Reading Notes: Sita Sings the Blues, Part B

The film "Sita Sing the Blues" by Nina Paleys is a summarized animated version of the Ramayana, focusing in Sita’s perspective of the story. Having been read the story of Rama and Sita, I thought that it was interesting to have their story be told in the perspective of Sita. It shows how much she had to endure while she was abducted by Ravana to a strange land.

Furthermore, I really liked how the film included the three modern Indian narrators and their commentaries as well. I thought that it was funny and clever to have a modern twist to the story. The narrators offered a sense of relatability, in which they were using modern-day slang words. Also, by having the narrators, the viewers were able to have a background understanding of the Ramayana and how there can be different perspectives or interpretations of the story. For example, when Hanuman finds Sita in Lanka, instead of escaping with Hanuman back to Rama’s side, Sita remains there in Lanka. The narrators discussed about why Sita did not escape with Hanuman. One of the narrator suggests that Sita didn’t go with Hanuman because she didn’t trust the monkeys, while the others guessed that Sita wanted to stay in Lanka because she wanted her man to come rescue her from the treacherous arms of Ravana.

After Rama rescues Sit from Ravana, it can be observed that he had distant himself from her and had unresolved feelings for her regarding her pureness. In my opinion, I thought that this was the most important event in the plot. Instead of being filled with joy at the sight of seeing Sita return, Rama is cold to her and even rejects her because she had lived in another man’s house. With that being said, I’m actually appalled that Rama would treat his Sita this way. She gave up her place to be exiled with him because she believed that as a wife, it was her duty to be by his side. Yet, when she needed him, he doesn’t want to be there for her. If I was to change the scene, I would make Rama apologetic to Sita.

Image information: Rama and Sita, Image credit: Google Sites