Sita sings the blues - an intriguing female lead in the Ramayana

First of all, I absolutely loved the movie we watched in class on Tuesday! I can honestly say that I had no clue what was going on at some times, but I loved the visuals and the cool take on the story on the Ramayana.

Rama is, first and foremost, the "hero" of the Ramayana. He is a god-like figure - an avatar of Vishnu and friend of the great Hanuman. He can conquer cities and armies and had the humility to submit to his father's wishes, no matter how horrible they may seem. He does not, however, seem like the main "hero" or focus on the Ramayana, to me, however.

Instead, it seems as if Sita (based on my interpretation of Sita Sings the Blues) is the main focus. From the point of Rama's exile in the forest, all of the events of the Ramayana hinge upon events Sita is involved in and actions and decisions that Sita makes. Sita is kidnapped - this instigates Rama's war in hopes of rescuing her. Sita refuses Hanuman's help in rescue - this results in the death of thousands, as Rama must fight to save her. Sita is deemed "unpure" for living in another man's house - this leads to her trial by fire and eventual exile. Sita returns to mother earth - thus, Rama gives up his life, too. Although Rama is the all powerful male figure, it seems as if most of his actions hinge upon his female counterpart. This, to me, is interesting - it seems as if the female is given an interesting sense of power in the epic.

In addition, the fantastical imagery was quite fascinating, as well. I am not sure if this was just particular to the movie, but I wonder if all of the imagery (various animals, geographical figures humanized with faces and the such, and in particular that peacock that kept popping up everywhere) is just as integral in the epic itself? To me, this seems to be the case, especially after reading excerpts from the Ramayana for Tuesday's class. In particular, the excerpt in which the mountain rose from the sea to provide a resting place for Hanuman illustrated this concept - the descriptive language was phenomenal, both in its beauty and oddity.

Anne Reynolds