Life of Pi and Orientalism

Life of Pi and Orientalism
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Life of Pi and Orientalism
Background
In the entire 20th and 21st centuries, Hollywood has been the world’s leading producer of commercial films (Scott, 2002). United States films constitute more than a half or even two-thirds of all box-office grosses in the major markets. For instance, the United States Economic Census indicates that video and motion picture production amassed a total revenue of $20.15 billion in 1997. Hollywood alone contributed 60% of this amount, making it the biggest single contributor to box office revenues all over the world (Scott, 2002). Such a long-lasting success could be attributed to the strong competitive advantage resulting from Hollywood’s unrivaled organizational and technical abilities. Hollywood possesses a dense regional cluster of specialized as well as complementary producers.
Moreover, the organization has a unique pool of talented individuals coming from different parts of the world (Michael and Sanson 2016). Movies that succeed in the United States market are more likely to succeed in foreign markets, which suggests that a convergence of popular taste could be coming about. Just like many other dynamic industries today, Hollywood has faced several challenges that result from the phenomenon of globalization (Scott, 2002). The cultural and commercial impact of Hollywood pictures and videos is now being felt almost in every part of the world.
Nevertheless, Hollywood continues to accumulate huge revenues both from domestic and foreign markets (Meyrowitz, 2005). For example, in 2000, the motion pictures from Hollywood yielded $7.68 billion, which is an increase $28.3 from approximately $5.97 billion in 1986. In the same year, the export films and tape generated rental fees of around $8.85 billion, which is an increase of approximately 426% from $1.68 billion in 1986 (Scott, 2002). Therefore, it is apparent that revenues obtained from foreign markets have massively increased than the ones obtained from the domestic markets for the last 30 years or so. European countries form a major market for Hollywood products, and massive revenues are obtained from this region compared to other regions of the world. Three countries, France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands account for about 35% of the total rental exports of Hollywood films (Scott, 2002). Also, Canada and Japan are the major importers of Hollywood movies followed by Brazil, Republic of Korea, and Australia. The main Hollywood production firms or majors have established extensive marketing and distribution networks both in North America and other regions of the world (Michael, 2007). The majors have been controlling their distribution networks in all of their chief foreign markets and many other secondary markets. For instance, United International Pictures is a joint company of Universal and Paramount, which owns distribution facilities in more than 37 countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Japan, France, and the Netherlands as well as in less profitable countries such Chile, Philippines, Peru, Hungary, and Thailand. Another example is 20th Century Fox, a Hollywood company that owns 21 distribution facilities in foreign countries (Sco...