Seven Years in Tibet
(TriStar Pictures and Mandalay Entertainment, 1997, 139 Minutes)

Review by William Buskist, Auburn University

Film Relevance and Connection to the Text
This movie is about individual determination, personal growth and change, the formation of strong emotional bonds, and adaptation to new cultures. The movie, then, connects very well to several chapters in Moghaddam's book: Chapter 3: The Self in Culture, Chapter 7: Conformity and Obedience, Chapter 8: Liking and Loving, Chapter 9: Prejudice, Chapter 10: Aggression, Chapter 14: Intergroup Relations and Multiculturalism, Chapter 15: Applying Social Psychology: Conflict Resolution, the Law, and the Developing World.

Summary/Synopsis
Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian mountain climber, coldly says good-bye to his pregnant wife and leaves his homeland to climb Nanga Parabat, a peak in the Himalayas. It is 1939, and World War II is about to begin. Harrer is a self-centered Nazi sympathizer whose only goal in life seems to be to pursue his own interests. His egotism changes slowly as he is confronted by a series of personal calamities: failure to reach the summit of Nanga Parabat, being captured by the British and being placed in a war prison, botching several escape attempts, and his wife leaving him for another man. Eventually, Heinrich and a climbing partner (of whom he is jealous) Peter Aufschnaiter, escape from prison. Both men eventually find themselves in the Tibetan Holy City of Lhasa. There, Heinrich meets the Dali Lama, who, at the time, is only an adolescent. They develop a deep and close personal friendship that empowers Heinrich to change many of his selfish ways. The Chinese invasion of Tibet forces Heinrich to leave Tibet (the Dali Lama is forced to leave later) and return to Austria. Although his son initially rejects Heinrich, the two eventually are reunited and Heinrich, the two eventually are reunited and Heinrich teaches his son the art of mountaineering.

Discussion Questions
  1. Describe the nature of the relationship that Heinrich and his wife likely have at the outset of the movie. What social psychology descriptors best characterize Heinrich's interactions with his wife and others early in the film? Contrast your view with how you might characterize Heinrich's interactions with others as the movie draws to a close. What events do you think best account for these sorts of changes?

  2. Describe Heinrich's feelings toward his son, whom e has never met, while Heinrich is in the British prison camp. How can such strong feelings develop when the two had never met?

  3. Why is Heinrich so jealous of Peter? What events change Heinrich's feelings for Peter?

  4. Do you think that Heinrich's egotism had some adaptive value - did it help him overcome any of the challenges that he faced during the movie? If so, how? For what reasons were the Tibetans prejudiced against "foreigners" and why did they seek to prevent non-Tibetans from entering their country? Describe the important cultural differences between Tibetan society and western society as portrayed by this film. What elements of Tibetan society did you find most appealing?

  5. For a short while, Heinrich and Peter are competing for the affections of a Tibetan woman (the tailor who made their new clothes). Peter and the woman eventually marry and appear very happy together. Heinrich is jealous of Peter's good fortune. What factors led to Peter's "hitting it off" with the woman and her rebuffing Heinrich? What deeper problems might Heinrich's jealousy be reflecting?

  6. Describe the basis upon which Heinrich and the Dali Lama built their friendship.

  7. What lessons did Heinrich learn about life from the Dali Lama? What lessons did the Dali Lama learn about life from Heinrich? In social psychological terms, characterize the decision making process that occurred as the Tibetan political and social leaders struggled with how to react to the inevitable Chinese invasion.

Student Assignment Suggestions
  1. This movie centered on the relationship between Heinrich and the Dali Lama. However, this theme overshadowed several other people (for example, his wife, his son, Peter, the Tibetan man who befriended Heinrich and Peter, and the Tibetan tailor), that placed critical roles in sparking important changes in Heinrich's life. Ask your students to describe one of these other relationships and to speculate how Heinrich might have turned out differently had e not had that relationship. In other words, how might the movie turned out differently had one of these other people not been involved in Heinrich's life?

  2. In Seven Years in Tibet, several events transpire to change a man's outlook on life. This theme has important implications for a long debated issue in psychology: whether a person's disposition or situational variables play the more important role in shaping one's personality. Ask your students to describe how the events in this movie impinge on that debate and ask them to express their views of the roles of these two sets of variables in producing changes in one's personality.

  3. At one point in the movie, the Dali Lama attempts to explain an important different between his culture and Heinrich's culture. The Dali Lama says that in Europe people push themselves to be better than other people, but in Tibet people recognize others as their equals. What is the implication of this statement for understanding some of the important social psychological differences between western and eastern cultures?

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