Movie critics such as Fionnuala Halligan, Glenn Kenny, Justin Chang, Rhienna Guedry,
Tre'vell Anderson and Hans Pedersen regard
Kiki as a sequel to
Paris Is Burning because they both cover similar topics such as
homelessness,
HIV/AIDS, and violence against
LGBT youth. Tre'vell Anderson's review mentions how both movies also follow
queer and
transgender people of color as they traverse the
drag, genderqueer and
ball culture scenes in New York along with their daily lives. The drag and ball scene are venues in which many queer and transgender people of color can find community as well as express themselves. Unlike the movie
Paris is Burning,
Kiki is more intertwined with
activism and education as it focuses more on people between the ages of 13 and 24 instead of older queer and transgender individuals. Pedersen mentions in his review that throughout
Kiki, the struggle that many transgender people of color faced was trying to start and continue their
hormone replacement therapy as well as
sex work, which is something
Paris is Burning did not focus on.
Kiki also depicts what it is like for LGBT youth of color to experience
discrimination. When it comes to the LGBT neighborhoods, there is some mention of police officers that patrol the neighborhood engaging in
homophobia. Fionnuala Halligan states in their review that many of the youth in the film, as a result of the discrimination that they face from society, have to navigate taking part in sex work as a means to support themselves. This is also where the ballroom and drag scenes come into play as many of these youths use these avenues to claim space that otherwise would be denied to them. As Halligan states within their review,
Kiki is a film that is glamorous, but also educates its audience and depicts the very serious realities that many LGBT youth face. == HIV/AIDS activism in
Kiki ==