Sita Sing The Blues And The Ramayana Analysis

The Ramayana is the most famous and well-known of all Indian epics, originally based on an epic poem it has taken many variations and forms over the centuries. Traditionally the story centers on the hero Prince Rama, who is the embodiment of virtue and perseverance, as he is wrongfully denied his birthright of being crowned king and instead is unjustly exiled into the forest where he encounters his fair share of dilemma. In R. K. Narayan’s condensed, modern version of The Ramayana the classic conflict of duality is a predominant theme, as Rama faces many instances of uncertainty and trivial chaos which are eventually balanced by order and goodness under the laws of karmic causation and dharma alike which he virtuously strives to uphold. Nina

The Ramayana focuses on the trials and tribulations that Rama encounters on his fourteen year exile into the forest, his adventures are sprinkled with examples of honor, virtue and morality, which the film neglects. In The Ramayana, Rama is the prevailing hero and Sita is his wife who accompanies him on his exile, until she is stolen from him by Ravana. She is eventually recovered, but this is only a small part of a larger and more inspiring story. In Nina Paley’s interpretation, the story focuses primarily on Sita and her emotional traumas during her capture and recovery, which were represented quite differently in the film than in the book. It is important to note that in The Ramayana Sita played a much smaller role in the grand scheme of things. Sita was represented as a good little submissive wife, ever faithful and true to husband and she was eager to prove her devotion which was also characteristic of the woman’s traditional role in a patriarchal society in which was reflective of India’s values and social norms. In “Sita Sings the Blues”, many western norms and feministic views were imposed on Sita’s character, making her much more relatable for more modern, Western audiences and less representative of the male-dominated traditional patriarchal Indian

The film also depicted such images and song displaying both the devotion that Sita herself had to Rama and the respect that she instilled in their twin sons, even after she was banished to the forest by her husband and it downplayed why Rama was deserving of such admiration (Sita Sings the Blues). This was contrary to the evidence provided in the book The Ramayana, in which Rama’s virtuous, just and forgiving nature were the focal points of nearly all the story lines and his moral and just being is the exact reason for his greatness. The amusing, but very Western-modern film attempted to explain the significance of honor to Rama with a song that simply claimed “Rama’s good… Rama’ just… Rama does what Rama must….” but then depicted Rama as untrusting, suspecting and “mean” (Sita Sings the Blues). In fact, the film had a tendency of depicting Rama a bit unfairly since the element of dharma, which is all-encompassing goodness and virtue which Rama epitomized was completely absent in the film, whereas in the book The Ramayana the concept of dharma was woven deeply throughout