Reading Diary A: Sita Sings the Blues

Of all the differences between the PDE Ramayana and Sita Sings the Blues, I found what the animated film chose to leave out to be very intereesting.  For instance, Lakshama is not in the story except for a brief mention at the beginning.  Most of the sub-stories are left out.  We don't hear about Bharata, Vali and Sugriva, Vishvamitra, or even how Rama wins Sita.  Instead, the focus is on Rama's banishment, Sita's capture, Rama's rescue of Sita, and Rama's refusal of Sita.  The film is only half-finished, and it is already near the end of the story.

You would expect that, as an animated film, there would not be very much violence.  However, the film seems to satirize the violence with a near celebration of violence.  Rama and Sita are seen under the fountain arch of rakshasa blood.  During fight scenes, heads comically pop off and blood gushes everywhere.

Fountain of (Rakshasa) Blood

Image from Kristian Golding

I like how the film is broken into commentary, singing, story, and the modern-day story.  I think it breaks up each section well and keeps the entire story interesting.  The gives a different perspective on the story.  The comment that most stuck out to me was the question why Sita didn't leave with Hanuman.  It seems logical that Sita would accept rescue when she had a chance.  They also portrayed Ravana to be originally good but was slowly corrupted, while the PDE Ramayana only mentioned negative qualities of Ravana.

The side story of Nina and Dave is also an interesting addition to the story.  I assume their relationship will parallel Rama and Sita's relationship in some way, but I don't know where they are going with the story yet.  So far, it all seems like setup for some larger event.  Dave flew to India for a 6-month contract, leaving Nina behind.  When his contract is extended, Nina joins him in India for the next year.  We can already see some strain in their relationship, and Dave seems somewhat clueless to Nina's emotions.