Reading Diary A: Week 4 Sita Sings the Blues

1. Surya the sun god shows up in the first few minutes and he is part of my storybook project.

2. The beginning gives a good, clear outline of the relationships between all of the characters. 

3. I like the comedy in the scene where Dasartha must banish Rama because Kaikeyi was owed one promise by Dasartha for taking care of him when he was very sick. I also think the narration style is interesting, where the characters are comically arguing over the events of the Ramayana.

4. The incorporation of the music when Sita and Rama are in the forest and it is showing all the other characters in the forest is interesting. I like the scene where Rama kills the rakshasa with his bow. 

5. I also like the different styles between the different character settings. It adds a divide between the two different types of stories and adds character to each side.

6. The characterization of Ravana as a guy who isn't that bad was interesting and not something I considered. Ravana's story with his sister where she convinces him to take Sita for his own wife was interesting. The animation for the scene with the golden deer was beautiful. It developed the love between Rama and Sita better than the book did with the dialogue and music between the two.

Scene from Nina Paley's Sita Sings the Blues

7. I also really like the difference between the musical numbers and the Ramayana animations. They also make a good point that she did not have on any jewelry because she left everything behind when they went into the forest. It's funny when the other narrator says something along the lines of 'don't challenge the story' or something like that.

8. Although at this point, I don't understand the connection between Nina and David's relationship and the Ramayana, I like it and think it's pretty interesting.

9. I like the conversation about Sita's devotion to Rama between her and Ravana. It really demonstrates how much she loves him. 

10. I also liked how it illustrated Hanuman's setting the city on fire because it was so immediate. The rakshasa set his tail on fire and then he immediately ran around setting the place on fire.

11. They make a good point that Sita could have just gone with Hanuman, but maybe she just wanted Rama to save her. She also wanted Rama to kill Ravana. 

12. I like the scene when Sita decides to throw herself on the funeral pyre and the discussion of Sita's purity with the narrators after Rama rejects her. It's a very comic version of the Ramayana while still staying true to the story and being a quality version of the story. I also like the blues song where she is saved from the funeral pyre. 

This reading diary came from Nina Daley's animated version Sita Sings the Blues. It was really interesting and I loved the animation style!