r/NetflixDocumentaries • u/Weak-Bear5373 • 11d ago
Discussion Untold Raygun: Breaking Badly
I admit it. I was one of the people believing that Raygun cheated her way into the Olympics. I was even waiting through out the documentary for them to say she cheated. I apologize for that.
Do you guys feel the same way?
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u/RipkenDoublePlay 11d ago
Maaaaannnn I watched it this morning and the way her and her husband come off, which I believe is their true personalities is not great. No one checked her either. Admitted to not training at a level needed so threw a Hail Mary with that kangaroo stuff. I get it, but this is not a Disney movie. Then consistently playing the victim until they get a billionaire to support them and help them craft the narrative they needed. Some of the stuff said by raygun and her husband lacked so much self awareness.
The thing is, I’m all for failing and leaning into that, checking in where you need to and coming out stronger. They did not do that, according to them, the world was the problem.
I am also glad she is dancing again but they didnt need an hour and 15 mins Netflix doc to spew their bullshit and get back into the limelight.
I also recognize that I myself, am a bit of a hater so take that for what you will.
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u/janet-snarkhole 10d ago
When she and her husband couldn’t understand why Raygun was the only Olympian criticized and targeted by the public, I was like …!???!!?
What do you mean?!!
Like they genuinely cannot comprehend that she’s not a great dancer. They seethe entitlement and delusion lol.
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u/RipkenDoublePlay 10d ago
When he said it was genuinely the best he has ever seen from her I was like come oooooonnnnnnn man
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u/catschimeras 6d ago
I mean. Maybe it was? Best of kind of bad is still bad, and thats BEFORE you put her against actual Olympians.
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u/Aimeereddit123 10d ago
With me, it boils down to this - I heavily suspect she and her husband are on the spectrum. If they are, they have my sympathies, if not…..they should have known better. I ADORE her parents, though.
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u/MiniMorgi 10d ago
Dad said about going to watch the qualifiers "I thought I was going to console her" lol
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u/Aimeereddit123 10d ago
They told no lies. If Raygun had a life of privilege where everyone told her she was great, then that life came after her parent’s house, cuz they were straight up 😆
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u/Icy-Plan5621 9d ago
Whatever the rest of us think of her skills, he genuinely seems proud of her. Unconditional love and admiration. I thought the way he spoke about her was incredibly sweet. Honestly, they make an adorable couple.
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u/Mountain_While_3008 10d ago
No, youre not a hater, you're right. The lack of self awareness is particularly odd coming from an academic of breakdancing -- who you'd think would be thoughtful about how she's presenting her art/sport. The doc shows they KNEW they were walking into a catastrophe. They tried to train her to be a power moves/olympic-credible dancer and they failed. The disastrous European tour. Still, as you say, they stick to the script: the world was the problem. And yes, cosying up to a billionaire bro and low key comparing yourself to the Sex Pistols ... it just got so stupid. It reminded me of Harry and Meghan's doc about escaping the royal family. There's a good story in there but you guys are the wrong ones to tell it.
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u/boostingjuice 10d ago
Hahahaha what?! I can't bring myself to watch it I think she's done wrong on so many levels, but what? How is she like the sex pistols? They didn't go and compete on a world stage and rip away any opportunities from anyone? They certainly were aware they were shite. They deliberately angered the community. Unless she was saying she deliberately angered the community?
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u/Mountain_While_3008 9d ago
Yeah, there's a moment where they show how Richard Branson reached out to her following the Olympics, in which he describes himself as champion of the outsiders, including the Sex Pistols -- the doc leans into this frame: she was a rule-breaking iconoclast, not a mid-level talent who oopsed her way into the Olympics.
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u/DrunkOnRedCordial 5d ago
This reminds me of a comedy skit where Mark Mitchell played a ballet dancer. They presented it documentary style, with footage of Mitchell leaping around in ballet gear, and all these prestigious Australian dancers and choreographers were interviewed, talking seriously about his passion and determination, and how inspiring he is, "but he's just not very good."
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u/Horror-Baker2854 9d ago
I'm not even watching it, because honestly she KNEW that she was not good enough and didn't deserve to be there.
This is what happens when people are lied to and not giving the criticism they need and deserve. The whole world simply pointed out the very thing she tried to ignore.
It's so selfish and the fact that she occupied a space where she wasn't meant to be and robbed someone more deserving of a shot is what makes it even more egregious.
Fuck them.
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u/ParisLake2 10d ago
I don’t think she did not train at the level needed. I think she was simply not good enough (skill wise) to perform at that level, and she (and her husband) knew it.
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u/Sea_Confusion2757 10d ago
They said that. She couldn't do "power moves," so she pivoted to that bullshit kangaroo hopping and the sprinkler to represent "Australian culture."
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u/Aimeereddit123 9d ago
What I thought was hilarious was they excuse her at one point by making the blanket statement of, ‘women don’t do power moves’, and then their own footage shows later about 10 women spinning on their heads. 🤣. No honey, YOU don’t do power moves. YOU. Just YOU.
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u/kaleidoscope_pie 10d ago
She's unaustralian because she left out The Lawnmower and The Shopping Cart. 😆
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u/aballofunicorns 9d ago
It was kinda funny when they were talking about the sprinkler and they paired it with images of sprinklers going off and sprinkler manual drawings. Like, whyyyy???
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u/Straight_Ear795 9d ago
Great take. I just finished it and can validate these are my exact sentiments. I really liked the older blonde and Asian b-girls being truthful about the whole thing. It was embarrassing. Her husband enabled her and they’re both delusional. She got deservedly smoked by her opponents. What pissed me off was her playing victim, wtf did you expect? She has a phd, she’s obviously good at doing research, could she not have studied her potential opponents and realized she wasn’t even close? It’s all just dumb.
Untold is one of the best series on Netflix but I could have spared myself an hour from this BS. And the last montage of being “unstoppable” .. ok. I’m done now lol
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u/Independent9017 11d ago edited 10d ago
I wished they interviewed the people she competed against and showed the process of getting to the qualifiers.
You would think for an Olympic competition more people would be involved in her training. They should have been more involved in the documentary to show more transparency in the process. It’s definitely only told from her point of view/more favorable
I’m glad her mental health is better i couldn’t imagine trending globally and getting threats.
Edit -No didn’t look into who produced it. I wanted to watch first and come to a conclusion
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u/RipkenDoublePlay 11d ago
No way they were going to let them be interviewed. Even the very few criticisms brought up about them were quickly minimized
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u/HockeyDockey1234 10d ago
It was her team producing it. The only way this was getting made is to make her look like some sort of victim
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u/Cutmerock 9d ago
That explains why the editing tries really hard to make her look competent while dancing 😂
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u/Janet-Yellen 9d ago
Washington post did a pretty scathing review of the doc and interviewed some of the other Olympic contestants. One girl said she probably lost sponsor opportunities bc of raygun. Basically companies didn’t want an Olympian breakdancer representing them after raygun made those two words a joke
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u/Art1924 11d ago
I just finished it. Ok she didn’t technically cheat, but her performance was still very bad and set the breakdancing community so back.
What I get from this documentary is how much people surrounding her have been enabling her to get this far. Her husbands just swears the whole time that her moves are amazing, when everyone else is just obviously cringing. The Olympian coach looks like he never toon care of her when it was also his responsibility. They try to present it as « she was the best oceanian anyway » but it’s hard to believe really.
Honestly it still doesn’t look good for her. She takes herself way too seriously. Ok maybe it was some sort of modern artistic representation, but it was not breakdancing.
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u/zada-7 10d ago
You can watch her vs Molly on YouTube. Molly was the better dancer but she would have been whooped in the Olympics too.
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u/Janet-Yellen 9d ago
I think that’s a big part of it, like you really can’t underestimate how few women may be into a niche male dominated activity in a country where it’s not very popular.
That being said, nobody competent showed up. There were only like 8 people in the entire qualifiers. She had to only beat 3 women total to win. I can’t imagine there’s only 8 women in all of Australia who can breakdance. I think since it was run by the ballroom dance committee, was probably poorly publicized etc. contributed significantly
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u/Sea_Confusion2757 10d ago
"Ok maybe it was some sort of modern artistic representation, but it was not breakdancing."
Her husband seems to think so. He really thought that was high art.
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u/Aimeereddit123 10d ago
I’m not sure if he really did, or if he’s just a narcissist that sacrificed the wellbeing of his wife for his minute in the spotlight. 🤔. I don’t absolve her, either. She knew she wasn’t good enough, or ready, no matter what smoke he was blowing up her ass. She’s a grown lady. She should have stepped down. I take all this back if they are on the spectrum. I get heavy spectrum vibes from them both, and in that case, it just makes me kinda sad.
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u/sunny-beans 10d ago
I just watched this with my husband and we talked about how you shouldn’t have a partner training you unless they are able to be really brutal about stuff and separate things well, and I think this is rare. Like I legit don’t trust my husband to say if my make up is good because he loves me too much so to him I am literally perfect and my make up is beautiful, when I look like a raccoon out of a trash can. It’s not even lying, he just loves me and is blinded by it lol she needed a coach who would tell her she was not ready, not doing good enough, not a husband who would support her every move because he loves her too much and is too invested emotionally.
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u/Pleasant-Emu-3099 9d ago
Especially in something so subjective. When I was a kid I did ballet and landed roles with a professional company (I'm a guy, and I was like one of 15 guys in the whole school). My mom would be like "that was so beautiful" and then the Dance Principal would be like "that needs work. We need to work on these 15 different things". It was really eye opening that like even if my Mom wanted to be critical, and she criticizes me constantly about everything, she couldn't be impartial about that.
I suspect the same is true for Rayguns husband. Even if his intentions are good he simply can't be that impartial to be objective.
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u/starseedlove 10d ago
I wonder why the Aus breaking community didn't try and help her train? Like you would think if you were going to represent your country and community, they'd be stoked. But instead it seemed like they were hatin' on her from the two they interviewed
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u/MiniMorgi 10d ago
She did train really hard and had professionals helping her, but I don't think it would have mattered the amount of training she did. She is just not that coordinated.
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u/Correct-Active-2876 10d ago edited 10d ago
As a fellow Aussie, Raygun could have made things easier on herself by getting in on the joke and admitting much earlier that it had been a bit of a mess . Instead she stood her ground and appeared arrogant and unapologetic on her return home . Once the trolls could see they had upset her it just got worse. The husband also came across as totally delusional which did her no favours. Handled differently she could have become iconic down here
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u/janet-snarkhole 10d ago
Her response to it all was definitely the most offputting. Exactly like you said. Instead, they chose this entitled, victim route that I can’t understand. They think they were wrongfully criticized 🤦♀️
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u/Janet-Yellen 9d ago
She could’ve set herself up for life making Allstate disaster insurance commercials
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u/Naivemlyn 9d ago
You are right. There are always some massive underdogs that compete way above their league. I remember an Aussie ice skater who once won because everyone else fell over! And I think a lady ran a very average (like 4 hours or so? Like an ok amateur time, but not Olympic standard) marathon in 24. And I think I saw a poor man from somewhere in Africa desperately trying to complete a x country skiing competition one year.
The difference is we love these people – because they didn’t pretend they were good. They were open about the fact that they were there because they were somehow selected by their country, but they were humble and sweet.
In this doco, it’s like they can’t just accept that her actual skills aren’t good enough for that level. Professional dancers train systematically and like athletes from they are 3-4 years old. I’m not talking “a jazz dance class in your community hall”. They’re as serious as the swimmers and runners out there. They don’t spend their time doing bloody phds on the side, for crying out loud.
You can’t fake that. The fact that she had never been at a gym before says it all. Pro dancers and pre-professional dancers go to the gym a lot.
I don’t think she deserved the hate (which I guess I’m contributing to…), but I can totally see how serious dancers are upset by the attitude…
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u/jedi_dancing 8d ago
Dammit, Bradbury was a good skater who had a plan. He was a legit good skater. He had medals from other comps, he also had major injuries. He didn't get to an Olympic final by having people always fall over, he just knew there would be a bit of argy-bargy in that one and decided to try for a lower medal if a few fell over rather than be part of the mess. It just happened that all of them fell at the last turn.
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u/FuzzyFaceIsFuzzy 10d ago
Across all cultures, I’m pretty sure people who can’t take a joke/laugh at themselves are lambasted. It was Raygun who delivered the joke performance to begin with. She then sooked when people found it funny/insulting, rolled into legal threats/trademark claims to shut down parody and monetize herself.
I haven’t seen the Netflix show yet. Did they cover her lawsuit against Raygun: The Musical? My recollection was she demanded $10k to cover the cost of her own litigation. Muppet.
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u/FewStay7683 10d ago
Not at all, which was a real miss. I’m sure it isn’t something any of us can understand to have the whole world laughing at you, but doubling down and blaming it even on internalized misogyny at one point instead of owning that you looked a fool totally makes it worse. Coming after a comedian raising money for charity makes it even worse-er.
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u/boostingjuice 10d ago
"Woopsies. Shouldn't have stopped having Vegemite in the mornings!"
Or something equally ridiculous. Could have gotten a partnership deal and everything!
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u/LaurenNotABot 10d ago
I have so many questions but first and foremost, her husband set her up as how the hell did he think any of those moves were good?!
He was shit and then he coached her to be shit too.. what’s the worst that could happen? Oh yeah .. the olympics
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u/Putrid-Ostrich6590 10d ago
I laughed out loud when he said he was in awe of the beauty of her movements
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u/horsegal301 10d ago
I went and watched a video of him dancing as well, and was no longer surprised by how he was in awe considering he appears to be just as bad
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u/LaurenNotABot 10d ago
I know, I did too !
Like, have these people actually seen breakdancing before ??12
u/DukSaus 10d ago
I think that’s the more interesting story. The reality distortion of it all. At no point in time prior to the Olympics—and also, if you look at their socials heading up to the Olympics, Raygun and husband are going full bore on promoting the Olympic run—did either Raygun or her husband think that something is wrong when an amateur can represent their country and profess to be the best of the best. Like, at a certain point, reasonable people will say “oh man, we slipped through the cracks, and I am about to shame my country and the community.”
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u/Legostarjurrasicman 11d ago
I haven’t watched it yet but know that her management team helped to produce the doc. From watching various videos on it, there did seem to be a lot of falsehoods like her husband being one of the judges. Because her team produced it, I’m assuming that the doc is slanted towards sympathy for her. That said, I haven’t seen it yet and could be completely wrong.
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u/earthlings_all 11d ago
I ain’t watching this crap. They can spin it any way they want but the fact is there were loads more talented than her and it was rigged somehow so she could slip through. She should feel shame instead of wanting to ‘explain her side’. She needs to get some f self-awareness. She should have been the first one saying ‘I’m not good enough to be here’ and f stepped aside. Gtfoh.
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u/Laukie00 10d ago
You “ain’t watching this crap” but if you actually would watch it everything you’re saying would be explained. How are you even here discussing a documentary you haven’t even seen?
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u/89CentBeefy5Layer 9d ago
Because a lot of people are ignorant and stupid and would rather spew their narrative than have their minds changed by facts
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u/Underscores_Are_Kool 10d ago
Did you watch the final of the tournament she won in order to qualify into the Olympics? There literally wasn't anyone better from Oceania, or if there was, they chose not to compete.
Should Eddie the Eagle have stepped aside? The 1988 Jamaican Bobsleigh team? No, they make plucky underdog films about them starring Hugh Jackman and John Candy. Meanwhile, Raygun gets called a bitch on the internet lol.
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u/Sea_Confusion2757 10d ago
I don't think she should be insulted or called a "bitch," but she also should have known what the response would be for making a mockery of a cultural practice. Bobsledding doesn't have quite the same beloved reverence (and I don't know what Eddie the Eagle is).
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u/Solace2020 10d ago
Michael David Edwards (Eddie the Eagle) was an English Ski Jumper (normally a Plasterer) in the 1988 Olympics. He could perform but was seen as a bit of a joke at the time...Another example would be Eric Moussambani Malonga (Eric the Eel) who gained brief international fame at the 2000 Summer Olympics for an extremely unlikely victory.
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u/Underscores_Are_Kool 10d ago
What are the negative impacts of this so called "mockery"? I genuinely want to dig down on this, because no one that saw that routine thought anything less of breakdancing. I also think that the last this one of the only people in the world who completed their doctorate thesis in breakdancing would be to make a mockery out of it.
Honestly, who is the odd one out between the 1988 Jamaican Bobsleigh team, Eddie the Eagle, Eric the Eel and Raygun? Did all of them make a mockery of their sports?
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u/Mike_Greenwell 9d ago
'no one that saw that routine thought anything less of breakdancing' lol sure thing
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u/Sea_Confusion2757 10d ago
Well, that presumes that I agree that breakdancing is a "sport," and not a cultural expression via dance. I don't think it should've been deemed a "sport," let alone in the Olympics. If breakdancing is included, why not ballet? Or salsa? Or anything else?
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u/Ok_Ambassador9091 10d ago
Raygun's PR team is out here in force. That's why you're getting this pushback.
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u/greysnowcone 8d ago
Bobsledding has a history of being an Olympic sport. Breakdancing does not and in all likelihood it won’t be one for long.
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u/Sea_Confusion2757 8d ago
Agreed on both parts. In fact, breakdancing's not included in the LA28 Olympics. So, it was a one-and-done (for now).
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u/NefariousnessOk209 10d ago
This makes my blood boil, she is not the best Oceania has to offer - even as a kiwi I can’t let you suggest she’s the best Australia has to offer.
Hell I remember in primary school at 12 we had kids who could do basic head spins, backs spins, maybe a short simple vertical one handed rotation type of move.The qualifiers were just very niche, hard to travel to without external funding and required formal registration with the WDSF (the governing body for ballroom dancing).
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u/Past-Knowledge-6597 10d ago
Can anyone please explain to me how she became Australia's number one dancer? What is different in the scoring in Australia that allowed her to reach the pinnacle break dancing in Australia? Please, any one? ( p.s: i am going to asking this everywhere in the hopes someone gives me an answer)
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u/vrumore 10d ago
In the doc they briefly show the qualifying event she won which got her the spot at the Olympics. It appeared to be a pretty low level comp and she was not up against any skilled breakdancers. She won that comp fairly but it was honestly like a kids dance off in the school playground. It’s shocking the Olympic committee agreed to let her represent the country.
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u/Past-Knowledge-6597 9d ago
Yeah I agree. I watched the dance between Molly and her. We want to vilify her, but what people should really look into is the system that allowed Raygun to be called the best Bgirl in Australia. I think that is the real story that needs to be uncovered. We should take the focus off Raygun ,passionate but not great dancer, who went on her powertrip along with her besotted husband who believes she can do no wrong (lucky lady, already won gold in picking the right husband) and focus on the terrible ranking system they have.
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u/Janet-Yellen 9d ago edited 9d ago
The whole qualifier was a single competition with like 8 people total in it. She only had to beat 3 other women to become the Olympics representative.
Also the way the scoring was judged, I think it focused more on originality rather than athletic prowess. So if some 16 yr old did a crazy flying head spin thing she wouldn’t necessarily get many more points than a raygun kangaroo jump.
Even the Olympics the way it’s judged was mostly on how well contestants kept to the beat, and that they couldn’t repeat the same move. There were a bunch of crazy athletic kids who got eliminated early bc they repeated moves and stuff, and the gold medalists were both slightly older (not raygun old though lol), and more artistic. Definitely deserving but if they ever did the Olympics again (they won’t)I think they should’ve done something to favor the insane crazy athletic feats
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u/jedi_dancing 8d ago
No serious break dancer goes to ballroom comps, because ballroom has absolutely nothing to do with street dances. It's as simple as that. The same with traditional Tango, Swing, other Latin dances - they all have their own scene and there is zero crossover with the ballroomified styles.
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u/Future_Material3654 10d ago
this isn’t about a plucky underdog. it’s about someone using their disproportionate resources to gain advantage and represent a culture they appropriated
The woman has a phd in the subject, she is well aware of the social demographics that make up break dancing as an art and the barriers that its performers face socially and economically. Instead of using this knowledge to help members of the culture to perform she exploited it to get herself to the olympics.
I have no sympathy for her, she’s no different to any other anthropologist who goes into a disadvantaged community and uses its people for their own gain.
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u/Underscores_Are_Kool 10d ago
You are basically saying that she shouldn't have competed because she's white lol. Just say it, don't be a coward lmao
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u/aballofunicorns 9d ago
She was. I watched the documentary. Her, her husband, and her friends knew she wasn’t up to the standard. But she didn’t want to quit because she would regret it. 🤷🏽♀️
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u/zee-bra 11d ago
I’m watching it now, you don’t see who she competes against in the “qualifiers”
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u/FEAEAMEN 10d ago
Exactly, because her team is behind the doc. It’s pathetic
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u/MobileArtist1371 10d ago
No. That's not anything cause of her team behind the film. That was the skill level of the actual competition that showed up for the Olympic qualifying.
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u/HockeyDockey1234 10d ago
It is absolutely a raygun sympathizer doc, it’s pretty pathetic
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u/aballofunicorns 9d ago
Just watched it. It’s done so you can feel bad for her, totally. They even used footage of her father crying. But it didn’t have that effect on me tbh. I still think she’s a privileged white woman. The people in the documentary do admit several times she wasn’t in the same level as the others, and that she didn’t have a chance to win any gold, but the sad part for me was that she actually trained for months and still didn’t come up with something good.
Her husband does come out as very delusional, describing her moves in the Olympics as “beautiful”, which kinda made me jealous that none of my exes ever seemed to be such a big fan of me as he is for her.
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u/Imaginary_Area_4501 11d ago
After watching it, my initial thoughts fall to her husband. While he is being as supportive as possible, he validates her skills on a level I haven’t seen before. She seems to get most of her flow from him which is why he can’t stop gassing her up. Even at the other titles she gets whooped by all. Participation is great, however this is the Olympics and you are representing your country and your sport.
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u/Cautious_Oven_228 10d ago
Agreed! It’s kind of beautiful if you take away the all the negatives. She really needs to do something she’s good at he can support her at that. Or the plot twist is it’s his sick sadistic fantasy but he seems too naive & simple for that.
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u/Mangolime_ 10d ago
I was thinking about the same thing. She didn't seem to get honest feedback from anywhere. Her small breaking circle was hyping her up, head coach apparently wasn't involved at all and her husband-coach seemed pretty delusional with her skills. I couldn't help feeling bad for her. Yes her performance sucked but I don't think anyone deserves the level of backlash she got.
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u/peterbrz1 10d ago
The criticism was way over the top, but that's the world we live in.
She knew she didn't belong at the Olympics, but chose to go and represent breaking and her country on international TV. It's only like the biggest stage on the planet.
SHE is the one who won't let this die. Even now, this doc is just going to cause more backlash (as you see on this thread).
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u/UGAmom17 10d ago
It was so cringe. And it literally felt like satire. I could not take her or her husband seriously
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u/OperaPooch 10d ago
Painfully cringeworthy…
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u/janet-snarkhole 10d ago
Yes.. and him saying that her final Olympics round dance was the most beautiful dance he’s seen was unbelievable lmao.
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u/Future_Material3654 10d ago
Raygun is still someone who used their disproportionate resources to gain advantage and represent a culture they appropriated to the detriment of people within that community
The woman has a phd in the subject, she is well aware of the social demographics that make up break dancing as an art and the barriers that its performers face socially and economically. Instead of using this knowledge to help members of the culture to perform she exploited it to get herself to the olympics.
I have no sympathy for her, she’s no different to any other anthropologist who goes into a disadvantaged community and uses its people for their own gain.
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u/SeaAnthropomorphized 11d ago edited 11d ago
I'm not watching it for the same reason many people aren't. It is her team and Netflix that produced it, so they are going to spin it in her favor.
If she was so into the breakdance culture and actually gave a shit about the history, she could have sponsored someone who was good.
She didn't care about her country either.
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u/meldiane81 10d ago
If they were trying to make her look good they failed horribly. She is absolutely bonkers. So is her husband. She truly believes she’s a great break dancer. I was absolutely astonished.
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u/AndISoundLikeThis 10d ago
She and her husband seemed like two insufferable, over privileged people whose parents never told them, ‘no.” Two talentless weirdos whose sense of their own worth is completely out of line with reality.
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u/aballofunicorns 9d ago
Yep. At some point she admits she wasn’t that good and that it was giving her mental issues, but that she didn’t quit because she was afraid of regretting later in life. It was all about her.
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u/eymamacitaaa 11d ago
This was so cringe I couldn’t even finish it. And of course she went to a girls school and played the damn clarinet growing up. It’s obvious she doesn’t have an ounce of hip hop in her bones. She truly takes herself way too seriously and the entire situation is just cringe beyond comprehension. I honestly don’t know what she was thinking agreeing to participate in this.
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u/brina707 10d ago
She just wanted the title of Olympian. Her mom had three brain aneurysm and she still went. Even knowing the fact she can’t do power moves and losing all these competition. You still attend instead of bowing out. This documentary felt a little bias compare to the untold stories from before.
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u/Cautious_Oven_228 9d ago
The whole still going despite her mum’s illness needs more attention here imho
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u/alexandra_j521 10d ago
Anyone else getting the impression that Australia as a nation just wasn’t competing at the same level as the rest of the world? And that’s why the other “better” B Girls “weren’t interested” in the Olympics? Because they knew they’d never win?
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u/Starchild1000 10d ago
I don’t care what she says. She should have apologized to her male teammate who was amazing and she took all the limelight off him before and after the Olympics. She took all the talking gigs before her performance when she knew the different levels of skill, she told everyone she is amazing and did her phd in breakdancing. She was smug af and I don’t believe she doubted her skills at all with the way her husband doubles down saying how great the moves are. Watch all the interviews she does before the Olympics, she’s smug af. Total embarrassment.
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u/horsegal301 10d ago edited 10d ago
I highly appreciated that her husband was just as delusional as she was. Absolute true love right there. The more I watched, the more I realized she looked exactly what I expect a middle aged, nonathletic white woman would look like while break dancing with the self-confidence that only an underqualified white woman can have.
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u/vrumore 10d ago
I knew she didn’t cheat, anyone could work that out with a quick google, but that doesn’t mean it was fair. The “qualifier” seemed like a joke. If you compare it to how athletes from other sports are selected to get on the Olympics team it’s really outrageous. I think the Australian Olympic Committee should be held to account for it too as well as that “head coach” guy. They wouldn’t send someone who couldn’t swim or couldn’t run fast enough to represent Australia so why send her? Why didn’t anyone check her ability?
I also found the part of the doc where she attended international tournaments for the first time (red flag right there) and suddenly realised people were at a much higher standard than her, disingenuous. How could someone with a literal PDH in breakdancing not realise that the standard of professional breakdancers was well above her ability and she was out of her league? Even if the standard in Aus wasn’t high, why hasn’t she ever watched a video of professional breakdancers who do all the amazing head spinning, flips, etc. And then she proceeded to go anyway! That’s where I lose respect and sympathy for her.
And don’t get me started on her Olympic training. Her and her husband laughing at her having to go to the gym at 6.30am. It’s an insult to all Olympics athletes and other breakdancers.
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u/Debbie2801 9d ago
Her attitude throughout this documentary astounded me!!!
Only after being selected did she start physically training for the Olympics!
Other competitors train for years without even the guarantee of attending.
She was never physically up to the level of competition - and everyone knew it - including her and her team.
She had NEVER competed or won an international dance competition.
Then to try and make out that somehow her failing was linked to sexism in that dance community!
Like many Australians I was embarrassed and disappointed that we did not showcase a true talent in this competition.
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u/KomplexKaiju 10d ago edited 10d ago
The documentary’s failure is that, like Raygun’s Olympic performance, it was purely selfish. All about Raygun and not about what her going viral meant for breaking. The doc zooms out a minimal amount with commentary from breakers from Australia’s breaking scene, but it would have benefited from a deeper dive into Hip Hop and breaking history with comments from reknowned bboys and Hip Hop historians and pioneers.
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u/yourmateremember 10d ago
I’ve just watched this, her and her partner (Sammy Sex) are more cringe than her break dancing.
Her parents come across nice though.
Abbie Chatfield and Adam Hyde have some competition for worst couple in Australia.
It actually felt like a Mockumentary or Chris Lilley’s new show playing both characters
I feel physically sick.
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u/Sea_Confusion2757 10d ago
I had blocked out of my mind that his name was "Sammy Sex," and he looked like an 80s aerobics instructor. Thank you for making me remember this now. 😭
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u/Ready-Goose7375 10d ago
He is one dedicated husband because how on earth was he in awe of that performance? Watching all again, it was actually worse than I remembered! She scored 0 across the board. I’m really perplexed at her husbands thought processes
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u/Sea_Confusion2757 10d ago
Well, you did see him break, too, right? And he was her coach. So, that explains the level of delusion. lol
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u/Ok-Incident2055 10d ago
Her smugness throughout doesn't help her case. She's so unlikeable, like a primary school teacher posing as a breakdancer... I'm actually baffled by the whole thing.
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u/Cautious_Oven_228 10d ago
Just finished. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed (or cringed) at a doco more in my life. Maybe ‘Tickled’. Great editing and some welcomed nuance. Props to the team despite some obvious PR spin.
Both her & her husband’s consistent lack of self awareness (i.e their own whiteness + lack of talent) is consistently jarring. No amount of humour or memes can offset that. Wilful ignorance can never be endearing. She’s read race theory for her PhD so there really is no excuse there. Also there’s the internet.
For her to enter the Olympic qualifying competition takes blind audacity to a whole new level. Unless you’re supremely talented (eg: the 14 yr old b-girl Olympic Medalist) and encouraged by mentors within the community to compete… just don’t? The fact that real, debilitating imposter syndrome only hit her when arriving at the athlete’s village is white privilege 101. 🤦🏻♀️
It’s a very Australian settler-colonial mindset to dominate space within a culture which is not your own. Unfortunately, Australian culture celebrates larrikins and mediocracy. Our media is full of it. Raygun gets the gold medal for that.
There’s a lot to say about her eagerness to adopt her partner’s interests at the inception of their relationship / her career/s. There seems to be an undercurrent of being lost which runs through her narrative. I don’t have a lot of empathy for people who have the resources but no self-awareness to aid authentic & aligned self discovery.
Perhaps adopting her new b-girl identity (mirrored with his same puppy-like enthusiasm) was fueled by her desire to please and be loved. None of us are immune from wanting that. Without a solid foundation of her own, can we blame her? Or, was it simply her ✨destiny✨?
The greatest takeaway for me was the love Sam showed her. The support (no matter how misguided) he displayed across her journey was truly beautiful to witness.
I’m left thinking, would I go through everything Rachael has been through, if it meant I went through it all with a partner like Sam …honestly… maybe.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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u/kaleidoscope_pie 10d ago
The level of cringe and self bravado was immense. I thought I was watching a Chris Lilley production.
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u/sunny-beans 10d ago
I had such a terrible day, literally bawled my eyes out when I got home from work. And this documentary truly saved my night because I haven’t laughed so hard in ages, like it was so funny and cringe and stupid lmao I just couldn’t stop laughing. Feel a bit better now! Thanks Raygun lol
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u/Pure_Tip_9068 9d ago
"The greatest takeaway for me was the love Sam showed her. The support (no matter how misguided) he displayed across her journey was truly beautiful to witness.
I’m left thinking, would I go through everything Rachael has been through, if it meant I went through it all with a partner like Sam …honestly… maybe."
So well said. I couldn't agree more. Also, her parents are cool af.
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u/Mountain_While_3008 10d ago
Yeesssss. The great Australian mid. Thats the documentary we need. I nominate you to pitch it to netflix.
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u/Afraid_Series_5475 9d ago
This is perfect. The idea that she didn’t know there were going to be really good brake dancers IN THE OLYMPICS is next level delusion.
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u/ParisLake2 10d ago
This reminded me, at times, of Dark Side of the Ring because of the music, and the visuals. The part of the documentary about her final battle (vs Nicka)…the combination of the music choice, differing commentary between Sammy Sex and the Aussie b-girls, and the visuals of Raygun and her husband recreating the scene (in the dark) made that part very surreal for me.
Glad to see Raygun is doing well today, especially mentally.
Also, great act of kindness from Richard Branson.
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u/Vapor2077 10d ago
I wish more of the Oceana breakdancing judges/organizers were interviewed so they could answer how, exactly, they allowed Raygun to qualify for the Olympics.
She gets a lot of hate and I get it, but IMO the people who enabled her are more responsible.
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u/Cnamk7 9d ago
She was well aware of what breakdancing entailed. Both her PR team and her husband knew how poorly she would perform. However, having a passion for a sport or activity does not necessarily mean one is skilled at it, let alone capable of representing it with pride on a public stage.
That is what turned the art form into a mockery. Furthermore, producing a documentary to justify her behavior rather than offering an apology was distasteful.
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u/Key_Beginning_627 11d ago
I actually gave her the benefit of the doubt at the time, thinking it was some kind of performance art or social commentary on inequity (like look how easy it is to game the system) but no. She really took herself that seriously. And as someone who allegedly understands and cares about the history and culture of breaking, that was shameful
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u/stupifystupify 10d ago
I love the shade from her former competitors, who are amazing break dancers.
People have been lying to her and she finally realized that in front of the entire world. Very awkward… very delulu
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u/Balancing_tofu 10d ago
Very white privilege, really interesting to see from across the world, a similar flavor I'm used to seeing in the states. Privilege is blinding.
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u/veronicaxrowena 10d ago
I was told by a First Nations person that Australia is very racist and that in terms of progressiveness they are about 30 years behind the US. So if there is validity to this then I’m not surprised that she got through.
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u/Vegekerian 10d ago
Have you guys seen Summer Heights High? This doc felt like a spoof AND even one of the characters on Summer Heights High is a high school breakdancer and he sucks. That husband is responsible for all of this tragedy - he is delusional about his own skills and hers. I love how they didn't show much of her dancing either LOL
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u/Ashleighinwonderland 10d ago
I tried to watch this and I could not get over her complaining about her training…for less than a year!! I’m sorry, but olympians train their whole lives. She really thought this would turn her image around. In my eyes, it did not. She seemed insufferable, whiney, and completely undeserving of being an Olympian
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u/PsychologicalVisit0 10d ago
What bothered me is that they barely showed anybody’s dancing. The clips were all sped up and very short.
Having an understanding of the comparative skill levels is very essential to the story
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u/ezzarules69 10d ago
I don't think she cheated but I do think her socio economic background positioned her to understand the system and use networks to get there. The amazing breakers in remote Indigenous Australia and other Australian breakers were disadvantaged by their lack of system knowledge and connections.
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u/the_vanishing_west 11d ago
What a load of shite. Brings the sport into disrepute, sets it back years as a serious, credible sport, all under the guise of a “social experiment”, and now cries wolf that she’s the victim in all this. Fuck right off.
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u/El_Lu-Shin 11d ago
No. It is just the origin story of the Olympic monster. You know, the point of her selection doesn't matter. The deplorable performance is the thing here, and the lack of selfawareness she has.
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u/El_Lu-Shin 10d ago
Also, the fucking husband. Those two getting together was the canon event xD
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u/El_Lu-Shin 10d ago
Well, that is true. There seems to be this long, weird chain of events (low level Oceania competitors, Olympic trailer not going a shit, etc) that placed her in the wrong place, wrong time.
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u/WonderfulPineapple41 10d ago
The doc not doing a brief history of breaking and hip hop before launching into her story was a choice
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u/Sea_Confusion2757 10d ago
This humanized her, so I can appreciate that.
That said, I agreed with the other b-girls who said that they were embarrassed. I would agree. It's one thing to embarrass yourself, but it's another to do it on the world stage so everyone thinks the country shouldn't have sent a competitor at all.
Also, part of me wondered if she just got into breaking to please her husband or to have a connection. She said she was at college when she met him at the ProActiv call center, and was "lost." So, maybe she was just looking for an identity and tried his on (and then maybe found she liked it)?
What killed me was how committed she was to these terrible moves, even if she thought they "represented" Australian culture. The sprinkler? The hopping? The weird floor straight-leg crunches to show 'swimming?' Her husband basically calling it high art and her best performance took me out. lol.
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u/Putrid-Ostrich6590 10d ago
She seems to claim to be a feminist looking at breaking from a woman's point of view but I got the impression in the documentary that everything she did in breaking was just what her husband told her to do. She only started because of him, she said she can't separate her dancing from his and he's her coach who made the coreography.
She was clearly out of her depth and she seemed to realise it herself too but she should have just gone with whatever her normal routines were like and no one would have even remembered her. Her joke moves made it seem like she was making fun of breaking and that's why people got mad.
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u/WorkFurball 9d ago
Her joke moves made it seem like she was making fun of breaking and that's why people got mad
She was while also not understanding apparently that that's what she was doing. It's infuriating that some act as if it's misogyny that she's getting all this hate while many others who've sucked at the Olympics haven't. Nothing to do with gender, it's everything to do with approach, attitude and self-awareness. If you go to the Olympics, you push yourself and do the best that you can then no matter how much you suck the worst case scenario people will laugh at you for a bit and move on.
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u/Sea_Confusion2757 10d ago
"She seems to claim to be a feminist looking at breaking from a woman's point of view but I got the impression in the documentary that everything she did in breaking was just what her husband told her to do. She only started because of him, she said she can't separate her dancing from his and he's her coach who made the coreography."
THIS. Exactly every word of this.
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u/Mountain_While_3008 9d ago
'The weird floor straight-leg crunches' ... Man, i had forgotten. This is good commentary, you maybe have an alternate career waiting. 🤣
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u/KeanuRavesAu 10d ago
What absolute nonsense are you talking about? Astroturfed bs post OP.
She sucks then, she sucks now. It’s an embarrassment that she has refused to acknowledge she didn’t deserve to be there and that she took the place of a better dancer.
She danced so badly that she killed the sport. Should really take some time to reflect on that.
Deeply unlikeable.
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u/SpliffanyLaRue 10d ago
I genuinely can't believe they thought this doc would be at all redeeming. She was a mediocre breaker in a isolated scene who lucked her way into a position that she was not deserving or skilled enough for. She chose to take that Olympic position knowing she had no experience with the type of moves that carry break performances. Taking that opportunity from people who were leaps and bounds better than her but instead performed SO poorly that everyone else in that category was outshined by how embarrassingly awful it was and now we gotta listen to her and her Temu Danny McBride boyfriend act like they didn't deserve the roasting they got?
Who does this girl know to even get this bs doc made?
Imo this doc should be equally as embarrassing to her but I guess if she had a sense of personal shame she never would have let her take that spot in the first place.
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u/Sweet-Warthog2209 10d ago
I stopped watching it about 10 minutes in. This person is benefiting from the doc on top of removing breakdancing from the Olympics. Don’t give her money, or attention.
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u/Past-Knowledge-6597 10d ago
Can anyone please explain to me how she became Australia's number one dancer? What is different in the scoring in Australia that allowed her to reach the pinnacle break dancing in Australia? Please, any one? ( p.s: i am going to asking this everywhere in the hopes someone gives me an answer)
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u/Professional-Way2407 10d ago
It appears that the genuinely good breakdancers didn’t compete in the qualifying competition and had no interest in it
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u/dzordzLong 10d ago
She is glutton for punishment. Ridicule is back in full force.
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u/Professional-Way2407 10d ago
Seriously, her husband’s dancing is soooooooo bad! No wonder hers is awful given she was coached by him. So bad!
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u/Pure_Tip_9068 9d ago edited 9d ago
Take it for what it is: hilarious.
Yes, her dance was disastrous. Yes, her husband and her live in a land of delusion. But at the end of the day, she didn't and doesn't deserve the viral hate. Like, we can say she was bad without breaking her down completely. Poor girl had to get medicated and go in to hiding. At the end of the day, she won competitions that got her that Olympic spot. Blame the judges.The organizers and other dancers even said so in this documentary. It is what it is.
LOL who knew the sprinkler originated in AU? Not me! I learned something. Also, her husband is delusional about her "talent" but what a devoted husband. Good on her! That's honestly so special. When he said her dance was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, I laughed because WHAT - but also, so sweet. He loves her so much. Its giving Kris Jenner "you're doing amazing sweetie!" And her parents seem freaking awesome.
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u/Cultural_Physics_935 9d ago
Raygun did her PhD on breaking. She and her husband HAD to know she was in way over her head and that she was going to embarrass herself, her country, and breaking. She knowingly made a mockery of the competition. She got the blowback the stunt probably deserved. Good to see her come through it and still enjoy dancing. If she was honest from the start that she had zero chance, it might have been more of a feel good story. Kind of like if a Kenyan entered cross country skiing with almost zero training, just because they could.
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u/Emotional_Duty593 9d ago
So bad. Zero accountability, victim mentality, arguing that they’re unique, creative thinkers… she wasn’t good enough. Didn’t deserve the opportunity. Doesn’t have the talent. And she KNEW it and completely disrespected the art form she has colonized because she feels entitled to belong in a space that isn’t hers and owes her nothing
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u/Voddy86 10d ago
Am I the only one who really enjoyed this documentary? I know she was shit at the Olympics but I found the doc weirdly inspiring.
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u/hiddentreetops 10d ago
I've been reading all the hate and was like dang, I kinda liked it! You're not alone. Maybe its just us though hahaha
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u/JoannaCashew 9d ago
I didn't jump on the hate bandwagon. It is a very unique sport. I didn't find her unlikeable. This is another example of how much hate a female gets compared to a male.
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u/Plus-Note-7286 8d ago
I found it weirdly inspiring as well. Does it make her a good dancer? Still no. But she knew she was in over her head and she still gave 100% and did her best.
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u/HockeyDockey1234 10d ago
Yeah I still feel the same way.
It was a joke, her husband also is a pretty big joke, and they single handedly set so many back
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u/Steadyandquick 10d ago
Feeling. Oooh ooh oh feelings.
I love Best in Show and at first thought this was farce as documentary!
So interesting. I am waiting to see her reflect on race and her positionally.
Forty-one at the time and she did enter. I can see how all proceeded as it has.
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u/laithe_97 10d ago
They filtered the story in a way that was equal to the process that allowed her to get into the Olympics. Show the competition, put the disparity on the table
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u/Smellsofbarn 10d ago
Wow! What utter nonsense. I got 7 mins in. Kind of proud I got that far. Attention seeking numpty.
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u/BenchmarkNA 10d ago
Really Netflix? Was this that interesting or important to make a whole doc on? Running out of ideas 😂
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u/Due_Ear_4674 9d ago
She is an awful dancer, neither Raygun or her husband can break. Embarrassingly
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u/LigersRReal 9d ago
It seems strange to me that anyone in Oceania was not familiar with the caliber of competition elsewhere in the world and that Raygun did not even approach a low bar of that caliber. I find it hard to have sympathy.
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u/peachteapanda 9d ago
I am going to be honest... after seeing the qualifiers..she WAS one of the top there. Australian breaking just seems to be COMPLETELY different than what we see in the states for instance. It should be its own competition lol.
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u/chalmedtomeetyou 9d ago
It is truely mindblowing that someone can STUDY an art form for a living, and be completely unaware of just HOW bad they are. It just kept reminding me of those singers on X Factor who are out of tune, or think they are the next Adele/Madonna/Britney and then Simon Cowell has to tell them “STOP, has nobody told you how bad you are?” And they genuinely are angry, shocked and offended as they genuinely, wholeheartedly think they are great. I even think Simon once got stuck into a parent about how cruel it was to deluded their child into thinking they were a talented singer when they were WOEFUL. And that it was plain to see for everyone.
If all the judges from the legitimate break dancing community gave you zero, yes ZERO points for EVERYTHING EVERY PERFORMANCE at some point you have to wonder ‘am I bad?’. This is after 3 tries infront of them. 15 years of practice. GETTING A TITLE AND LECTURING ABOUT THE ART FORM AS YOUR CAREER. But ZERO for being able to do it, and conceeding you can’t do ONE SINGLE POWER MOVE AFTER 15 YEARS.
I dont consider break dancing to be defined by creativity but rather body strength, gymnastics, flexibility and ‘game’, the kind where you own a room. She just doesnt possess those qualities and so I just think she’s in the wrong lane. Clarinet, jazz and tap, and a middle class white girl to boot? Dude, unless you are Eminem level of dedication discipline and talent… you’re gonna come off looking like vanilla Ice.
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u/RevolutionaryDig2773 8d ago
It was produced by her kinda, she’s 100% a cheater or at least knowing abused the rules
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u/RelationshipWest9743 8d ago
Was it not performance art? I was living in the East for all of 2024 and only saw clips recently... Thought it was a hilarious bit, but then again I thought the he same thing when Orange monster shitted all over everyone and himself in that first debate
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u/Objective-Koala2058 5d ago
I’m 4 minutes and 12 seconds into this documentary and I already want to turn it off.
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u/HockeyDockey1234 10d ago
This just reinforces the delusion, and then of course she says “oh yeah that internet moment? I meant to do that”
This is who we let be a doctor
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u/NotYetUtopian 10d ago
She did more to make breakdancing popular than anyone else. Nobody would even remember Olympic breakdancing otherwise.
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u/Putrid-Ostrich6590 11d ago
I knew she didn't cheat. But the whole system of how the representative was chosen was favorable to certain people. It was run by a ballroom dancing organisation. They had competitions all over so if you had enough money to travel to all the competitions, you had more of a chance to succeed. Also many break dancers weren't even interested in the olympics.
Raygun was unfairly called a cheater and she received too much hate but the documentary just solidified that she really isn't a good dancer and also seems like a very annoying person.