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From the Himalayas to Hollywood

The legacy of Lost HorizonWilliam Elison

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"WHERE IS TIBET?" Following the Chinese conquest, the song of Tibet seems, at times, as constant as a prayer wheel: the Real Tibet has been lost, it goes; the Real Tibet is gone.

 Well, where did it go? To judge by the current coverage of Tibet in the press, the Real Tibet has ended up in Hollywood. Between Seven Years in Tibet and Kundun, it would seem that if the Dalai Lama and his people are getting a public hearing anywhere in this country for their very real problems, it's at the headquarters of the illusion industry.

How much of a boon this represents for the cause of Tibet is open to question. But the movies are still one of the most important ways through which Americans develop their opinions about the rest of the world. And how Tibet fares in the representational sphere of images and public consciousness is relevant-maybe even critical-to its fortunes in the political sphere.

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