Rama - Dharmic?

Rama, prince of Ayodhya, banished from his kingdom for 14 years, lived a life of turmoil and challenge. His beautiful and loyal wife, Sita, chooses to follow him in his years of banishment to fulfill the dharmic wife she considers herself to be. Destined to be King, Rama attempts to live in a dharmic way by defeating demons and being just; however, Rama's step-mother schemed to give the kingdom to her son, Bharata instead. In the days before his excommunication, he lived as a faithful, bright, strong, and very dharmic prince and hoped to return to reign as king.

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie we watched during class; thought-provoking, informative, relatable, not to mention hilarious. Two thumbs up! Who would you say was the main character in the movie? Sita, clearly. With her periodic concert performances, she was a real hit. The movie really revolved around her point of view rather than Rama's. Having read the Ramayana, "Sita Sings the Blues" paints a completely different picture. The RAMAyana focuses around RAMA's actions and views; it more obviously highlights his heroic nature following the dharmic life of a prince, husband, and Ksatriya. Do you think that those who praise Rama would enjoy "Sita Sings the Blues?" I doubt it. At one point in the movie, it actually shows Rama walking over Sita symbolically showing how Rama walked all over Sita treating her poorly. Even though Sita was faithful while she was captured by Ravana, Rama doubts Sita's faithfulness. In the Ramayana, the narrator emphasizes that he'd rather be dharmic and not be with someone who has been unfaithful. In the movie, the directors make it seem like he's just a huge jerk. After Sita proves her purity in the pyre and they return back to Ayodhya, the kingdom disaproves of his actions of being with Sita. So once more, Rama is forced to choose between the acceptance of his people or his wife. He chooses his dharma as a ruler to appease the public and banishes Sita once more. Once again, the Ramayana more justifies his actions while the movie condemns it. Depending on which point of view, Rama's dharma comes in to question... is he really the heroic model of dharma he's made up to be?