Reading Notes: Sita Sings the Blues, Part A

I told myself that I wasn't going to do any more videos, but I saw that this one was highly recommended and had to check it out. The visual depictions are great for helping me better understand the epics. I was also going to try to move away from the Ramayana/Mahabharata...but I didn't do that either. I've decided that I have enjoyed diving deeper into the epics. Even through the comical, light-hearted videos, I have acquired a better understanding and deeper appreciation for the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Here are my notes over the first half of this film:

• The story is about a couple in San Francisco. I love the modern, typical life that the story sets up. The boyfriend gets a job in India, which is how the couple gets mixed in with the Ramayana.
• I love the narrators arguing about how things happened. There are so many details to these stories, it is SO easy to get things confused! I think this lighthearted approach is a great way to help better understand the epic.
•  I really enjoy to use to humor to help explain topics. This makes me wonder how I could achieve this in my writing.
• Sita sings a love song about going into the dangerous exile with Rama. What a fun way to think about this scene!
• I don't think I could pull it off, but it would be so cute to create a song as a storytelling post! I couldn't do it...but somebody should.
• I love the depiction of the scene with the golden deer. Rama is pretty sure its a trick, but he is so in love with Sita that he does whatever she pleases.
• Sita is singing about how much she loves Rama. It is kind of funny and cheesy, but it's really sweet! Rama and Sita are so sweet together.
• She is still singing when Ravana breaks in and steals her. So sad!
• I love that this film follows the original story, but incorporates songs and fun illustrations and feuding narrators.
• I like the introduction to Hanuman because this is a character I feel like I never learned much about or really understood.
• My favorite part thus far might be when the narrators make Sita say "your ass is grass".
• I'm so impressed that someone could incorporate my kind of humor into the Ramayana.
• I almost forgot about Hanuman setting Lanka on fire with his tail! In this film, he does so while Sita sings the blues about waiting for Rama so come save her.
• I like that the narrators argue about why Sita didn't escape with Hanuman. I wondered about this myself! I didn't understand why she didn't leave with him.
• Lack of trust?
• Wanted to wait for her man to save her?
• Wants the evil king to be defeated?
• All for Rama's glory? (ew)
• They also argue about whether or not the monkeys were monkeys. This made me laugh because I had wondered the same thing myself.
• I love that it frequently switches back to the modern-day SanFran couple! Here, the woman joins her boyfriend in India but he's not giving her any attention. She is very sad. :(
• The absolute worst part of the Ramayana: when AFTER ALL OF THIS Rama rejects Sita because she lived in another man's house. The man that.......kidnapped her.
• ****Might make a modern day story about this!
• So naturally Sita lights herself on fire to prove her innocence and gets a nice "my bad" from Rama.

This was a great way to watch the tales of the Ramayana! I really enjoyed the blending of the two stories. I know what happens with Rama and Sita, but I'm excited to see what happens with the San Francisco couple.

(Sita sings her way though her many trials of the Ramanaya.)

Title: Sita Sings the Blues

Author: Nina Paley
Year: 2008