Beyond A Boundary, By C. L. R James

Games are like a system of rules that create a sub world within communities, and give those who participate in the game a sense of control. At face value, a game can be seen as just that, a game. A form of play that can be competitively conducted according to rules and decided by skill, strength, or just pure luck. With further analyzation, we can see throughout history and literature that games have strong interconnections to other aspects of life for those who participate in one way or another. Games have been played since the beginning of mankind, and through games there lies a history and the future of a community. Any game, like literature and the arts, by C.L.R James’ theory, have potential to enable and define the character of the collective and national consciousness by embodying, or endowing it with, “ the whole past history and future hopes…”(James 232). This paper will analyze the strong relations between politics, social constructions, a community’s or individual's direction, and how they can all be connected in multiple settings and throughout time.
In the novel, “Beyond a Boundary,” C.L.R James was able to educate his readers not only about the game of cricket, but how a game could have interconnections to a community's own politics, history, and future hopes for those who are involved in the game in one way or another.
A film that also shares the same theme as Beyond a Boundary is the film, “Lagaan.” Lagaan’s overall theme also revolves around the game of cricket. In the film, a small village set in the Victorian period of British rule and colonization, and they are burdened with a drought and high taxes to pay. The villagers find themselves with an opportunity to relieve themselves of this tax if they play the unfamiliar game of cricket against British
officers. In Beyond a Boundary, the game of cricket was not simply a game for James or for those who played. C.L.R James emphasized that cricket was not only a game to be played by the community, but an art form in addition to being a political device to help shape history. The history that lies behind the original European game of cricket is permanent. It takes a cemented place in history with no debates. In a way, it becomes a crucial part of an identity for a community or an individual. James expresses that on page 232 for when he pens, “English people, for example, have a conception of themselves breathed from birth.” Unlike the English, people hailing from the West Indies and other underdeveloped nations don’t have that solidified history to call their own. Through James’ talent and history and others like him, he was able to help the people of the West Indies and Trinidad begin to search and rebuild their history. Cricket will have a permanent mark in their history, and that is a step to producing something homegrown and of their own. This game has helped shape the history that the natives of these nations feel like they lack. James writes, “ the cricket ethic has shaped not only the cricketers but the social life as a whole. There is a whole generation of us, and perhaps two generations, who have been formed by it not only in social attitudes but in our most intimate lives, more than anywhere else” (James 41).
In the movie Lagaan, the interconnection of cricket playing into politics and a future are evident throughout the film. The small village has to play an alien game of cricket in order to relieve themselves of a ridiculous tax that they pay to the British Raj. The game of cricket is an instrument of power, and by winning this match against their British officers they can shift the power back to the people. At first, the idea of shifting the power back to the villagers bring fear and resistance. The sheer possibility of ending their tax for three years provides a start to a social transformation. They are the ones who must work incredibly hard to produce a harvest in order to pay their taxes. Bhuvan, a feisty villager who accepts the match, leads his hesitant team through practice and the match for temporary freedom. The village team begins to show transformation as they practice, and this transformation even breaks down social barriers. In one scene, Bhuvan shames his teammates when they refuse to accept the village Dalits. Kachra looks to have a physical disability, and because of that the villagers have had a long term prejudice. After a thorough shaming the villagers and players accept Kachra, and acknowledge how important he is to the team.