Untold Raygun: Breaking Badly is a controversial documentary by Netflix about the Australian b-girl Rachel Gunn, known as B-Girl Raygun, and her experience around the Olympic Games 2024. Here’s my 100% biased opinion about it. Find the TL;DR at the end.
The Raygun controversy in a nutshell
Raygun was the lowest scoring contender in the b-girl category of the Paris Olympics in 2024. She did not earn a single vote from the judges. So far so good, as every competition needs someone to score lowest. In her presentation, especially the last battle, she leaned heavily into creative moves and references to her home Australia. Usually this is considered a positive thing in the breaking scene, as dancers work to develop a unique style. In her case, the missing athletic component that was displayed by the other contenders, in combination with the creative, some might call it quirky, approach led to her performance being picked up by the masses. And it became a global meme.
Raygun-related memes dominated social media, TV shows and online magazines around the globe. It came so far, that the real Olympic winners of this historic event did not get the shine they deserved. All medalists together did not have the same reach as the lowest-scoring contender of the whole breaking Olympics. The stories that should have traveled the world didn’t and the dance scene hated it. It came so far that there were rumors of her cheating her way into the Olympics and of her being the reason for breaking not being in the Olympics in LA 2028. Both of these have been debunked early, but most didn’t care. Feelings are hurt until this day.
The Netflix documentary and what it does well
The documentary was well-crafted, for a mainstream audience. It tells the story of Raygun’s Olympic journey. Not more, not less. It doesn’t judge breaking, the Olympic Games or the international scene reactions. It clears up the rumors and conspiracy theories, in a short segment close to the end.
Why Breaking Badly comes at the wrong time
Untold Raygun – Breaking Badly would have been great a year after Paris, or even earlier. It would have helped clear up the rumors and give everyone closure. At the time of the publication, nobody wanted to talk about it anymore. But then everything came back into focus, reigniting a debate, that nobody needed in the first place. As someone who also works in social media, I will have to read unnecessary Raygun jokes for a few more months to come.
TL;DR: Untold Raygun: Breaking Badly from Netflix is a well-crafted documentary that came at least a year too late, stirring up talks and emotions that should have been forgotten by now.