Competing Narratives: Choosing the Tiger in Ang Lee's Life of Pi

Abstract

Life of Pi’s global resonance, international production team, and cos- mopolitan director are mainstream Hollywood’s answer to the de- mands of a “world cinema” marketplace. Having grossed over $600 million at the box office, with $482 million coming from theaters outside North America, Life of Pi earned more in mainland China than the United States and was Hollywood’s highest earning release in India for 2012. Ignoring these notable facts, reviewers often focus upon the film’s spiritual themes and impressive visual effects, but Lee’s interpretation clearly resonates in the global political climate. Though his films speak to an international audience, for whom does Ang Lee speak? Scholars such as Rey Chow, Emilie Yeh, Darrell Da- vis, Shu-mei Shih, and Gina Marchetti examine Lee’s work through a transnational lens, though much of this work remains framed within a regional discourse. By reviewing this scholarship, this paper dis- cusses the critical connections between these interpretations and my own reading of Life of Pi as a cosmopolitan allegory of migration and survival.