Should China Care About Richard Gere?

While most are quick to dismiss, or at least cast a skeptical glance toward the efforts of celebrities and their pet projects, how much do we really know about the sincerity of their work? Can these simply be seen as vanity projects or do celebrities possess the power to bring attention to the cause and effect genuine change?  And how on God's green earth, did the American Gigolo become America's leading activist for Tibet?

Tibet has always held a mystical power over the imaginations of Westerners, but the plight of the Tibetan people was really only thrust into the limelight in the 1990s, no doubt in part because of Gere and his fellow activists. Among his peers is Robert Thurman, a professor of Buddhist studies at Colombia and father of Uma. Considered to be the godfather of American Buddhism, Thurman became the first Western monk of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition at the age of 24 in the mid 1960s. At the request of the Dalai Lama himself, Gere and Thurman took part in the founding of the Tibet House in 1987, which serves as kind of a cultural embassy. As a presenter at the 1993 Oscars, Gere used his on-screen time to publicly condemn the Chinese government saying, "if something miraculous and really movie-like could happen here, where we all could send love and truth and a kind of sanity to Deng Xiaoping right now…he would take his troops from Tibet and allow these people to live as independent people again…"  As a result of Gere's words, he was banned from presenting ever again.

The famed Free Tibet concerts began in 1996, spearheaded by devout Buddhist Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys. Films like Little Buddha, Seven Years in Tibet and Martin Scorsese’s Kundun were released in quick succession. While Tibet had become a hot topic of the 90s, one was still left wondering whether these efforts were more about educating the public about pressing social issues or more about Hollywood arrogance and Brad Pitt looking hot in lederhosen.

Tibet is not just about the cause. It represents a state of mind and a way of life, a distant corner of the earth onto which Westerners have long projected their fantasies. The conflict signifies the size and growing power of the occupier, the struggle against oppression, and the romantic image of an untouched world where spirituality still supersedes materialism.

Robert Thurman said, “The Tibetans are the baby seals of the human rights movement."  The analogy is apt in many ways, the defenseless Tibetans fighting the enormous club of China. But it also represents a passing fad, a movement that well, left the 90s kind of like Gere himself -- less attractive.

To his credit, Gere has been active with Tibet for over two decades. He has testified in front of congress numerous times, been commended by politicians for his deep knowledge of the issues and counts the Dalai Lama as a close friend. He was interested in the cause before the Free Tibet fervor of the 90s and remained so after the dust had settled at the millennium's end.

Gere recently testified in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, calling for protection of the Tibetan people and preservation of their culture and religion: “I have listened with appreciation and admiration as you and your colleagues register outrage over human rights and urge strategies to move China toward genuine, systematic reform," Gere said. "But we still face an uphill battle and the human rights situation for Tibetans has not improved.”

Gere called for a more aggressive dialogue between China and the U.S. and asked that the government-sponsored Voice of America and Radio Free Asia’s Tibetan broadcasts be fully funded. These radio broadcasts are a crucial tool used by the Tibetan exile community to remain connected to their home.

While Gere may understand the complexity of the Tibet conflict, not all celebrities are as knowledgeable about their causes. In a 1997 interview with Time magazine before the release of Seven Years in Tibet, Brad Pitt commented, “Reporters ask me what I feel China should do about Tibet. Who cares what I think China should do? I'm a fucking actor! They hand me a script. I act. I'm here for entertainment, basically, when you whittle everything away. I'm a grown man who puts on makeup."

When its put like that, it seems celebrities have no place in the geo-political sphere. But if there is ever any doubt, just ask what would Buddha do?