Murderball

08.01.2015

Representation notes – Murderball

Director: Steve James

Release Date: 22 July 2005 

Production company: Paramount Picture, MTV Films, Participant Media, A&E IndieFilms, and EAT Films

Country: USA

Language: English

Synopsis – murderball is about the US Quad rugby team, between 2002 games in Sweden and the 2004 Paralympics in Athens. Young men, most with spinal injuries, play this rough and tumble sport in special chairs. We get to know several and their families. They talk frankly about their injuries, feelings in public, sex lives, competitiveness, and love of the game. There's also an angry former team member gone north to coach the Canadian team, tough on everyone, including his viola-playing son. We meet a recently injured man, in rehab, at times close to despair, finding possible joy in quad rugby. After Athens, the team meets young men and women injured in war.

Best Bits

I think one of the best bits is when the cast start talking about the sexual experiences because it breaks a big taboo around it like most people assume that disable people don’t have sex lives or don’t like it but most of the cast have wifes or girlfriends. Also in the beginning were is shows a man in a wheel chair getting dressed I think this was a powerful shot because it makes the audience a little uncomfortable like it would watching anybody struggle more than them with an everyday task so it forces people to watch and except that even though its difficult he can still do things on his own and is independent.   

Worst bits

 The only thing that bothered me while watching the films was how bad the audio became at points with all the popping at crapping when it peaked. The documentary forces a lot on the aggression of two or three members of the cast.                             

What or who is been represented? Paraplegics that play quad rugby.

How is the representation created? Through watching the games, their everyday life and interviews with the cast.

Why is it created that why? So you can get a personal insight on what their lives are like. It also created to break some of the lies about people in wheel chairs and by talking about taboo subjects it breaks the awkwardness of some of the issues like sex.  

What is the effect of the representation? Changes the preconceived ideas around what people in wheel chairs can do and what they are like.

Binary oppositions: able – disabled, anger – happiness, winning – losing, USA – Canada, jock – academic.

Connotation:  when you first think of people in wheel chairs you think there are loads of constrictions to the chair but then you see then play rugby and you start to see them as athletes or get to know their personality and you forget about the chair.

Institution (who created the representation)?  From the documentary it seems as though the filmmakers create the representation because it is clear they want to show each stage of what its like when someone becomes a paraplegic and that even though things might be more effort for them to do they can still do what everyone else can.

Dominant values or ideology?

·         The USA plays are obsessed with winning.

·         If you don’t stay positive you will never get passed your accent.  

·         You have to use what you’ve got to get through life.