Pema’s Quest in Shambhala (2024)

This paper argues that the film Shambhala, directed by Min Bahadur Bham, functions as a mythical exemplar of self-discovery, in which the protagonist Pema's physical journey in Nepal reflects an inner transformation toward self-awareness, conflict resolution, and spiritual enlightenment. Using qualitative narrative analysis, thematic interpretation, and cultural theory, the authors examine filmmaking techniques, dialogues, and visual treatments to analyze themes of meaning and identity. The analysis draws on Stuart Hall's cultural theory, Erik Erikson's theory of psychological development, Henri Tajfel's social identity theory, John Turner's self-categorization theories, Leon Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory, Carl Jung's shadow theory, and the transpersonal psychology of Abraham Maslow, Ken Wilber, and Stanislav Grof to explore how Pema's identity is shaped, contested, and reinterpreted.

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Abstract

Shambhala is a mystical kingdom in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, a centre of spiritual and philosophical discourse. It focuses on Pema's quest in Nepal. It examines the symbolic and thematic features present in the film Shambhala, directed by Min Bahadur Bham. The film, which delves deeply into the protagonist's private and spiritual journey, projects the search for meaning and identity. A qualitative research methodology is employed in this paper, focusing on the investigation of narrative elements of the film Shambhala. The research looks at the filmmaking techniques, dialogues and visual treatments to analyse the thematic issues of the film. In addition, Stuart Hall's cultural theory and philosophical discourse will be used to contextualise the film within the Nepalese context. In addition, Erik Erikson's theory of psychological development, Henri Tajfel's theory of social identity and John Turner's theories of self-categorisation are used to analyse self-identity. For conflict, Leon Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory and Carl Jung's Jungian shadow theory are used, while for spirituality, Abraham Maslow's self-actualisation, Ken Wilber and Stanislav Grov's transpersonal psychology are used. These perspectives help to examine how Pema's identity has been shaped, contested and reinterpreted over time. The paper uses narrative analysis, thematic interpretation and cultural theory to explore the deeper meanings behind the film's content and to illuminate its broader philosophical implications. It argues that Shambhala functions as a mythical exemplar of self-discovery, in which Pema's physical excursion is reflected as an inner transformation towards self-awareness, conflict resolution and spiritual enlightenment.