Murderball: Disabled MEN

(Image courtesy: Paramount Pictures)

This week in IDS 101, we screened the film, Murderball. This is the tremendously inspiring story of quadriplegic men who, through their strife, band together and form a Wheelchair Rugby team. They train together, play together, and compete globally in the World Wheelchair Rugby Championship as well as the Summer Paralympic Games. The story of these players is very inspiring, as they take what they have, and live to achieve great things. It is also the story of men, being men, in a much different capacity.

We were asked to examine and critique the masculinity involved in the film and consider the intersection of gender and disability. I found it very interesting to see one of the main characters in the film, Mark Zupan, as this tattooed dude with a goatee and incredible body build saying, "hit me, and I'll hit you back". It was a glimpse at the tough, masculine shield and armor he wears in his life. He makes more comments throughout the film, such as "you have to gain respect, I'm not going to give it to you", which continue to show the edgy person he is. Two of his friends are also interviewed who claim that he was "an asshole before and after the accident," and that to blame the accident on his assholeness was, "an oxymoron". Zupan has a very competitive personality, being involved on the Championship team and the Paralympic team, and always seen scoring goal after goal. We also have a glimpse of the more caring side, which is rarely a side we see, when the story of his accident are displayed on screen.

His high school buddy, Chris Igoe, who felt deep regret and responsibility for the accident, failed to attend their 10 year reunion because of the feelings he would have seeing Zupan in a wheelchair. One of their other friends tells Zupan she heard from Igoe the previous week via 3am drunken phone call. She said she was worried about him, but knew he would be okay knowing that Zupan was alive. Two other friends described them as being just enough to understand each other, one keeping their emotions in while the other understood with a simple nod. In homo-social environments, this display of manly emotions is an extreme of masculinity; not showing or talking about emotions. When the team leaves for Athens for the Paralympic games, Zupan invites Igoe out to Greece to see them, and Igoe happily obliges. This is a masculine display of affection, which is sweet, to say the least.

It is apparently that masculinity does not change when a person's life is dramatically altered. In fact, it is clear that it can also greatly magnify the machismo. Joe Soares is another of the main characters in the film. He is also a quadriplegic who's bought with polio at a young age put him in a wheel chair. He is considered one of the top rated wheel chair sportsmen of all time, having competed in numerous championships on both National and International circuits. The first (or second) time we see Joe, he is on a court, ignoring a female coach from another team and mumbling "F&$# You, Bitch". This is a sign of future things to come from this man. He is a highly competitive, driven man who is not allowed to coach the USA rugby team, and joins the Canadian team to extract revenge. In the film, he is hell-bent on winning. He has a room in his house, displaying all of his trophies and championships as a shrine to himself. Very self-absorbed by his ego, Soares works tirelessly to discipline his team and get them to beat team USA.

Soares has a son, who is not interested in sports, but is incredibly smart and talented in other areas. During a homo-social event (Superbowl party/BBQ), Soares talks about how he wants his son to play sports and be involved in sports competition. He wants him to be macho and tough, and uses his own brand of "tough love", which he learned from his Police Officer father. It's touching to see this and hear these words on film because it almost seems to be a completely different culture. In the end, however, after Team Canada beat USA in Athens, Soares came home to watch his son play in a Strings Band performance, hugging his son and telling him he was so proud of him. Yet, another tender display of sweetness that men seldom show.

The USA team is also shown in the film playing poker, talking about athletic chicks, boobs, drinking beer, smoking cigars, and talking about sex. Sex is an interesting point made in the film, as the men talk about how they "work the chicks", for a good 20 minutes as they talk about how they became quadriplegics and if "it" still works. I think that because this film is based on men, it was necessary to put some focus on sex because they are men. Call me crazy, but whenever men are the focus of a film, it almost always seems that women will be seen as sexual things to them no matter the circumstances. And, of course, there is a film which a doctor presents a newly rehabbed quadriplegic patient with that focuses on "sexual rehab". It teaches them new ways to do "it". If the film focused on quadriplegic women, would if have any emphasis on how they have sex? Probably not, it might just send the message that women would have to get along without sex. Interesting, but not something to overlook.

All in all, it was a great film to watch for some inspiration and to make you realize that you may be missing somethings, you may be incapable of doing things "like everyone else", but you should never give up anything just because you have to change how you do it. Or "it".

=)

Quotes courtesy: "Murderball"