REPRESENTATION OF SPORTSPERSONS IN LITERATURE AND CINEMA

Abstract

The present thesis entitled Representation of Sportspersons in Literature and Cinema attempts to explore the cultural dimensions of Sports and their professionals as a product of a given civilization during its onward march over the ages. The thesis argues in favour of analyzing the cultural factors being responsible for the growth and control of games and sports as integral components of human civilization. Slightly deviating from the predominant academic norms and discourse around the study of Sports as a subject of research, this research takes a different view on the area of Sports studies. Thus, by way of exploring some of the hitherto untrodden territories or the ones not much touched upon so far, a detailed analysis of cultural products like Literature and Cinema finds due consideration in this study which seeks to establish the cultural roots as far more important than their mere presentation as a ‘scientific’ product. No doubt, sports are predominantly a subject of ‘Physical Education’ but their cultural ramifications cannot be overlooked under a surveilling gaze and lenses of Science. Divided into five chapters namely, Introduction; Approaching Human Situation the ‘Purush Way’: Dhyan Chand’s GOAL and Milkha Singh’s THE RACE OF MY LIFE; Approaching Human Situation the ‘Prakriti Way’: Mary Kom’s UNBREAKABLE and Sania Mirza’s ACE AGAINST ODDS; Sports and Bollywood; and finally, Conclusion—the thesis explores some of the key cultural issues including race, ethnicity and gender in terms of their impact on the shaping of sports as also on the psychology of the sportspersons in their role as humans with all their qualities of head and heart. Since the thesis relates itself more to the realm of art and culture instead of claiming any kinship with pure ‘reason’ or what we say Science, it draws its strength in exploring the more subtle, the unconscious and abstract precincts of not just the human existence in terms of eternal values cherished by each of the individual sportsmen chosen for this study while their inner selves finding an artful representation in their autobiographies. More importantly, the present study claims to explore the ‘unconscious’ (to use a Freudian term) labyrinths of Sports as a cultural activity through an academic analysis of the four autobiographies representing the mind and the vision of these individuals in particular and the sportspersons in general. Similarly, since the cinema has grown up as a popular medium of communication, the study has appropriately included as many as four films depicting different sports and their practitioners with a view to analyzing their acceptance and relevance in terms of their potential for mass appeal. The purpose of this selection is to inquire into the issues related to production as well as reception of sports as a cultural artefact with its potential for influencing the masses.