Seven Pillars

Sometime before the motion picture Lawrence of Arabia came out, I had already heard of Lawrence. Don’t ask me how, it could of been a teacher at school, or my relatives, I simply don’t know. But the legend of Lawrence of Arabia was already something I was finding interest in. Then, when the motion picture Lawrence of Arabia came out starring Peter O’Toole, I obviously went to see it. My initial reaction at the time, you got a figure I was only about 11 years old, I was perplexed. At first, I didn’t understand it. But it has remained one of my favorite films ever since.

A few years later I discovered that David Lean was the film’s director. He had also directed “The Bridge on the River Kwai”, then came “Lawrence”, then “Dr. Zhivago” and , one I still have little interest in, “Ryan’s Daughter”. He had earlier  films, but these were the big ones, these were the epics.

In more recent years, as I have watched Lawrence of Arabia, I have come to understand it as a study of the change of a man’s personality as he experiences life in some very unique and demanding situations. At first he is intellectual, optimistic and ready to put himself at the forefront of any challenge. But these challenges begin to take something out of him. Eventually, though trying to retain his initial perspective, he begins to realize who he is, and what makes him different from those he would serve. He realizes he cannot be what it is he thought he could be, what he would want to be. He realizes he is what he is and there are some things he cannot change.

I have found his book, TE Lawrence’s “Seven Pillars of Wisdom”, to be as interesting as the motion picture, although it would be very difficult to detect the connection between the two, though I understand the motion picture is based on the book. The book goes into much greater detail. There is a great deal of insight into the character and personality of those Lawrence associated with. TE Lawrence does not come across as the central figure of the book. Much credit is given to the British officers and his Arab Associates which is not emphasized in the motion picture.

In the film, “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”, a newspaper editor makes a statement. “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” I believe this is exactly what the motion picture does. It focuses on the legend of Lawrence and not so much the reality of the experience of Lawrence in Arabia. That is not to negate the accomplishments of Lawrence or his knowledge of the peoples he was working with. What comes out in both the book and the motion picture is that there were many details around the Arab conflict and the subsequent partitioning of lands after World War I, which Lawrence was not a party to. Lawrence had become an expert on Arab peoples, of their differences in religion and politics, what made one tribe antagonistic towards another, and how to work within all these differences to accomplish the Arabs goal. Unfortunately that goal was only one piece of the overall “Western” plan for the region.

Just within this past year I had seen a map produced by TE Lawrence of his recommendations for the partitioning of the lands following World War I. It is quite different from what was actually adopted. Powers greater than Lawrence had a way of using him, and then as it suited their needs discarding him.

A few years ago, I believe it was 2008, most of my social life was online. At the time this was a very good thing, I still spend a lot of time online, but some friends as usual have come and gone. But back then there was an Arab student I was connecting with. We really had nothing in common, but I think it was these differences which caused us to be interested, to learn from outside our normal sources. Though I actually think it makes little difference, though maybe it did, she was beautiful and rich, the daughter of someone in the oil industry and had the opportunity to travel between Europe and the Middle East with apparently no difficulty at all. She was studying engineering at the time. For a while she was even trying to convert me to Sunni Islam. I was absolutely not interested in converting to anything and I think this finally led to our no longer having contact with each other. But at one time I asked her what she thought of the motion picture “Lawrence of Arabia”, and she told me “it focused too much on that Englishman”.  As I am reading the book, I cannot help but think she may have had a valid point.

Legends are seldom the whole truth. As a matter of fact, they are generally the conglomeration of a lot of different facts twisted, or spun, to produce a particular idea. Though I enjoy the motion pictures of David Lean, I have to remember they are motion pictures. Their purpose is to entertain, their purpose is not to depict history as it was or is. The purpose of a motion picture is to engage your thinking, to draw you in, to someplace you might miss or not necessarily go on your own. The purpose of a motion picture is to focus on “the legend”… And the truth, whatever it may be, will have to be sorted out by the viewer later.