Rowing as a feature, or the focus point, of films is on the rise in the Western entertainment industry. With Boys in the Boat released in 2024, there are more eyes on the sport than ever before. But what is the film industry showing non-rowers about the sport of rowing, and why does it matter?
Turning away from the Washington eight, a slightly earlier film, ‘The Novice’, released in 2021 provides a psychological narrative on the sport of rowing that provides valuable insight into learning to row in a highly competitive environment. Granted, there are more relaxed means through which to take to the water, but as far as chasing success goes, ‘The Novice’ ticks many of the qualifying attributes for showing what it means to become ‘the best’.
The film follows a freshman student who joins her university rowing team, before becoming quickly enthralled in the physical and mental demands of succeeding in the sport. The film is equipped with many all-too-common recitals of “legs, body, arms; arms, body, legs”. Additionally, there are the countless scenes of tough erg training, blistered hands, and snapshots of the inevitable toll that aiming for the highest level has on an athlete.
For rowers, these experiences are second nature, and a seat in the top boat is a daily pursuit that has become unremarkable to those living it day in and day out. In many ways, I was surprised by the level of accuracy achieved in the film, even taking the time to explain the role of the cox and remind viewers that they are “anything but a cheerleader”. But why might the general public be interested in the livelihood and compulsive routines of a rower? Is a film really the place for learning how to use a rowing machine?
Depicting rowing in films, just as with other sports, is often narrated as a metaphor for what the sport might represent. Putting aside the practicalities of learning to row, which in reality would be a painfully repetitive watch, portrayals of rowing in films are arguably there to teach people much more about themselves than they are about the terminology of our water-based sport. In the case of both ‘The Boys in the Boat’ and ‘The Novice’, there is a strong emphasis on building resilience, facing what feels like the impossible and overcoming physical and mental challenges in the pursuit of success.
Both films also highlight moments of sacrifice and the price people pay to reach their goals. At all points, there is a tension between the search for glory and the costs of defeat, a hallmark of the regular tipping point that exists in high-level sport. For non-rowers, seeing individuals face this on screen can be inspiring, encouraging ambition or determination. Rowing, then, is symbolic of how people may want to approach life, or the challenges in front of them. Talking teamwork, the drive to improve, and the rewards of committing to the process, it perhaps doesn’t matter if it was rowing or any other sport; these films exist to motivate and uplift people, driving them to take themselves on a learning journey of their own.
Metaphors aside, if the films get anything right, they’re arguably a successful way to recruit new people to the sport, too. Both ‘The Boys in the Boat’ and ‘The Novice’ build awareness of the sport of rowing, which is much less well-known than commonly played and even more commonly depicted sports such as football. In exposing rowing’s less romantic reality – hard work, long hours, and training no matter the weather conditions – positioning rowing within popular culture illuminates rowing in new spaces.
Rowing is undoubtedly an elite sport – yet both these films represent the possibility of entering the sport regardless of socio-economic background. It cannot be ignored that the sport still operates within systems of wealth and privilege, but what films can do is raise the profile of rowing to those unfamiliar, or unconnected, to rowing’s closely knit network. Documentaries emphasising this exist too. ‘A Most Beautiful Thing’, a documentary showcasing America’s first all-Black high school rowing team brought together despite historic social troubles, represents the ability of rowing to be a socially transformative force.
It is difficult to calculate whether films that forefront rowing have an immediate effect on recruitment into the sport. Nonetheless, the rowing community can take pride in the increase in boat-based stories being told on the big screen. There is much that non-rowers can take away from the tales depicted in these films, reminding us that rowing is more than the medals you may achieve on race day. It’s a sport that gives individuals a wealth of competencies that benefit them long after they leave the water.
