Hi, it’s Greenygrey. I did go to the cinema once this year – to see the Life of Pi movie, which looked like a travel story comparable to my ramble across North America and Grey’s ozyssey across Oztralia. Moreover, knowing many animals are sacred in Hinduism I thought there’d be a positive message about the relationship between humans and animals.
Life of Pi God and Animals Message
I really enjoyed Ang Lee’s movie, and recommend watching it. I thought the storyline was entertaining and thought-provoking, and the cinematography majestic. However, I was disappointed that the central theme seemed to be that God made humans and animals separate.
Apparently the message is not so strong in the book, which I haven’t read.
I agree that you should take care when interacting with dangerous animals like tigers; as the warning on the front page of the Greenygrey website stresses; and that wild animals should live in the wild. What I don’t agree with is that there is a God-designed distinct separation between humans and animals.
Humans and Animals Similarities and Differences
I think this is a dangerous message for animals and wildlife conservation on Earth, because humans have used a special status under ‘God’ to treat their close relatives badly, pushing many species to extinction.
Ever-improving scientific knowledge and studies into animal behaviour, highlighted in documentaries such as The Wonders of Life show that animals share almost all the DNA and thought processes with humans, and this is because life on Earth has evolved together over millions of years.
Humanity and Animals Share Compassion and Emotion
Humanity is at its best when being caring and compassionate, but even this is not unique. Many animals will put their lives on the line trying to care for others; and even others of other species.
Stories of dogs mourning their masters are common. It could be argued that dogs have been trained to care over the thousands of years they’ve spent with humanity, since wolves and humans made friends, but there are also many cases of animals in the wild adopting or befriending animals from other species.
The video of polar bears and huskies making friends and playing was an example of this, and another even more remarkable one was brought to my attention by Stefan Latham. This showed a leopard killing a baboon and then taking pity on the baboon infant, and seemingly adopting it.
It doesn’t prove there is or isn’t a god or gods, but I hope it shows that there is not such a distinct difference between humans and other animals that the Life of Pi movie seems to suggest.
greenygrey3 