This documentary disrupted dominant narratives by using first person accounts. By having honest and open student athletes relaying their stories, the audience feels as if they are reliable. Being able to follow the stories of these men and finding out more about their life as the film went on provided the audience with a more personal account. For me, this related to when we talked about the complexity of audiences in chapter 8 and how everyone has their own interpretation of films based on their values, attitudes, and beliefs. This intersectional lens of viewing a film, not being a student athlete in college myself, was interesting for me. I have friends who do go through similar things these men discussed.
Going into the main stars of the film, Silas Nacita, who was attending Baylor University, was couch surfing and barely getting by before his friends’ grandparents were able to assist him with financial aid. During their interview, the older white couple talked about helping “a boy who was in need.” I thought that this act of sponsorship was very meaningful for Nacita, but also stereotypical as they were rich white folks who had the power to use their resources.
In the documentary, Shamar Graves, who played for Rutgers for three seasons, talks about the NCAA and how it is “a business.” The ideology that athletes have a balance between academics and athletics is being disrupted here. It is truly apparent that this is not the case whatsoever. Most “student athletes” must focus on their athletics before academics, although they are told otherwise when they are first committing to a college.
Mike Shaw, who is 23 years old in the documentary, had to stop playing basketball due to his extreme back injuries. This completely stopped his career as he had to focus on his health over his athletic future. As seen in the film, he is put into a mental health facility because he felt as if there was no hope for his future endeavors. This is a common occurrence in the professional athletic realm as well as college. Most of the athletes are dependent upon their sport to support themselves and their families. When this is taken away, they feel like their world is over, as apparent through Shaw.
Something I found intriguing was that the film only focused on basketball and football, but there are 24 NCAA sports nationally. Also, there were no female student athletes featured, which was weird because both directors are females. I guess there is a mythical norm of the male student athlete, but I feel that since it is a more modern film, shot in 2018, there would’ve been a female representative.
One of the directors, Trish Dalton, discussed the documentary, saying: “Every year billions of dollars are generated off the backs of an unpaid labor force: college athletes.”
I think this quote brings the whole piece together because the players don’t get enough credit for their hard work. The “labor force” behind being a student athlete is founded upon the ideal that athletes must perform in order to generate profit. Again, relating to power structures and how authority asserts their dominance through different athletic realms.