Life sometimes imitates art .....
Most of us are aware of a book and movie called 'Life of Pi' .... in which an Indian boy from Pondicherry, Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age. He survives 227 days on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker (as both a deceased tiger hunter and the Bengal tiger).
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| A Bengal Tiger On A Boat Isn't Philosophical At All |
Most of us are aware of a book and movie called 'Life of Pi' .... in which an Indian boy from Pondicherry, Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age. He survives 227 days on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker (as both a deceased tiger hunter and the Bengal tiger).
So there was a strange symmetry, when I saw a small sub story in the papers ... under the heading.
Tiger probably not read the book ..... or even seen the Lego version.
The victim was apparently illegally fishing in a restricted area when the attack took place, and his sons tried to beat the tiger into letting go of the man. The Sunderbans are historically home to Bengal tigers and tiger attacks are a common occurrence .... especially on those who are illegally in the reserves. So perhaps this was just desserts?
'Roar Meat'
'A fisherman was killed when a tiger dragged him from his boat into the Sunderbans jungle, East India.'
Tiger probably not read the book ..... or even seen the Lego version.
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The victim was apparently illegally fishing in a restricted area when the attack took place, and his sons tried to beat the tiger into letting go of the man. The Sunderbans are historically home to Bengal tigers and tiger attacks are a common occurrence .... especially on those who are illegally in the reserves. So perhaps this was just desserts?
I enjoyed the film Life of Pi, both for the story and the stunning special effects. The worrying aspect of it is, that in real life a lot of people are unable to distinguish fact from fiction and will leap on not-so-unlikely events which seem to mirror the story to legitimise the fictional aspects (which they would like to be true). This is summed up at the end of the film by the question "which story do you prefer?"
ReplyDeleteBy being a question of preference rather than the most powerful of rhetorical devices, the metaphor is reduced to a point of view by those who would like it to be true.
They can be fun too :
"If we can hit that bullseye then the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards... Checkmate." -- Zapp Brannigan.
...and from the frivolous musical film Pitch Perfect, when asked why she isn't at her philosophy class, the student says that she's lying in bed contemplating a very important philosophical question; if I don't go to my philosophy class, will it still suck?
Some people in the USA who watched the movie Avatar came out crying because they wanted such a place to exist. Reality hovers thinly for many people.
DeleteWhy the invaded world had to be a networked ecological paradise I'll never know.
DeleteIt's a shame that all too often the scenario ruins an otherwise great production.
Humanity has never been able to distinguish fact from fiction and leapt on not-so-unlikely events .... that's why we have religion.
ReplyDeleteZapp Brannigan ~ "We have failed to uphold Brannigan's Law. However I did make it with a hot alien babe. And in the end, is that not what man has dreamt of since first he looked up at the stars?" ..... and maybe that's 'why the invaded world had to be a networked ecological paradise ... where else are the hot alien babes gonna hang out?.