Roger Ebert calls it an “astonishing original†and something that has him “smiling from one end of the film to the other.†I am of course talking about Nina Paley’s animated film Sita Sings the Blues. A project of passion, Nina has worked on this film on and off over the past five years. The Mutiny has followed Nina’s progress over the past few years of development and finally, her Sita Sings the Blues is finished in it’s entirety.
On Saturday March 7th, if you have access to WNET NY Channel 13, set your TiVo for 10:45 because Sita Sings the Blues will be broadcasted. Not in NY? Not to worry, the film can be watched fully online streamed from the Reel 13 Blog right now and will be available to download in various forms on March 7th from the site.
What exactly is Sita Sings the Blues? I got to watch the full movie this weekend and it’s…. well it’s…well a cartoon, I guess? But it’s like, wow….and unlike any cartoon I’ve ever seen. And a musical… and there is dancing, and blood. And puppets, really funny puppets. With four different parallel stories. About Sita. Hmm…I’m at a loss for words. Nina Paley calls her movie, “…a personal, musical, animated interpretation of Sita’s story in the Ramayana set to old American jazz and blues by Annette Hanshaw.†But really, it’s so much more than that.
I got the chance to catch Nina before she flew off to Vienna for an animation conference. Just for you, an exclusive interview with the writer, director, animator, and producer of Sita Sings the Blues, Nina Paley:
I’ve heard you say in the past that this story was developed after you yourself experienced heartbreak. In a very stark way, you placed yourself as an animated character in the final product. In one part of the film, the animated version of you is in black lingerie trying to get your husband to take notice of you. Why did you make the movie so personal when you had the option of not?
I was making the Sita segments to tell my story. In real life, when I explained that, people were at least as interested in what happened to me….so the autobiographical bits serve as a built-in FAQ. Might as well put that into the film itself, instead of just the inevitable press kit.It was a very personal project from the beginning. Including the autobiographical bits emphasizes that. I didn’t set out to tell THE Ramayana, only MY Ramayana. I wanted to be very clear about my point of view, my biases.
Has your Rama, your ex-husband Dave, seen the movie? How does he feel about his broken marriage being displayed on the ‘big screen’ like that?
He saw an almost-finished work-in-progress. I think he understands it’s my side of the story, from my point of view, about my feelings. I didn’t aim to speak for him, only for me. After viewing it he told a friend of mine he was “relieved.” I tried to focus on myself and my feelings; I still don’t understand why either of us behaved the way we did in real life, and I don’t think he knows either. I like the ambiguity of the Ramayana for that reason. It doesn’t explain why the characters behave as they do; only that they do.
A big part of your animation process involved the screening of clips of the movie to the internet community throughout your filmmaking process. What once started as an animated short is now a full fledged film. How have your thoughts evolved since you first started putting clips from the film online five years ago? You often got slammed by angry responses to the clips. How do you think that has shaped your thinking and the film?
It sure gave me a lot to think about during the production. It honed my philosophy. I wrote a bit about it as I went along, like this.I learned more about Indian politics. At first I took every bait that came my way, but once my blog was overwhelmed by Hindutvadi trolls, I learned to ignore them. I also engaged in some thoughtful dialogs with critics, back when I had time. We never changed each others’ minds, but got better at articulating our points of view. All the online reaction continues to teach me about detachment. I can get just as attached to praise as to criticism; it’s up to me whether I’ll let it dominate my life.
My two favorite sequences are the musical montage of the opening where two gods are sailing through the sky…
That’s actually Vishnu and Laxmi, of whom Rama and Sita are said to be avatars. The very beginning of the film is Laxmi rising form the Eternal Waters, listening to a broken record. Spinning records, cycling Yugas, it’s all about cycles….
…as well as the dancing woman during the scene of heartbreak…
The dancing woman in that heartbreak scene, which I call Agni Pariksha, is Reena Shah, whom I videotaped and rotoscoped.
…What inspired you to mix up the animation styles?
Fear of boredom, mostly. But also to hint at what a wealth of visual traditions are associated with the Ramayana. I barely scratched the surface.
You also added some contemporary artists a contrast to the 1920s jazz music. How did you pick/find these musicians and decide to include them in the film?
Todd Michaelsen was engaged (now married) to Reena Shah, who played the speaking role of Sita. He ended up creating the title music and Agni Pariksha which Reena sang… Rudresh Mahanthappa, whose modern jazz graces the modern scenes, was my downstairs neighbor in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn…Rohan (“Rama’s Great” and “Burnt Sugar,” the music in the trailer) was recommended to me by Sank Sury, who I met at a Sepia Mutiny meetup. Nik Phelps, who did the “Intermission” music, was a collaborator of mine from San Francisco who since moved to Belgium. Masala Dosa is a French band who found me online and traded their CD to use in “Sita” for some animation to use in a music video. Their sound was perfect, and they – like the other collaborators – are the sweetest most wonderful people you could hope to meet. They’re all geniuses.
I loved the narration of by the black shadow puppets between each of the scenes…
The designs are based on Ramayana shadow puppets from Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and India.
…They had what sounded like very real dialogue – they were talking over each other and correcting each other. How much of that was scripted?
None – it was completely unscripted, 100% real.Here’s how I got them all in the studio: I met Manish Acharya (Loins of Punjab Presents) through Manish Vij…I guess Manish V told Manish A to check out Sita, and then Manish A asked me to do animation for a Loins music video, and part of the payment was he’d let me record an interview.
Aseem Chhabra had written about me and Sita and I bumped into him at the Loins of Punjab screening. I asked if he’d lend his voice to an interview and he said yes. He actually met Manish the day of the recording – he interviewed him that morning for an article. They sound like best friends who have known each other forever, and they’re great friends now, but they’d just met that morning.
Bhavana Nagaulapally I met at a play reading of Anuvab Pal… Apparently, I stuck out like a sore thumb because I was the only white woman in the audience, and she asked, “are you Nina Paley?” She had a great voice, and I asked if she’d consent to the interview too. I didn’t know if she would – luckily she showed up, and was awesome, and the rest is history.
I was surprised when I was able to watch the film in its entirety online. Usually when films are made, you watch it in the theater or buy the DVD. Why are you opting to stream your film fully online? You mentioned that “Sita is in copyright jail and needs $43,000†on your blog – is the online release of the film related?
Yes. The whole struggle with our broken copyright system turned me into a Free Culture activist. I’m actually going to release all my old “Nina’s Adventures” and “Fluff” comics under a Share Alike (copyleft) license too. I saw what happened to Annette Hanshaw’s beautiful recordings: they got locked up so no one could hear them. I didn’t want that to happen to my film. My first concern is Art, and Art has no life if people can’t share it.This is actually a very big subject. I’ve written a lot about it on my blog, including: Your Children are Not Your Children, Sita’s Distribution Plan, The Nina’s Adventure in Copyleft Project, Watch Me Go On and On and On About Copyright, Fairies are Forever, Copyright Was Designed By Distributors, Lessons Wrong and Right, and Free Culture.
It seems like you have been forced to take an alternative route to get your film out there. Where has it been screened? What’s in the future for Sita Sings the Blues?
The complete screening list is here. Giving Sita to the audience, its life is only beginning. As I wrote, “Like all culture, it belongs to you already….From the shared culture it came, and back into the shared culture it goes.” I’m excited to see what happens next.
How has your film been received, in particular the South Asian community as well as the Hindu community? What are the responses you’ve heard from viewers?
Oh my! I’ve gotten a LOT of love, and it means a lot to me. For example, here’s a great letter. There’s lots of discussion in the blogosphere, more than I could encapsulate here.
Do you feel like you were able to put your heartbreak to rest after the completion of this film?
Yes! Thank you Valmiki!
What next for Nina Paley?
Hopefully a bunch of shorts about Free Speech, which we’re currently calling Minute Memes. I’m all about the Free Speech/Free Culture right now.
And now: my big heartfelt thanks to Sepia Mutiny, whose discovery of the Sita work-in-progress changed my life. When I started Sita I hardly knew any Indians in New York, and was just blindly following my muse.Sepia Mutiny (and Turbanhead and later Ultrabrown) connected the project with 1st- and 2nd-gen desis online and in real life. Manish Vij’s anti-Apu tirades bolstered my decision to avoid fake accents (even the super-stilted scripted dialog is performed by 2nd-gen desi actors, whose quasi-historical “Indian” accents are informed by their relatives). Sepia Mutiny is how I found Bhavana and, indirectly, Rohan. Thanks to Anna John, I’ll never misspell “Gandhi” again.
Also, when the hate mail came pouring in, there were always voices on Sepia Mutiny who remained intelligent and kind. The Hindutvadis wanted me to believe they alone spoke for “Indians” and “Hindus”; Sepia Mutiny and sites like it confirmed they did not. Not by a long shot.
Thanks, Nina
Thank YOU, Nina. You can watch Sita Sings the Blues online, and to follow the film’s progress you can visit www.sitasingstheblues.com. To read more of Nina’s writing, please visit her blog.
Art is worthless if nobody is willing to pay money to enjoy it.
M. Nam
Art is worthless if nobody is willing to enjoy it.
And I can’t wait to enjoy Sita Sings the Blues. And here it is the same week 50 years ago that Miles Davis made “Kind of Blue†– pure magic!
Not to the creator. at the very least. I’d pay a lot for Sita if I could. I’d also enjoy YSL’s Mondrian dress, I can’t afford it. Thank god, there are places like The Met, its patrons, and donors who subsidize art for people like me who enjoy it but cannot afford to own those pieces.
And ‘willing to pay’ is ill-defined. Doesn’t the thriving piracy business show that people desire art but that it is priced too highly for them, and that artistic products are too difficult to protect? Individuals are willing to expend a lot of ingenuity and time (and even risk criminal charges) to get their fix of music and movies.
Art is worthless if nobody is willing to pay money to enjoy it.
And MoorNam’s aphorisms would be worthless if nobody were willing to take the bait.
Fortunately, someone always seems to be willing.
5 · Amardeep said
Guilty as charged. But I’ve heard certified smart people say the same thing 🙂 Sorry prof!
mmmmm bait is delicious!
I was roaring with laughter as I read this. Some folks cannot see the basic concept that software is a productivity tool and culture/art is a consumption tool. No wonder so many folks got into a financial mess in the housing market…
Piracy also involves money…payments are made.
Yes. And Parvati is said to be Shiva’s consort. And Sri Krishna is said to have delivered the Gita. And Mirabai is said to have sung hymns on him…
You know, those Hindutvadi trolls have a point. This is what happens when a person refuses to accept a belief system but tries to fleece it for a personal agenda.
M. Nam
Please. Everyone. Do your best to ignore that nam with his pants down.
M. Nam,
Were you not hugged as a child???
Please play nice – I have a full time job and do not have the time all day to delete the types of trolls you are luring with your comments.
10 · Taz said
It’s the Hindutvavaadi affliction, it can’t be helped.
Luring? It is one!
Nina, congrats on the wide release. I have heard nothing but rave reviews from friends who’ve already seen it. I hope to view it in a few weeks when I am more relaxed, and have the time.
Plenty of people, believers and nonbelievers, have appropriated the figures of Rama and Sita over the centuries, adapting them for their own lives. Unlike in Judaism and Islam, there isn’t a taboo on representation of the divine in the Hindu tradition. Who gets to say what is an acceptable appropriation and what is not?
What is the Ramayana? I wrote about some variants of the Ramayana story in a post a long time ago (here). Does Ashok Banker, for instance, have the right to make his Sci-Fi adaptations of the Ramayana just because he is of Hindu heritage? By MoorNam’s logic, don’t we also need to know whether he “believes” in the “original” Ramayana or not?
Amardeep, what do you think of the advice of the wise man in comment #5? 🙂
Nina – my congratulations to you! have been watching the progress of your project on and off since it was first featured on sepiamutiny. Hope that SSTB brings joy to many many people.
Rahul, you’re right. I edited my comment to remove the “fanning the flames” portion of it.
Congrats to Nina- all the praise is well-deserved. It was truly a stroke of genius to have Aseem Chhabra, Manish Acharya and Bhavana Nagaulapally’s discussion included. Not to detract from the overall story or animation, but without their narration, I’m not sure I could have fully appreciated Nina’s objectives.
Moornam was a fierce libertarian upon exiting the womb. He abhorred any semblance of paternalism, even if it came from his parents.
I have no issue with people (Hindus or non-Hindus) appropriating Hindu epics and coming up with their own interpretations. As Amardeep pointed out, this has been a Hindu tradition since time immemorial. If anything, this is a strawman argument that we “Hindutvadi trolls” face whenever we critique such works. I should have probably made this disclaimer in my first post.
However, there is a method to the appropriation. Does Jain Ramayana have disgusting stuff about Rama? Does Buddha Ramayana have disparaging stuff? Look at the hundreds of versions of Ramayana over the millennia and see if they abuse the divine. There are versions where Rama and Sita are siblings. There are versions where Lakshmana kills Rama because he feels that she is better off with him. They have existed, but in obscurity since they invited criticisms and the general public accepted the criticism (without calling the critics as Hindutvadi trolls) and did not patronise those artists. But nowhere are the believers looked down upon. “Said to have” is the equivalent of “Can you imagine that some people believe in that shit?”
Never mind me – you should be more concerned about Nina. I have doubts as to whether she has been hugged as an adult.
M. Nam
“Said to have” is the equivalent of “Can you imagine that some people believe in that shit?”
No, actually, it is a perfectly reasonable way to describe classical or ancient mythology. “Said to be” is a neutral and objective way of acknowledging the tradition through which these narratives are passed down. It’s equivalent to saying, “Within the Hindu tradition…” or “Hindus believe…” These are all phrases by which people give the context within which a given narrative is told and understood (or “believed,” though traditionally Hinduism doesn’t place as much emphasis on literal “belief” as other traditions do).
Would a believer (“adherent” is a more accurate word within Hinduism, I think) describe it differently? Perhaps. But by your standard, only a believer/adherent could even refer to any ancient scriptural tradition without causing offense.
i am going to see the screening next weekend at the NY Children’s Film Festival! so excited! i had no idea it would eventually come out as available for free online streaming; i’ve been desperately wanting to see this since SM first posted about it ages ago, but never was able to attend an actual screening!! Very excited about the 15th, and will have to resist temptation to watch it online before then; i want to be dazzled by seeing it on the big screen. 🙂
This keeps getting better and better…
I don’t understand what parent would bring their child to a movie with such an adult theme. This is not your regular “Tales of Hanuman” type of fun movie which enthralls kids. This is a “I’m pissed that my husband left me so I’ll piss on the first husband in human history who left his wife” kind of movie.
M. Nam
excellent piece of creative work done by Nina…just watched the whole movie from reel 13….certainly, a great break up story told in a creative, nice way… 🙂
What kid doesn’t love shadow puppets and American jazz – real music!…?
Nina.
I a belong to a Vaishnava sect, that means we worship Vishnu and His avataras as the supreme expression of Divinity, and thus I’ve viewed Sita Sings the Blues twice, searching for anything that could possibly be interpreted as offensive to the worshipable entities Sita and Rama and found nothing.
Today only I read saw your website and some of the “Hindutvadi” (for lack of better words), comments there and was appalled that instead of listing point by point what they deemed “offensive”, they simply tried to do a character assasination of you and what they termed “American culture”.
Your animated narration of the Ramayana is true to Valmiki’s original and I love how you drew parrallels between your own plight and Sita’s. Such parrallel drawing and empathy with the principle of Shakti, or the consorts of Vishnu, is common in bhakta circles.
I love how at the end you had Vishnu massaging Laxmi’s feet as she reclines on Ananta Shesh. This is of course parrallel to Radha and Krishna lila where Krishna is often described in literature and portrayed in paintings as massaging the feet of His beloved Radha.
The criticism of Rama’s behaviour has a long tradition. If you read the Bhagavat Purana you will find descriptions of Krishna’s shaktis “the gopis”, cowherd damsels of Braja, castigating Krishna for His cruel behaviour in previous incarnations.
In fact, it is as if Krishna incarnated as Radha’s consort solely to right the wrongs of his previous incarnations in regards to the ways of love.
Also, in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition out of West Bengal they were so upset with the fact that Sita had to undergo such turmoil that there founder, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (500 years ago), explained that it was not the real, original Sita who was so wronged but a “maya Sita”, or an illusory form. The Adi Sita, original Sita, had never been kidnapped by Ravana and subsequently shunned by Rama.
So my dear Nina, you are in good and culturally authentic company when it comes to Sita singin’ them blues.
Stri Shakti Zindabad!
Thanks also for introducing me to the music of Annette Hanshaw. I really love the music of this era – it has a real showtunes feel, but was sadly unaware of Hanshaw, and I have to say, it’s a real delight to listen to her recordings.
For Rahul.
Hanshaw makes sense because that Sita sure calls to mind Betty Boop – their baby voices are similar. sigh…I just love Betty.
I saw the film recently, can’t say I was all that impressed. Humorous moments, but it needed some further editing in my opinion. I still hope Nina success and that others enjoy it.
i had the opportunity to see this at a film festival but other diversions prevented that. it looks visually stunning and i’m looking forward to seeing it.
however, in reading ebert’s review – and i like roger ebert – i am a bit troubled to see him say this: “She begins with the story of Ramayana, which is known to every school child in India but not to me. It tells the story of a brave, noble woman who was made to suffer because of the perfidy of a spineless husband and his mother.”
whilst there is some truth in that and many interpretations of the ramayana, it would be a shame if the ramayana is reduced to that for people not familiar with its tale and who won’t be reading it or watching “sita sings the blues” at any time.
spineless husband and his mother ?. I can see the spineless husband part, but what’s up with his mother. In the Ramayana I know, there is not much role for Rama’s mother. What is that I’m missing?.
Ponniyin, in the final version of the film, Nina Paley used three Indians having a discussion about the Ramayana as the basis for the narration. In their version of the story, recounted from memory (imprecisely, but that is the point), they mention the idea that Kaikeyi had Rama exiled from Ayodhya for fourteen years for selfish reasons.
30 · Ponniyin Selvan said
I assume Ebert meant stepmother, as in Kaikeyi, who called in a favor with Dasaratha to exile Rama so that Bharata would make king, and she would be Queen mother.
Amardeep,
Thanks, But isn’t Kosalai rama’s mom?. Kaikeyi is baratha’s mom. Anyways, that introduction sounds like an intro to a tamil serial in Sun TV. 🙂
I guess the filme will be fun. i’ll watch it over the weekend.
So Rama went to the forest because he was spineless? Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse…
M. Nam
PS: I am not sure how the resident “Vaishnavite” feels about THAT…
Ebert’s interpretation is that Rama is spineless…. and….???? Am I supposed to protest the man’s OPINION because I am a Vaishnava? My god, imagine living in a world where everyone’s opinion is supposed to conform to mine! That could only happen in my wildest dreams. Until then, I live and let live and neither myself, my God, my Goddess or my personal (emphasis on personal) belief system is threatened by that. In fact, they are all the richer for it!
34 · MoorNam said
i thought it was getting better?
(i wonder what the rss and vhp had to say when the uttara kanda with the entire fire walk saga came out. did modi and thackeray and advani and muthalik beat up the writers?)
no, like all good men, he forced his wife to make big sacrifices so he would look good his day job.
19 · Amardeep said
That sir, is the crux of the issue – that you would refer to it as mythology. Why aren’t parting seas, burning bushes, talking serpents and virgin mothers referred to as ‘mythology’? (couple of words borrowed from Colbert there). So much easier to dismiss Moornam as a troll than engage in a meaningful dialogue with mutual respect.
No, I think they complained to the “secular left” government in Bengal so that they can arrest the writers. 🙂
Actually, she forced him to take her and I don’t blame her. Would you like to live with three mothers-in-law?
MoorNam, just watch the damn film already — and quit nit-picking every little extraneous phrase in search of something to be offended by.
As I recall, the three Indians Nina Paley uses in the narration aren’t all on the same page in their interpretations of why Rama agreed to go into exile, but nowhere is it stated that his choice reflects spinelessness. In fact, one of the voices makes it a point to suggest that he accepted his fate nobly and without complaint.
This language is from Roger Ebert, not from the film itself. In the film itself, the whole question of motivations and interpreting the ethics of the Agni Pariksha is complicated by the way the narrative is layered (direct narration in the songs and indirect/interpretive narration by the three Indian voices) and divided into pieces.
37 · KundiKarrupan said
operative word there? mutual.
Moor Nam –
I concur with Amardeep. The film, in its finished form, is very different from what you might think. A majority of it is a straightforward exposition of the Ramayana in a fairly uncontroversial way. Watch it, and then tell us what you thought, what you objected to and what you liked. But nitpicking a book based on its cover is beneath you.
I’m actually suggesting to our gurukula teachers that they show it in their classes. I think it’s a wonderful juxtaposition of East and West, Ancient Prem Kahani and Post-Modern Love Story.
Our kids are both East and West, some born in India, some out, and some both (conceived here, born there, born there, raised here, and ever combination you can think of) and they are the faces of the Post-Modern Vaishnava world of tomorrow.
They are constantly flying between India and the West, between pre-modernism, modernism and post-modernism. They are all of that and more.
They drop “it” and slokas like they’re both hot!
This animation is actually THEIR story.
40 · Amardeep said
the troll is already offended. whether it watches the film or not, it will continue to be. it sounds like a card carrying member of the hjs.
i don’t think that act is beneath it at all.
who is taking bets that the troll will come back from watching the movie even more offended?
Why aren’t parting seas, burning bushes, talking serpents and virgin mothers referred to as ‘mythology’?
They are mythology. All religions are based on stories told by human beings. That doesn’t take away from their potential power to move people.
To call something a “story” or a “mythology” isn’t to take away from its potential spiritual power. It’s simply a way of describing narratives, especially ancient narratives, that don’t fit a modern historical paradigm and can’t be confirmed via empirical evidence.
Art is art and of course I am against censorship, so I make no arguments about who has “the right” to produce any type of work.
However, as a writer myself, I have to say that I think the whole film is flawed because it’s based on a misinterpretation of the Ramayana. If you read the actual text, (which I’m almost certain Nina has not), you will realize that the incident involving Sita and the fire is used to illustrate how even Rama, the perfect man, must be subject to the whims of public opinion. Rather than being misogynist or judmental, the scripture is making a very nuanced and forward-thinking point about the status of women and the role of public perception in Hindu life at the time. If anything, Valmiki’s Ramayana makes the same point Nina attempts, albeit in a much more poetic and graceful way.
As a Hindu, again I am not so much offended by the cartoon as by Nina Paley’s comparison of herself to Sita, who is recorded in scripture as being the perfect woman. It’s somewhat like if I wrote a re-telling of the bible where I position myself as Jesus. Illegal? No. Immoral? No. Ridiculously self-important and laughable? Absolutely.
Saivite@41: I saw all but one of those lines as responses from Moornam to attacks on him. But I will refrain from supporting him as I don’t know his viewpoint well enough. From his articulation I can tell he doesn’t need my help anyway.
I liked Michael Sicinski’s review. [link]
I thought that was part of the point. That if even the perfect woman could be rejected by her husband, then this is just the way things are in the world, fair or not, and Nina has to accept her fate.
(In the Christian context, people do compare themselves to Jesus, actually. There are meditations where they imagine the suffering that Jesus felt, and they use that to contextualize their own lives.)
That said, Nina isn’t Christian, and she’s viewing the Ramayana as literature rather than scripture. This is one of the fundamental points of departure between herself and many of the people criticizing her.
if anyone misunderstood, i wasn’t implying that ebert’s one-line summation, was nina paley’s. i read through some of the comments on ebert’s blog and he also says they are his words. i was just thinking of those who read reviews but never go on to see a movie/read a book for themselves.