The Clash of Sino-Tibetan Propaganda On-screen. A Case Study of Tibetan Exile Movie Theatre

Different self-presentation strategies constantly compete on the battlefield between two propagandas using various media — documentary films and docudramas are among the most used persuasive tools to convey and disseminate a specific worldview through the mediation of selected information and analysis. The target audience of the films is influenced by techniques to maximize the effect of propaganda, including the emphasis on the credibility of the information conveyed, specific truth claims concerning the topic discussed, and, finally, the very nature of the visual message itself, which gives the impression of an authentic depiction of reality. Based on previous research on self-presentation strategies and an analysis of the propaganda of the Tibet Museum in Dharamsala, India (which is under the direct supervision of the Central Tibetan Administration [CTA] and the Dalai Lama), this case study focuses on the movie theatre located in the mentioned institution and the films screened daily. Through a discourse analysis of the documentaries and docudramas that the CTA has selected for their cinema, this paper aims to explore the preferred narrative perspectives on the history of Sino-Tibetan relations and other motives, like oppression and destruction of Tibet, environmental and human rights issues or the role of the 14th Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism.