by Anthony DiFlorio
Contrary to widespread modern-day belief, human beings are still vastly intrigued by the great unanswered questions: “What is the meaning of existence?”, “Is there life after death?”, “What is the origin of being and consciousness?”, among others. These fundamental questions are often obscured by entertainment and mass media consumption, which generally cater to superficial emotions and rarely address the philosophical, religious or spiritual aspects of our reality. Yet, every now and again, there is released a film, a book, a song or an album which resonates profoundly through the hearts and minds of an impressionable, young audience; a work of art that poses profound questions and captures the human senses, rendering them more alive than ever.
Various forms of artwork that are capable of touching the human soul in the most profound ways engage the audience through a metaphorical “journey of life”; we, as humans, relate best to what is similar to our own experience on earth. The voyage of life—characterized by its cyclical nature, calms and quells, and euphoric moments of enlightenment—serves as a lens for self-reflection and learning. The recent Academy Award winning film Life of Pi is a movie that transcends the typical superficiality of modern entertainment and sends its audience on a journey of more than one kind. Based on the 2001 book by Canadian author Yann Martel, the film asks a number of important questions, while also giving a substantial number of answers, or interpretations, to those fundamental ponderings of the human mind.
However, in an age of interconnectivity, expedited sharing of information, and an overabundance of opinion to go around, how does such a piece of artwork play into the lives of our young people, who have been conditioned to embrace the superficial and convenient, and disregard the values of personal faith?
Meaning and faith: these are the areas upon which Life of Pi harps the most. Translating these to a young generation is no easy task; by highlighting fundamental elements of the human experience and using allegorical storytelling, the message of the movie resonates with an increasingly faithless generation. Yann Martel, when asked why he writes in this allegorical style, responded: “Because I think that’s the forte of art. What art does marvelously is it takes very complex realities and it can go to their heart—it can go to their essence—and convey it in a way that’s both very powerful and emotionally, or psychologically, accurate.” The overwhelming positive response to Martel’s work by young people around the world is a testament to the power of his prose and the effects that media of substance—in this case, a work which poses deep questions about personal faith—have on youth.
To understand the jewel of wisdom buried deep within the story – which is pronounced to be “a story that will make you believe in God” – one needs to understand that the story is actually about wrestling not with a physical tiger, but a metaphoric one… with questions of meaning and faith. Essentially, this story is a modern-day story of Job, about how one can find spirituality and the meaning of life while in the throes of all that is horrible and terrible in the world. Surviving and making sense of all that goes wrong in the world uncovers the meaning of human existence.
The curiosity manifested during adolescence is a continuation of that manifested during childhood, but amplified by the excitement of exploring the richness of the world more meaningfully and on a larger scale. During adolescence, social norms begin to greatly influence action, thought, and even belief. The power of popular culture to shape a vast number of adolescents of the day into a particular mold is more evident than ever in our interconnected and multimedia age, and it is in this same regard that it demands to play a greater positive role than ever. Works such as Life of Pi, which emphasize personal growth through the acceptance of faith and spirituality, are slowly beginning to shed light on an area of life long constrained by labels and ignorance. Faith is a quintessential facet of the human experience, and it is to the benefit of all youth that popular culture of our time poses more questions on its importance in life.