Hell on Wheels - Some Thoughts

Hell on Wheels is a 2007 documentary on the roller derby revival in Austin Texas, directed by Bob Ray. Originally spear-headed by "Roller Derby Dan" Policarpo, the movement quickly became appropriated by the players, an enterprising group of captains in particular. Forming Bad Girl Good Woman Productions in 2001, in the name of athletic, theatrical derby (complete with a penalty wheel with penalties such as "Reverse Spank Alley"), these captains' struggle to maintain control over the league seems to foment a later schism that leaves Austin Texas with BGGW (later TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls) and the Texas Rollergirls, a flat-track, player-operated league .

As a documentary, it's solid, certainly and gives the impression of setting forth a balanced perspective on the revival of roller derby in Texas. It feels familiar, certainly, though it doesn't labour to explain the rules of the game the way that derby movies and docs often do.

What really got me while watching the film was the sheer feeling of relief of being a member of a player-focused league that also happens to be a non-profit organization. Concerns regarding ownership and feelings of being an employee rather than a member seem to have been what really tore Texas' first derby league in two. Today, player-run flat-track leagues (with that sweet blessing, skater insurance) are basically the norm. The lack of consistent insurance is certainly one of the dangers portrayed in the film, which manages to be both a paeon to the sheer guts needed to form and successfully run a derby league and an extensive catalogue of the mistakes made in BBGW's early days. Ultimately, the film is a pretty solid endorsement of standardized organizations like WFTDA and CWRDA.

Happily, the film doesn't gloss over inter-league and extra-league conflict. This is no amazonian paradise. With that said, the film does have to tread a difficult line between not giving in to stereotypes about how women interact in groups (read: bitchily) and that aforementioned glossing over.

Similarly, the film neither revels in nor shies away from the relationship between exploitation and derby. BGGW's early days feature a lot of focus on the sexualized parts of derby and a promoter the league brings in focuses firmly on the sexiness of girl-on-girl (on-rink) action. Perhaps BBGW's lowest moment depicted in the film, aside from the loss of 65 of its 80 players, is a fundraising (lube?) oil-wrestling segment at a bar. Shown just after a meeting composed of the financially-strapped executive and players that are clearly exhausted and unhappy about fundraising downtown so close to Halloween, the sequence is off-putting rather than titillating. Players wrestle in bikinis and I have to admit that as a feminist derby player watching the sequence, I had my head in my hands.

Though I support sex workers and adult entertainers, the depiction of derby girls working for a corporation fundraising by wrestling and spanking each other for a largely male audience bothered me pretty intensely. Earlier, in what is a sadly unsurprising bit of double-think, the BGGW league had openly embraced slut-shaming, emphasizing that players should be "sexy, not slutty". Accusations of sexism and exploitation are still leveled at derby and I really value that this aspect of derby isn't a part of my derby.

Texas Rollergirls gets a lighter touch than BGGW, perhaps in my eyes because the former looks so much more like the derby I play and watch today. Egalitarian voting, emphasis on fun and athleticism rather than theatrics and long-running discussions mean a lot to a solitary player and it's what I've come to expect from my league. BGGW, in contrast, comes off a bit poorly. Unsafe skating conditions and decisions come off mostly as the mistakes of a nascent league doing something for the first time, but the film-makers clearly show the frustrations of disenfranchised players and the costs players face when skating without insurance. Even during the schism, BGGW execs tell players they need to leave the costumes and names they created (sewed, built, you name it) behind if they want out. Another sequence shows BBGW skaters showing up openly drunk to harass Texas Rollergirls players before being escorting away from security. At the same time, BGGW's remaining and new players' feelings aren't brushed aside: they feel ambushed and imitated. All of the women involved love derby; they just can't quite agree about the best way to do so.

Ultimately, Hell on Wheels is a good look at the early days of the derby revival. It's a testament to how much damn work it is to get something like this up and running. Whatever the wisdom of some of the decisions of the BGGW organizers, they certainly worked their asses off. The film wisely rests on the continuing strength of the revival, showing a derby map of the world with skaters littering the States and ranging as far as New Zealand. HoW is a great start to derby-viewing, showing the complexities of the sport-culture and how much it has changed since 2001, let alone from its previous incarnations. If you've seen derby films like Whip It! and want a little more of the sport's recent human history, certainly give it a watch.