Sita

Sita Sings the Blues is one heck of the way to start a Tuesday morning.

To be honest, at first I was overwhelmed with the psychedelic animation and hallucinogenic imagery that bombarded me. I was also a little worried that I wouldn't be able to understand the movie whatsoever. After all, this is coming from the girl who can barely follow the plot of How I Met Your Mother. Tackling the epic tale of the Ramayana so early on a Tuesday morning (okay, afternoon) seemed like a daunting task. Yet, to my surprise, it wasn't.

After watching the film, one question (discussed earlier by the three narrators) still resonated with me. Specifically, is Sita responsible for her own suffering? Or is she just a victim of a predominantly male-dominated and male-oriented society? After some contemplation, I find myself leaning towards the former.

Now, no one can deny that Sita really got the short end of the stick. Being banished (twice), captured, forced to walk in fire, and then eventually swallowed up by the Earth does not sound like a good time. In fact, it sounds like a whole lot of suffering. However, it was Sita's choices that ultimately led to her unfortunate circumstances.

First off, she loves Rama. Yes, she loves him "unconditionally," but she has bad taste in men. Rama may be an epic hero whose virtues are praised throughout the land, but when it comes to women, he's a down right prick. 

Next, she decided to come with her husband to the forest, even though she knows it is dangerous. Then, she orders her husband to capture a golden deer. Why in the world would she do that? Perhaps deer pelts were all the rage in 1400 BCE, but still, it was a selfish demand with absolutely no useful purpose (deer potpourri, deer head mantle, deer moccasins…. no excuse).

Then, after she is captured, she does not return on Hanuman's back (this point is also discussed in detail during the film). Again, why does she do this? By not returning with Hanuman, she directly causes a bloody war where many human-monkey (humonkey?) people are killed. 

Finally, Sita agrees to be banished to the forest in order to protect Rama's reputation. If the real problem was the doubt of the townspeople, why didn't Sita prove her purity to them? She could have publicly thrown herself into a fire (or lake, whichever is more convenient) to prove her purity to everyone. Hey, my thought is if she's done it once she can do it again. 

Sorry Sita, I love your singing, but I'm hesitant to be sympathetic to your cause.