This essay seeks to widen our understanding of Maggie's body. How her body is gendered and classed, for example, deeply effects the audience's perception of her, and these identity markers interact with her disability in rich and illuminating ways. Of course, before and after her injury, Maggie's body is more than just a 'disabled' body. Here we hope to comment more expansively upon the film's complex and multi-faceted iconography of the body. Due to the intensity of the debate, and the urgency of the disability community's critiques of the film, particularly when given limited space in the popular media, some facets of the Disability Studies critique of Maggie's representation had to be abbreviated. In short, the film-as-cultural-moment provided a productive opportunity for disability activists and scholars to enter into civic arenas like the op-ed page. In particular, the film represented a moment to consider just how 'other' the disabled body remains for an alarmingly large segment of the culture. The disability community's critiques of the film raised significant concerns about how the general public views bodies that resist normative imperatives. Some seized the opportunity to engage public audiences about issues of concern to the Disability Studies community. Some vented in various forums, notably the DS-HUM (Disability Studies in the Humanities) listserv, which exploded with discussions about the portrayal of Maggie. Some disability activists called for boycotts. Meanwhile, the Disability Studies community critiqued the film for its representation of disability-as-death-sentence. The film, which won critical acclaim in the mainstream press and swept most of the major categories at this year's Academy Awards, garnered negative attention from conservative political pundits including Rush Limbaugh and Michael Medved, who argued the film represented liberal Hollywood's attempt to advance a pro-euthanasia agenda. Now a quadriplegic, Maggie spirals into depression, loses a leg as a result of bedsores, and convinces Frankie to euthanize her.

Maggie conquers the boxing world until a spinal injury ends her career. Disability, Social Class, and Gender in Million Dollar BabyĮmail: now, many readers of Disability Studies Quarterly know the plot of Clint Eastwood's 2004 film Million Dollar Baby but, to review, the film tells the story of Maggie (Hilary Swank), a young working-class woman who dreams of stardom in the boxing ring and convinces the wizened Frankie (Clint Eastwood) to become her trainer.

Million dollar baby true