The 1997 film, ‘Into Thin Air: Death on Everest’ written by Robert J. Avrech and directed by Robert Markowitz is based on the memoir, ‘Into Thin Air’ written in 1997 by Jon Krakauer. The film explores the 1996 disaster that happened in Mount Everest, where eight climbers died during a storm that hit the mountain's summit. The expedition featured Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, who are famous mountaineers and friendly rivals in the business. Hall’s team comprises of Krakauer, Yasuko Namba, Doug Hansen, and Peter Hutchison and Beck Weathers, who are both doctors. Scott's team comprises of Sandy Pittman, a fashionable socialite among others. There are also other teams going for the expedition, including a Taiwanese team led by Makalu Gau, an IMax squad, led by David Breshears, and a South African team led by Ian Woodall (Avrech & Markowitz, 1997). The expedition is organized into four camps, including base camp, and camps 1, 2, 3, and 4. The first part of the expedition was successful although the climbers often suffered from dehydration, dizziness, and nausea emanating from the high altitude and the physical exhaustion from climbing. However, the final part of the expedition turns disastrous as more people grow weaker due to exhaustion, run low on oxygen, and eventually the storm, which leads to confusion and death as people seek to save others, especially those who are already sick and tired.
The use of self and the Character’s Self-Awareness
When Krakauer is first introduced to his teammates, he demonstrates a degree of discomfort at the fact that most of his members of his team, possess minimal experience in mountain climbing and they are also wealthy. Krakauer also noted that his team included several Sherpa mountaineers, where the Sherpa are natural mountaineers since they are native to the Himalayas. However, although the Sherpa mountaineers were an essential part of the expeditions, given that clients heavily rely on them, organizers of the expeditions, they received inadequate treatment compared to the paying clients. Krakauer’s concern from this aspect was the possibility of having a united team given the personal and cultural differences that were evident in the team.
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Krakauer demonstrates a high level of self-awareness and use of self, where he demonstrates a clear understanding of his thoughts, weaknesses, strengths, emotions, and motivations. Krakauer’s self-awareness is illustrated throughout the film, starting with when he meets his teammates and realizes that they are wealthy and the majority lack experience in mountain climbing, which makes him worried. Self-awareness is a crucial aspect of helping a person to understand others, as well as understanding their perception towards a person and the proper attitude and response to provide towards other people ( Levi, 2011) . Self-awareness; thus, helps Krakauer to develop friendships with a young guide, Andy Harris, and Doug Hansen. Additionally, he develops greater respect for Yasuko Namba and Beck Weathers when he observes that despite being amateurs, they are motivated and sincere people. The Sherpa mountaineers also demonstrate a high degree of self-awareness, with the majority understanding their strengths in mountain climbing, although some die during expeditions. For instance, Krakauer observed that Boukreev, a Sherpa, did not use supplemental oxygen yet he remained firm, a factor that Krakauer attributed to the self-confidence and machismo that professional mountaineers possess.
Leadership Styles about Organizational Development
The film illustrates a democratic leadership style, where the team leaders Hall and Scott provide the climbers with guidelines on how the expedition is to be conducted and give the climbers the freedom to choose how to go about the expedition ( Levi, 2011) . However, although the style was ideal for ensuring that clients felt satisfied with the expedition, it played a crucial role in promoting the disaster that eventually happened. Hall, for instance, suggested a cut-off time, 2:00 pm, for reaching the summit, and required that all the climbers who would not have reached the summit at the time should go back since he already predicted that there would be a storm. However, he failed to enforce the directive adequately and went against his word when he and Hansen reached the summit at 4 pm. The events indicate that the deaths could have been avoided if the team leaders strictly observed the 2 pm cut-off time. Moreover, the scenario indicates that an autocratic leadership style, which involves strictly following of rules could have been the ideal approach to employ in preventing the disaster since people like Hansen could not have insisted on reaching the summit if they were made to strictly follow the rules of the expedition ( Levi, 2011) .
Organizational Development Values and Theories of Group Dynamics
The critical OD values that emerge from the film include the benefits of dialogue and collaboration and the importance of teams and groups. The Tuckman Theory, which explains the primary group dynamics, including forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning is one of the critical theories that help in understanding groups, including aspects of resolving conflicts within groups ( Levi, 2011) . Teamwork often involves conflict, which must be resolved through collaboration and dialogue; the team leaders failed the group since they failed to effectively communicate the dangers associated with the storm, which would have played an essential role in resolving the conflicts of interest between the climbers. The climbers were determined to reach the summit; however, their safety came first, indicating that through appropriate collaboration and dialogues, the deaths could have been avoided.
Culture and Cultural Insensitivity
The characters featured in the film are from diverse cultural backgrounds, which illustrates their different approaches towards the expedition as well as their reaction when the storm strikes. The Sherpa are portrayed as people who understand the dangers of exhaustion, mainly when one is at the summit since they are native to the area and they have also mastered the art of mountaineering. However, they are also culturally insensitive as illustrated through the neglectful attitude that Boukreev demonstrates towards the weak climbers. Boukreev, a guide, demonstrates cultural insensitivity when he climbs ahead of the rest of the climbers and refuses to help the weak climbers, noting that if clients needed his help desperately, they should not have gone on the expedition (Avrech & Markowitz, 1997). The statement illustrates that Boukreev failed to understand the climbers’ cultural needs, where some of the climbers, unlike him, did not have any experience in mountain climbing.
References
Avrech, R., & Markowitz, R. (1997). Into Thin Air - Death on Everest. YouTube. Retrieved 24 January 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTUdvIbvvKE&feature=youtu.be
Levi, D. (2011). Group dynamics for teams . Los Angeles: SAGE.
