entertaining.
Dixie: Chad Sell. Drawing famous drag queens and reading lesser known, yet more beautiful drag queens since 2012.
Chad: I loved Pearl's runway look, because I adore anyone who comes down the runway looking like a forgotten GI JOE villainess.
Dixie: Agreed. However... NO PADS.
Chad: Yeah. I was forgiving in that respect.
Dixie: I like the long, lean thing...but NO PADS. I used to think that I didn't need pads... let's just say, those images are buried deep somewhere. Had she had just a little bump, I would have loved it.
Chad: Pearl's a weirdo. It doesn't always work, but I love her for it. When I first heard that Pearl had been cast on the show, I was definitely excited and happy for her. I've always loved her looks and her style, but I was kind of baffled about how she'd come across on the show, since she's exactly like that in real life.
Dixie: I like Pearl. I really do, but she said it herself: Trixie probably deserves to be there more than her. Who is to say who deserves something more than the other really, but I do think Trixie is so versatile and has much more to give. My main beef with Trixie's elimination is that Pearl was warned multiple times that she needed to wake up and show more. Trixie wasn't. She was barely critiqued in this episode. Where is her second chance? Where are her warnings?
Chad: Right, I think she was safe every week, so she really never got any feedback! She performedreally consistently and was a fabulous personality on the show.
Dixie: I think WE think she was a fabulous personality on the show because we are more familiar with her than most, but I don't think we truly saw her personality. She was safe. She stayed in the middle, but she didn't shine yet. Her time was coming.
Chad: Yes, I'm certainly biased in regards to Trixie.
Dixie: We all are. Sidetrack exploded when she sashayed away. Truly. One giant audible gasp from a combination of many large groups of people. It was like nothing I've ever witnessed before.
Chad: I don't think it made any sense to send her home so early. At all. But she's gotten a ton of exposure, she's doing gigs all over the world. She didn't have long on this show, but she made it count.
Dixie: She had the potential to do so much. There are so many challenges left, and she is one person that you could count on to make you chuckle. Even if she wasn't going to knock it out of the park, she definitely would make every challenge fun.
Chad: And she's one of the season 7 queens who's extremely active online – so if fans need more Mattel, they should follow her on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Grindr, etc. [And buy her T shirt. And buy my own Trixie prints! Do it.]
Dixie: Oh, for sure. She's all over the place. I love when queens pimp themselves out. It shows gumption. (dixielynncartwright.com)
Chad: Both Trixie and Katya's online antics are utterly priceless.
Dixie: I LOVE watching Katya's weekly videos following the new episodes. She's quickly becoming a favorite of mine.
Chad: She's my BenDeLaCreme of the season – my personal favorite, even though I don't expect her to win.
Dixie: Oh god. Does that mean we'll have to take your belt and shoelaces from you when she's gone, too? I didn't think you were going to make it.
Chad: I think losing Bendela so early aged me about 20 years. I've lost that shiny veneer of innocence and naivete. Nothing gets through to me now. Nothing at all.
Dixie: Your forehead is still shiny though, so that's something.
Chad: ...
Dixie: Bitchy/Sweet. Balance.
Chad: If I had ever seen your forehead when it wasn't buried under foundation, maybe I could make cracks about your complexion, too!
Dixie: The paint stick is doing its job.
Okay, just for that, I'm going to plug my stuff before I plug Dixie's various shows. Buy this week's art on Etsy! If you're in Seattle and happen to have tickets to Emerald City Comic Con, find me at Table F-01 in Artist's Alley this weekend!
If you're in Chicago, you have plenty of opportunities to go see Dixie Lynn Cartwright! She'll be starring in her own show at Berlin Nightclub on April 1st at 9pm. It's called “Dixie Wins A Talent Show,” in which she (obviously) wins a talent show as other contestants vie for second and third place.
Dixie hosts weekly RPDR viewing parties at Sidetrack in Boystown. She'll also be performing in The Bitchfest Club, which is an 80's parody musical running every weekend from April 10 to May 17 at Hydrate.
Dixie posts a ton of good stuff on her YouTube channel, and you can also find her on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and at dixielynncartwright.com!