Muderball - Quadriplegic Rugby

Since wheelchair rugby isn't a state by state team but a one country team, around 500 players throughout the United States try for a spot on the team and only twelve of the best get chosen, like any other major league or professional team. In 2004 the U.S.A. quadriplegic rugby team went to Athens to compete in the Paralympics, in the end the team won bronze. Like any team they were disappointed that they didn't win gold but they were still proud of each other for bring home an award.
             Stereotypes surround us in our everyday life style. However, media plays a huge role in it due to how to present it to us. Stereotypes simplify life by describing a common event or group because of their set characteristics. This comes off as a negative aspect though. It's easier for news or any form of media to capture the eye, to sell and advertise products by using stereotypes. Murderball there were a few different types of stereotypes that I saw. One with Wolfensberger's Deviant Roles, object of pity or from Noreen's Stereotypes, tragic victim. In the beginning of the film one of the players recalled a memory that one day while he was somewhere with friends a person came up to him and said "good to see you out." The person who said that to him probably didn't mean anything negative about it, but it still had that impact. Another example of object of pity and tragic victim comes from Mark Zupan's accident. Through fault of someone else's actions Mark was injured, and people felt pity for him. As for most of the rugby players in the movie, what happened to them were accidents and people seem to look down on occasion to people who have disabilities that were acquired by an accident. Another stereotype seen throughout the whole film is Civilian Superstar. I know that this documentary was to show what murderball is and describe the sport and the people who play and compete in it, but it also really emphasized that these people aren't letting their disability get them down and they are going above and beyond what people expect from them.