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Part 6, Chapter 16
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Time, Happiness, and Eternal Return
Lightness, Weight, and Dichotomies
Sex, Love, and Duality of Body and Soul
Words and Language
Power, Politics, and Inequality
Summary
Analysis
The next day, Franz and the other intellectuals get on a bus and head to the Cambodian border. The road is guarded by armed soldiers, and they have to walk the last few miles. At the front of the Grand March is a German pop star, who, incidentally, has written nearly 1,000 songs about peace. He carries a white flag, and every now and then, a member of the press calls his name. When the pop star turns to look, the shuttering of hundreds of cameras can be heard.
This scene is another example of why the Grand March is considered kitsch. The march is supposed to be about the Cambodians suffering under the oppression and violence of Communism, but it is really just a photo opportunity for the pop star and, later, the American actress, too. The pop star pretends he is there for the Cambodians and everyone ignores his true motive, which makes the march kitsch.
Themes
