Reading Notes: Reading A: Sita Sings the Blues

Confusing start. 

For this week's reading, I choose to do the film option of, Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley. The film began with a bizarre start, and I was a little confused with the combination of the three different storylines. There is the storyline of the "singing Sita". From what I have gathered the songs were composed by other musicians and Nina Paley found them and fit them into the storyline. Very clever! (Here is the soundtrack list.) I also found a video that gave more information about Nina having to pay so that she could use the songs in her video. (Here is the video about the music.)The second storyline is about Nina, herself and her relationship with her boyfriend, Dave. From what I can tell so far, Dave does not show her attention and appreciate being with her. From not giving Nina his phone number while he is India, to agreeing to stay in India for an extra year without discussing with Nina first, you can tell that Dave is not taking an active role by including Nina in choices that will affect their relationship. For a separate storyline to this particular plot, I could create a friend that tries to help and reassure Nina that Dave is not a very good boyfriend. This friend could try and help Nina see that she does not need to be with someone who is not including her in the decision that will affect their joint relationship. The third storyline and my personal favorite are the three narrators retelling the story of The Ramayana in their "own" way. You can tell that each of the narrators grew up hearing and knowing the story and piece it together in a unique fashion with some comedy added. I would like to figure out how to add this type of comedic narrator into my recreation of The Ramayana in my storybook project, Kosala High School. Also, the narrators have slight differences in their retelling of The Ramayana. First, Lakshman's character is not mentioned very much in the first part, but they do point out that Ravana was not a bad guy other than stealing Sita. The go on to say that they were taught that Ravana was considered a scholar and at one time prayed to the gods and respected them. I could create a prequel story about Ravana before he became power hungry and evil.

******

Image: Saxophone. Source: pxhere by unknown