even the goddess gets the blues

this is brilliant work

"Sita Sings the Blues" is based on the Hindu epic "The Ramayana". Sita is a goddess separated from her beloved Lord and husband Rama. Nina Paley is an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by email. Three hilarious shadow puppets narrate both ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this beautifully animated interpretation of the Ramayana. Set to the 1920's jazz vocals of torch singer Annette Hanshaw, Sita Sings the Blues earns its tagline as "the Greatest Break-Up Story Ever Told." It is written, directed, produced and animated by American artist Nina Paley.



in my experience of working on several live performances of Ramayana and viewing countless bollywood varieties of the epic, Ramayana is best taught as what happens when God incarnates as a man/ king and so then makes mistakes as well as is dealt some raw ones himself. after viewing this rendition of Ramayana which is true to the long versions i have seen, you may agree that Ram could have better served as God and King if he had first been a better husband to his Goddess and Queen Sita. instead he follows the dictates of his ignorant and egotistical male subjects, losing out on his power to demonstrate LOVE and the power of forgiveness, particularly forgiving what we do not know or understand. though Sita was a righteous woman who did no wrong, her own husband punished and tortured her for having been abducted and abused by his enemy rather than supporting his victimized wife. her further injured her and his resultant children instead and not only that, led the way for all men to learn to do the same (as he was both their King and a God incarnate so allegedly could do no wrong as a role model). i originally purchased this DVD as a way to introduce Hindu culture to my young grandsons. after viewing it, i see it as an excellent tool to show what happens to a woman and to a whole society when a man of respect in his community isnt loving and forgiving in his own home. what if Ram had chosen instead to point out the difference between abduction and adultery by sheltering, protecting and healing Sita after her painful experiences? what if Ram had taken the path of accepting Sita, his Queen and Goddess, as perfect and pure even if she had been raped (the story goes she was not raped but abducted and held against her will). what kind of better world might we be living in today if all men were raised with those ideals of forgiving and healing with love instead of banishing and torturing by fire a woman who has been victimized by another man? if you choose to enjoy this gorgeously made film i hope you will ponder and explore these issues with the young and old among your loved ones.

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