Maymi 1
Nina Maymi
Julian Beltran
PHI – 215 – 0001
November 7, 2017
Philosophy in Motion Paper: “Life of Pi”
In the film, Life of Pi, religion is a significant influence in Pi Patel’s experience with the
aftermath of the sinking Japanese ship, the Tsimstum. After watching the film, the audience should
pick up that the movie is trying to explain more than it is showing directly. What came to mind,
after watching this film, was that this was defiantly not a film for atheists, because the underlining
theme in this movie is all about God. But after watching the film for the second time realizing, that
wasn’t the case at all. It’s not directly about God himself. It’s also not asking if God exists or not,
what the movie is trying to present is this, what place does a belief in God have in today’s modern
world? Life of Pi, explains that exceedingly well, with a little hint of mystic experience.
Within the film, Pi Patel uses animals in his story to illustrate what happened during his
survival on the lifeboat. After the Tsimstum sank, for unknown reasons, Pi was stranded in the
middle of the ocean on a lifeboat along with three other animals. Towards the end of the film, Pi
finishes explaining his first story to the Japanese reporters, who were there to interview him
initially about why the ship sank, he gives the second story but this time uses people instead of
animals. Why would Pi tell the second story? Well, after he finishes giving the human version,
the Japanese reporters picked up a pattern. Both stories were the same, except the only difference
was one story was with animals and the other was with humans. Either way, no matter which story
was told, that was Pi’s way of explaining what happened on that lifeboat. Showing that no matter
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how many versions of the story there is, it is still the same. Connecting animals and humans, the
animals represent not only a person but also representing the personification of mental states each
person. The hyena was the French cook, which personifies as selfishness, cruelty, and violence.
Zebra personifies fear and desperation, which was the wounded sailor. The orangutans personifies
motherly love and affection, and a need to rise abound animalistic traits, which was Pi’s mother.
Richard Parker was the personification of the evil that is inherent in the heart of every man.
How is the mystic experience idea involved with this film and the personas? According to
a Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, he says, “There is nothing with which every man is so
afraid of getting to know how enormously much he is capable of doing and becoming.” (3) The
ethical in the religious are immediately similar: an individual may be ethically serious without
