Film Review 2: Murderball

The film Murderball is about the United States and the Canadian Paralympics quad rugby team. This film focuses on how people with disabilities and how there are just as capable and as able bodied people. This film shows disabled people in comparison to any other athlete. The different backgrounds, relationships and struggles the athletes have been through in life are some of the most interesting points in this film.

The film Murderball really tries to remove the stigma from individuals with impairments. Having a disability is seen as deviant in this society. In “You’re Not a Retard, You’re just Wise,” Steven Taylor says “A stigma is not merely a difference but a characteristic that deeply discredits a person’s moral character.” (Taylor, 2000). One other interesting point that the film focuses on is sexual intercourse and the ability to have sex. Another focus is about Mark Zupan and how he just wants to be treated equal despite that he is in a wheel chair. Society gest the notion that everybody who is disabled gets looked down on.

The thesis of this film relates to the course because we have been discussing deviant bodies and how society portrays them. A deviant body or anything outside the norms is considered deviant to society. You are treated and looked at differently by others.

One of the points I found most convincing was how the reality of not being able to walk was not being realized or coped with at first. The belief that one may walk again was still believed. But it took time to settle in with reality that walking will never happen again. Another point that is convincing about Murderball was the emotional affects that individuals had from being judged and dehumanized. The fact that not everyone in a wheelchair wants to walk was also a good point. The “Supercrip” blog relates to this also because we portray the disabled differently than they portray themselves

There was not a point in the film that I found least convincing. The film was good and very informative. The knowledge received from the film in regards to disabilities was great.

A question that would most stick out for me is finding out how people in wheelchairs are adjusting in the first year. I would also study their progress a few years down the road to see how they are doing. I would study other races as well.