What is Sport? : A Barthesian Gaze

Sport is unique platform that gives recognition to the social identity and self-esteem in the society. It deals with several kinds of emotional metaphors and primer issues which is a part of athlete’s experience. The cultural semantics of the sport deals with the sociological perspective, such as, the socio-cultural aspect of the sport, its textual and contextual meaning, Sport’s environment and the individual’s experiences. Roland Barthes, in his seminal text What is Sport deals with different types of Sport, for example, Bull-fighting, Bicycle race, Car racing and Hockey. According to Barthes, Sport is a “false theatre” that amalgamates the various nuances of the ‘sport drama’ such as the rule of the combat, the strength of the opponent, Athlete’s personal knowledge, and courage as well as the supremacy of the religious sacrifices. The paper attempts to study the politics of sport, in the light of different games discussed by Roland Barthes. Through the game of Bull-Fighting, Roland Barthes deftly hints on the superiority between the animal’s strength and the man’s knowledge. In the car racing the victory is subtle and precise. In this game the machine is the fulcrum of the victory which is subtle and precise. Thus, the successful car racing is the sum of ‘the swiftest force is only a sum of various kinds of patience, of measurements, of subtleties, of infinitely precise and infinitely demanding actions’. Bicycle Race is a prodigious spectacle encapsulating the traits such as drama, humor, and emotion. The study aims analyzing these sports and understanding its representation in the different society