Life of Pi ESSAY
Ramifications create portholes to discovery. Such portholes transfer individuals to new and differing worlds. When Ang Lee’s 2012 feature film Life of Pi is compared with Maurice Sendak’s 1963 children’s book Where the Wild Things Are we visualise the strong links both texts have with one another. Both texts represent how composers create portholes for people to new places, which represent emotional and spiritual discoveries.
Negative situations can often develop into positive discoveries. Ang Lee’s protagonist, the multi-faith teen we come to know as Pi, is left stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean after the cargo ship carrying him and his family is sunk by a cyclonic weather event. It is only through this horrific event that Pi comes face-to-face with, and surrenders to God. This is more specifically identified when Pi and Richard Parker find themselves in the middle of another storm. The combination of the non-diegetic sound of a symphonic orchestra and the symbolism of the light shining through the dark sky shows Pi’s strength and power, and his willingness not to give up – no matter what God throws at him – he acclaims this by yelling: “THANKS BE TO GOD!” The same can be said about discovery when compared to Max in Where the Wild Things Are. The ramifications of him being sent to bed without supper, culminated in his bedroom transforming into “the world around…” He would later set sail to an island inhabited with creatures known as “wild things” The unexpected consequences of these events created opportunity for self-discovery for the composer and their protagonist.
The process of travelling great nautical distances by boat can result in the achievement of emotional development. Pi developed emotionally when he sacrificed his spiritual beliefs and came to grips with his own evil. Confronted by the challenge of being adrift at sea with a massive predator and discovering how to survive, Pi knew if Richard Parker became hungry enough, he’d be eaten.
Negative situations can often develop into positive discoveries. Ang Lee’s protagonist, the multi-faith teen we come to know as Pi, is left stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean after the cargo ship carrying him and his family is sunk by a cyclonic weather event. It is only through this horrific event that Pi comes face-to-face with, and surrenders to God. This is more specifically identified when Pi and Richard Parker find themselves in the middle of another storm. The combination of the non-diegetic sound of a symphonic orchestra and the symbolism of the light shining through the dark sky shows Pi’s strength and power, and his willingness not to give up – no matter what God throws at him – he acclaims this by yelling: “THANKS BE TO GOD!” The same can be said about discovery when compared to Max in Where the Wild Things Are. The ramifications of him being sent to bed without supper, culminated in his bedroom transforming into “the world around…” He would later set sail to an island inhabited with creatures known as “wild things” The unexpected consequences of these events created opportunity for self-discovery for the composer and their protagonist.
The process of travelling great nautical distances by boat can result in the achievement of emotional development. Pi developed emotionally when he sacrificed his spiritual beliefs and came to grips with his own evil. Confronted by the challenge of being adrift at sea with a massive predator and discovering how to survive, Pi knew if Richard Parker became hungry enough, he’d be eaten.