Forging a Buddhist Cinema: Exploring Buddhism in Cinematic Representations of Tibetan Culture by Mona Harnden-Simpson B.A. (Honours), Film Studies, Carleton University A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts In Film Studies Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario August 23, 2011 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaONK1A0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-83072-7 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-83072-7 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lntemet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada DO Ill Forging a Buddhist Cinema: Exploring Buddhism in Cinematic Representations of Tibetan Culture Abstract In contrast to the West where the divide between the secular and the religious is generally perceived as distinct and impermeable, in the Tibetan Buddhist culture, religion is at the root of all political and social formations. The current scholarship in world cinema has shown the importance of situating a particular cinema—whether it is national, transnational or exilic—within a social, political and cultural context. Yet this scholarship subsumes religion under the broad umbrella of culture, effectively limiting what could potentially be a thorough exploration of the representation and place of religion in films. This thesis explores the centrality and multidimensional features of Buddhism by means of a close textual analysis of four films about Tibetan culture—The Cup (JPhorpa, Khyentse Norbu, India, 1999), Travellers and Magicians (Khyentse Norbu, Bhutan, 2005) Milarepa: Magician, Murderer, Saint (Neten Chokling, Bhutan, 2006), and Kundun (Martin Scorsese, USA, 1997). It argues that a Buddhist ethos forms the core of these films and informs how the language of cinema is used to convey Buddhist themes and principles. IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my thesis supervisor and mentor Zuzana Pick. More than anyone, she knows my penchant for wordiness (and commas) and would have no trouble believing my claim that I could have written pages on how much her help and support have meant to me. For the sake of brevity, I will constrain myself to these few inadequate words to express my profound gratitude and appreciation for all she has done. I would like to thank my husband Bruce for not only attending to the practical duties and household chores I've been ignoring for the past two years, but for his faith in me. After 33 years, his acts of love, generosity and kindness may no longer take me by surprise, but they always have the power to move me. I also extend my gratitude to my kids, Davah and Karis, who provided love and encouragement as well as much needed technical support. A few words of thanks to the faculty of the Film Studies Department— Aboubakar, Charles, Jose, Marc, Malini and Mitsuyo—for challenging me in ways that had me equally terrified and thrilled. And finally a thank you to the administrative and support staff—Barb, Diane, Jack, Laurie and Sue—who always managed to find time to help me. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Representing Tibetan Buddhism Cinematically Chapter One Tibet and Buddhism in the Cinema: A Survey of Divergent Perspectives Chapter Two Khyentse Norbu: Film as a Modern Day Thangka Chapter Three Milarepa and Kundun: The Magic, Miracles and Mystery of Tibetan Buddhism Conclusion Towards a More Inclusive Methodology Bibliography 1 INTRODUCTION Representing Tibetan Buddhism Cinematically The setting of the Hollywood film Lost Horizon (Frank Capra, USA, 1937) is a fictionalized Utopian village called Shangri-La in the Buddhist nation of Tibet. However, the film eschews any mention of Buddhism presenting instead a serene Christian community whose particular enunciation of Christianity resonates with the Buddhist ethic of non-violence. The film was made during the inter-war period and ostensibly, Capra's goal was to offer a pacifistic alternative to the growing warmongering which was taking center stage in Europe. The film exoticizes Tibet as a place of mystery and magic—people live for several centuries, there are no diseases, and gangrenous limbs can miraculously heal without medical intervention. However the film also renders Tibetan Buddhism in blatantly Christian and colonialist terms. The spiritual leader of the community is Father Perrault, a 250-year-old Christian brother, who travelled from Belgium to the Tibetan plateau several centuries before. At one point, he sermonizes, "it is our hope that the brotherly love of Shangri-La will spread throughout the world. Yes my son, when the strong have devoured each other, the Christian ethic may at last be fulfilled and the meek shall inherit the earth." Explicitly and unapologetically taken from Christ's Sermon on the Mount, the maxim—"the meek shall inherit the earth"—suggests that he, as the community leader, has "converted" the valley's Tibetan Buddhists to Christianity. 2 Tibetan Buddhism is rendered invisible in Lost Horizon, establishing Christianity's pre-eminence in offering a humanitarian prescription for a modern world driven by war and greed. Moreover, Shangri-La is not even vaguely portrayed as a Tibetan Buddhist Utopia but an exoticized Christian paradise, suggesting that an untainted, purified brand of Christianity can thrive anywhere. Frank Capra may have done a disservice to Buddhism and the Tibetan people by effacing Buddhism to promulgate a Christian ethos. But in his defence, over the years many Western interpretations of Buddhism have been shaped by Western biases. Even now, in this era of post-colonial cultural sensitivity, Western directors continue inscribing their perspective into the films. A case in point is Seven Years in Tibet (Jean-Jacques Annaud, USA, 1997). While it seeks to shed light on the systematic annihilation of Tibetan culture since the Chinese Occupation in 1950, it still represents Tibetan Buddhism as a humanistic religion, capable of assuaging the psychological suffering and sense of alienation experienced in the West. In spite of its positive portrayal, the film fails to provide a nuanced depiction of the deeply religious culture of Tibetans, and strips Buddhism of its more esoteric and profound features. Possible reasons for this representation may be the director Jean-Jacques Annaund's conscious effort to appeal to the sensibilities of Western audiences, his inability to mitigate his own intractable Western bias, or perhaps a limited knowledge of Tibetan Buddhism. As a result, Seven Years in Tibet offers a discernibly secular interpretation of Buddhism and Buddhist culture of Tibet that is limited in its scope. 3 Lost Horizon and Seven Years in Tibet serve as examples of how biases, no matter how well-intentioned, determine a film's representation of a foreign culture and religion. However, it would be inappropriate to view these films as representative of a general tendency within films about Tibet. The extant corpus of films reveals a variety of perspectives on Tibet and Tibetans, their devotion to Buddhism as well as the multifaceted features of Tibetan Buddhism. Notwithstanding, the documentaries and feature films can be unified by a single point of comparison: Tibetan Buddhism. This function can be explained in part by its enormous effect on quotidian Tibetan life, and its importance in the areas of education, health, politics, organized dissent, and culture. This recognition of Buddhism as the most unifying facet of Tibetan society informs the subject matter and objectives of this thesis: to provide an overview and explore how Buddhism connects the disparate body of documentaries and feature films about Tibet mostly produced in the 1990s and 2000s. The survey is aimed at contextualizing the films I have chosen for an in-depth study: The Cup or Phorpa in Tibetan (Khyentse Norbu, India, 1999), Travellers and Magicians (Khyentse Norbu, Bhutan, 2005) Milarepa: Magician, Murderer, Saint (Neten Chokling, India, 2006), and Kundun (Martin Scorsese, USA, 1997). The close textual analysis reveals that the directors use cinematic devices—parallel editing, sound bridges, visual motifs, shot composition—to allude to Buddhist concepts and also convey a Tibetan Buddhist worldview that fuses material and nonmaterial realms. The first of these three films are by Tibetan Buddhist filmmakers who are also Tibetan Buddhist lamas, or rinpoches (precious ones), born in exile in Bhutan.