Shangri-La: Difference between revisions

The Himalayas and other [[Far East]] mountain ranges are positively packed to the gills with Buddhist villages full of wise monks who will teach weary Western travelers -- especially the old [[Mighty Whitey]] -- to cast off ego, become one with the universe and attain true enlightenment. Also, to punch through people's heads.

 

 

 

Shangri La is almost universally based on Tibet, with the monkish religion a [[The Theme Park Version|highly watered-down]] variant of Lamaist Buddhism.

Hiding place for many a [[Utopia]]. Yet finding it and getting in is usually a lot easier than getting out.

 

 

Not to be confused with the light novel/anime series [[Shangri-La]], or the old 70s all-girl band of the same name.

** Marvel also had [[Immortal Iron Fist|Iron Fist]] develop both his [[Charles Atlas Superpower|martial arts skill]] (via [[Training From Hell]]) but also his mystical [[Ki Attacks|iron-fist technique]] (via absorbing a dragon's heart) in K'un L'un. Said city is loosely based on the mythical land mentioned in Lost Horizon (see below) but is Marvelized as an [[Fantasy Kitchen Sink|extradimensional city whose gateway leads to Earth, which was founded by the crew of a crashed spaceship]]. With apostrophes.

*** Also note, K'un-Lun is not a happy place full of pacifists.

** Actually it is a bit of a subversion because the monastery is in a realistic portrayal of Tibet, it is just that ''one'' monk has visions (which is not that special, as the story begins with Tintin having one himself). {{spoiler|Hergé apparently believed that yetis really exist and did quite a bit of research, e.g. talking to the French mountaineer Maurice Herzog, who claimed to have seen yeti tracks himself.}}

* In a story from the [[Tomb Raider]] comics, Lara Croft finds Shangri-La. However, she discovers that {{spoiler|nobody can leave, and those who try are turned into yeti-like monsters that guard its walls. Lara brings an old caretaker from her childhood to Shangri-La, in exchange for her own release.}}

* Is Heaven in ''[[Horndog]]''.

** [[Don Rosa]] did a sequel to the comic, in which it is revealed that Tralla La is in fact {{spoiler|Xanadu, the place described in [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]]'s poem ''Kubla Khan''.}} Also, the Ducks unintentionally bring big trouble into peaceful Tralla La. ''Again''.

 

== Film ==

 

* ''[[Batman Begins]]'' sends Bruce Wayne to the mountain commune of Nanda Parbat learn combat and stealth. Then after his training, he finds out they're all [[Knights Templar]].

* The heroes of the film ''[[Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow]]'' (2004) go to Shangri-La in 1939, probably inspired by the novel ''Lost Horizon'', described below. Given a tragic edge in that the Shangri-La monks take care of a man made sick from radiation poisoning.

* The first film in the ''[[The Librarian|Librarian]]'' series uses this trope: it has the heroes (and villain) search for and visit Shangri-La in the Himalayas during their quest to find the other two missing parts of [[Public Domain Artifact|the Spear of Destiny]]. It is, given the movie in question, probably not entirely surprising that it is an improbably warm, sunny and idyllic place filled with Buddhist monks and luscious green landscaping, despite literally being surrounded by deadly-cold ice and snow.

** [[Crazy Awesome|The monks also have a giant mechanical Budda statue that attacks the bad guy.]]

* The [[Eddie Murphy]] vehicle ''[[The Golden Child]]''.

* In''[[The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus]]'' the titular character spends time studying with remote monks in a fantastical Shamgri-La, where he presumably learns his mystical powers.

 

== Literature ==

** The myth of Shamballa goes back centuries, since a bunch of Jesuit Priests visited the Buddhist kingdom thought to be Shamballa back in the 1600s and described it as a paradisaical, serene place where no living things were harmed. The king was especially tolerant of the Jesuits and allowed them to build a church there. Unfortunately, a rival [[Reality Is Unrealistic|Buddhist kingdom sacked Shamballa]] when they found out the king was letting in Jesuits.

* [[Terry Pratchett]] frequently satirises this trope:

* In ''[[The Shadow]]'' pulp novels, the Shadow learned the power to cloud men's minds in Shamballa.

* ''Grandmaster'' by Warren Murphy and Molly Cochran had Rashimpur, a quintessential example of this trope complete with requisite [[Mighty Whitey]].

 

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

 

 

== Music ==

* ''Shambala'' by Three Dog Night, unsurprisingly appearing in ''[[Lost]]'', listened to by one of Dharma Initiative worker in his van.

{{quote| Everyone is helpful, everyone is kind on the road to Shambala...}}

 

 

 

== Western Animation ==

* In the ''[[Jem]]'' episode, "Journey to [[Shamgri La]]", both the Holograms and the Misfits search the [[Shamgri La]] to discover a new music.

* The 90's ''[[Incredible Hulk (Comic Book)|Incredible Hulk]]'' animated series had Bruce Banner try to subdue his [[Unstoppable Rage]] [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] persona, but then of course, by the end of the episode [[Status Quo Is God|has to release it again]].