Seven Years in Tibet

Question: Discuss about the Seven Years in Tibet. Answer: Introduction: Seven years in Tibet presents a nonfiction drama about the story of an Austrian climber, Heinrich Harrer. He proceeded on her journey to climb the Nanya Parbat, which is the ninth highest peak in the world. The story of the film starts in 1939 and it concludes with the occupation of Tibet by China. In this film, the Austrian climber leaves behind his seven months pregnant wife to achieve glory. However, Harrer ends up being captured and imprisoned in a prisoner of war camp from where he and his fellow climber, Peter succeeded in escaping. From there, they traveled to Tibet and then they go to the holy city of Lhasa. The director-producer of the movie, Jean-Jaques Annuad has been quite successful in depicting the cultural landscape of Lhasa. In this holy city, Harrer and Dalai Lama learned regarding the cultures of each other through the contact they have with each other. In the movie, several stereotypes and radicalized identities have been presented as we come across the fluidity of the cultural identity of Harrer (Weinraub, 1997). Seven years in Tibet overflows with stereotypes and radicalized identities of the Europeans as well of the Asians. The stereo type that is at the center of this movie is that of German pride. The reason due to which this group has decided to climb Nanya Parbat is that the four times made in the past to conquer the peak power remained unsuccessful and eleven climbers have been killed in these attempts. The result is that Harrer, yet by Brad Pitt says that "it is a national obsession and it is a matter of national pride". In the same way, the stereo type of German national pride is taken to a higher level when Harrer shows the guard who is escorting them out of Tibet wearing German boots how a German soldier marches and how a German soldier runs. In this way, Harrer is personifying the ingenuity of the Germans had the same time, he's also revealing the unwillingness of the Germans to give up. This is done by Harrer when he insists that the guard should wear his shoes. At this point it needs to be mentioned that Harrer is actually not a German but he's an Austrian but people perceive him to be a German. The complexity of Harrer's character is revealed to us in the prison camp. He repeatedly makes failed attempts to escape by himself although each failed attempt brings recriminations on his comrades who are left behind. In this way, he comes to know that he cannot escape, not from the British and not from himself. He also finds his remorse regarding abandoning his family. In a particularly moving scene in the film, Harrer is shown in the exercise yard, standing in a downpour, as he repeatedly throws himself on the barbed wire which is a self-inflicted punishment given to himself when he comes to know that he has been divorced by his wife. Eventually, Harrer succeeds in escaping, but only after learning that he will have to cooperate with some of the less impulsive prisoners like Peter Aufschnitter who was the captain of the expedition. Both of them wander through the Tibetan for a number of years seeking refuge but generally not getting it, saving themselves from bandits and clashing as enemies during the process of becoming very close friends. In some of the scenes in the movie, great comic relief is present and in the same way it also portrays the magnificent beauty in strangeness and starkness of their exile. This is also the point where the transformation of Herrar starts. In this way, both of them entered the forbidden city of Lhasa and in this city, they start their new lives for themselves. Most surprisingly, they were welcomed by the nobles of the city and very soon they became a part of them. Both of them learned their language and became unofficial engineers and architects for them. Similarly, Harrer developed a close friendship with the then teen aged Dalai Lama (Dalai Lama, 1990). After his arrival in the city, Harrer was summoned by the Dalai Lama. Several meetings took place between the two and a close friendship develops between them. Herrar takes it upon himself to educate the young boy as the majority of the Tibetans were not educated. In this way, Harrer informs the young Dalai Lama regarding the ways of the Western world and at the same time, the young boy also teaches Harrer about how to remain peaceful and not to destroy living things. Similarly, Harrer also makes a movie house for Dalai Lama certain he can watch movies there. However during the project, Harrer comes to know that according to the Buddhist religion, no living creatures should be harmed (Shakya, 1999). Therefore when during the project, digging is going on and it unearths worms, each one has to be placed at a safe place so that his life can be spared. In this context, Dalai Lama explains to Harrer that one of these worms may be Harrer's ancestor (Ebert, 1997). In the same way, the belief of the Buddhist culture in peace has also been demonstrated in this movie. The result was that when Communist China was going to take over Tibet, the people of Tibet were still looking for peace and not war. The Tibetan people did not react with a fight although they were slaughtered by the government of China. Therefore, for the purpose of avoiding a gruesome war, the people of Tibet back the down and allow the government of China to take control of their nation. References Dalai Lama, (1990) Freedom in Exile, Hodder Stoughton Ebert, Roger (1997) Seven Years in Tibet: rogerebert.com:: Reviews. Chicago Sun-Times (October 10, 1997) Shakya, Tsering. (1999) The Dragon In The Land Of Snows. Columbia University Press Weinraub, Bernard (1997). Dalai Lama's Tutor, Portrayed by Brad Pitt, Wasn't Just Roving Through the Himalayas, The New York Times (June 21, 1997)