QDoes this film portray professional wrestling as fake or real?
AHere's what director Darren Aronofsky said on this issue in an interview: "I think people basically roll [wrestling] off saying, 'Oh, it's fake,' and they forget all about it. But what was interesting to me was that whole line between real and fake. What is real? What is fake? The film is very clear that wrestling is staged, but is it fake when you're a 260-pound guy jumping 10 feet onto a concrete floor? Even if you're trying to protect yourself and your opponent, damage is happening to you. Then, you meet these guys who've been wrestling 10 or 20 years ago, and they're just riddled with injury. They are true athletes. It's just they're almost more like stunt men, so there's that line of real and fake. The other line of real and fake is 'The Ram' doesn't know what's real and what's fake. When he's in the ring, for him that's real life, and so that kind of real and fake comments on the whole wrestling thing." Source here.
QA Note Regarding Spoilers
AThe following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.
QWhy does Randy have such problems with the name Robin (Ramsinski)?
ARandy has issues several times when he is called "Robin" in the pharmacy but most clearly when he receives a name tag with the name Robin instead of Randy. It is obvious that his real name is Robin Ramzinski and that the name "Randy (the Ram) Robinson" is the name of his wrestling character. As a rather masculine professional wrestler, it's possible that he considered the gender-neutral 'Robin' to be ill-suited to his personality. It also stands to reason that Robin/Randy associates the name 'Randy Robinson' with his glory days of wrestling, which is the life he wants to live and the person with whom he most identifies. The name 'Robin Ramzinski' reminds him of his 'real' life outside the ring where he is just a failure with a lousy job and a mangled body, having lost all contact with those he loves. That may be why he prefers to be called Randy, especially in those situations that conform with his 'Robin' persona.
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