Film Review: Murderball

Murderball is a documentary film which raises public awareness about people with disabilities. It successfully illustrates just how capable they are by revealing the world of Quad Rugby, and divulging into the personal testimonies of the athletes. The aggressive, hard-hitting nature of the game of Quad Rugby contradicts the assumptions society makes about people constrained by a wheelchair. Disabled persons are commonly stigmatized as being frail, sad, and dismal with limited ability, and in need of sympathy. This film challenges those assumptions by proving that people limited to a wheelchair can be strong, happy and confident individuals with limitless opportunities in life. The athletes in Murderball such as Mark Zupan and Andy Cohn demonstrate through their determination and drive for the game and life in general, that when you ignore the opinions or expectations of others, you become free to deviate from the “norm” (Control Theory: Travis Hirschi).

One example the film uses to demonstrate false assumptions about disabled persons is when one of the players explains how Quad Rugby isn’t just a game that they participate in, in order to feel good about themselves; it’s a serious competition with serious athletes. He jokingly recalls how a woman he had met assumed he was taking part in the Special Olympics; implying that quadriplegic people are mentally challenged or physically inferior. His response was “I’m not here for a hug; I’m here for a metal.”

The film does a good job in pointing out our belief that disabled people are saints is a common misconception. Joe Soares, the former coach of Team Canada was depicted as an arrogant traitor, and a terrible father and husband. At his anniversary dinner his wife makes a toast “to you” and he replies “to Team Canada”. It was nice to see Joe make a turn around with his family life after his heart attack. His struggle to balance his passion for the game while having compassion for his family, and to own up to the fact that his insensitivity was borderline abusive, showed he’s human, which contradicts the assumption that disabled persons are somehow less than human. They experience the same ups and downs as people without physical challenges.

The Academy Awards nominated film Murderball dispels the socially constructed fallacy that disabled people are deserving of our patronizing sympathy, or that their status warrants an assumption of their capabilities. The filmmakers Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro take on these fallacies by displaying the realities of the actors’ lives with the raw emotion and excitement of the game of Quad Rugby.