Richard Vining

Engl 204

Prof .Marx

May 20, 2006

Utopia and Shangri-la

Often art, whether it is literature or film, is built upon preceding works by means of its openly or covertly copying ideas. A fine example of this intertextuality is demonstrated between Sir Thomas More’s literary achievement, Utopia and Frank Capra’s 1937 film, Lost Horizon. Beginning with the structural narrative, More’s novel is told conversationally as Raphael reveals the story of his visit to Utopia. Capra builds upon this technique. He tells the story of a marooned party in Shangri-la to the audience primarily by conversations between one of the elders, Chan and character of Bob, played by Roland Coleman. Another resemblance is the positive response of More’s Ambassadors to Utopia is replicated by the marooned visitors to Shangri-la. Also similar is the way Capra’s stranded party learns the value of altruistic work. However, the most important intertextuality is the guiding philosophy of both cultures.

The primary philosophy of both cultures is equality of abundance. First, in Utopia, all of the population’s needs are fulfilled. Therefore there is no crime because there is no lack. “…in Utopia, where everything belongs to everybody, no man need fear that…he will ever lack for anything he needs” (More 520). A comparative example occurs when Chan the elder of Shangri-la answers Ronald Coleman’s question regarding crime. Chan states; “We have no crime here…what makes a criminal? lack usually …envy, the desire to process, there can be no crime where there is a sufficiency of everything” (Capra). Another philosophy intertextuality is society’s attitudes about wealth. In Utopia, “...they have accumulated a vast treasure, but they do not keep it like a treasure they never use money among themselves” (More 513). Again, Chan the elder speaks; “We have no money as you know it… or seek personal fortunes…we merely exchange.” (Capra). Money is simply a tool, rather than an object of desire to be greedily possessed. However, the most important shared philosophy is the tranquility of mind resulting from the harmonious lifestyle. In Utopia, “If money disappeared, so would fear, anxiety, worry, toil and sleepless night” (More 522). Capra builds upon this ideal in his Shangri-la; “living to 200 years is quite common here… we like to believe it is the absents of struggle in the way we live…” (Capra). By assuring an equality of abundance and reducing the social value of money, the personality traits of greed, fear, and anxiety and have been eliminated within both cultures. An individual’s composure has the highest social value resulting in a harmonious culture.

In conclusion, the intertextuality between More’s Utopia and Capra’s Lost Horizon are undeniable. Interestingly, these same intertextuality extents into the political arena. From the European socialist revolution to the American cinema explosion, Thomas’s More’s Utopia remains fantastically inspirational.

Works Cited

Lost Horizon. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. Roland Coleman and Jane Wyatt. Columbia

Pictures. 1937.

More, Thomas. “Utopia”. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. W.W. Norton and

Company. 2000. 511-523.