Reading Notes: Sita Sings the Blues, First Half


  • A goddess (seemingly Lakshmi) emerges from the waters and plays a blues record from a record player made out of a peacock 
    • Symbolic, since the symbol of Krishna is a peacock 
  • Has a very interesting, modern take on the Ramayana
  • Details King Dasharatha's wifes (Kausalya, Sumitra, Kaikeyi) and sons (Rama, Lakshma, Bharatha, and Shatraghuna) 
  • Kaikeyi asks Dasharatha to banish Rama for 14 years to exile; Dasharatha has to agree, because he gave her a boon earlier when she cared for him when he was injured
    • Refers to Kaikeyi as "evil and scheming," although in other versions she is under the influence of an evil maid 
  • Emphasizes Sita's statement that she "cannot live without" Rama
  • Conflicting reports about Ravana - one lady says he is evil, although it says elsewhere that he was actually a learned, scholarly man whose main fault was capturing Sita
    • He worships Shiva and gets a boon for his piety
  • Interestingly, such a learned man has an "ugly" and evil sister, Shoorpanaka
  • Validates that Hanuman is an incarnation of Shiva
  • Commentary on how devoted Sita is to her husband (critique from a feminist perspective in the film) 
  • Points out clearly that Rama acted very cold toward Sita when he first saw her after rescuing her because he was wary of her integrity
    • This is the main point of critique here; she was so devoted, yet she was treated so coldly as a woman

Sita undergoing the trial by fire that Rama instructs her to do.

Bibliography: Sita Sings the Blues, Link to Animated Movie

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