Gender and Genre in Sports Documentaries - Critical Essays (Hardcover)

Nonfiction films about sports have been around for decades, but the previously neglected subgenre of the documentary has become increasing popular in the last several years. Despite recent successes such as Senna, Undefeated, and ESPN's 30 for 30 series, however, few scholarly articles have been published on sports documentaries. In Gender and Genre in Sports Documentaries, editors Zachary Ingle and David Sutera have assembled a collection of essays that look at the various aspects of this art form. Some of the essays examine questions of gender and sexuality, specifically how masculinity and homosexuality are represented in sports documentaries. Other chapters focus on the characteristics of the sports documentary, exploring how aspects of aesthetics and narrative shape the form. Besides chapters on basketball, football, baseball, boxing, tennis, and auto racing documentaries, this volume also features essays on such marginalized sports as quad rugby, pro wrestling, live action role playing (LARPing), and bodybuilding. Some of the films examined will be familiar to readers, such as Murderball and Bigger Stronger Faster.Other films discussed here may be less well-known, but they are nonetheless important works worthy of scrutiny. Questions about gender, sexuality, and masculinity remain hot topics in sports discourse, both popularly and in the academy, and this collection tackles those subjects, making Gender and Genre in Sports Documentaries an intriguing read for scholars, students, and the general public.