Singing Sita’s Praises: A Visit from Cartoonist Nina Paley

Sita Sings the Blues‘s ancient Indian heroine Sita must deal with her insensitive boyfriend, a well-worn archetype. But in the case of the film’s creator Nina Paley, the archetype was not fiction. It was her husband.

On Monday night in the School of Management Auditorium, the audience sat in quieted anticipation for a screening of the award-winning animated film Sita Sings the Blues, followed by a Q&A with animator Nina Paley.

Before the film started, Department of Religion professor Emily Hudson eloquently offered some words about the Ramayana, the Hindi epic that the movie is based on, the film itself, and Paley.

“A story like [the Ramayana] is meant to be a work-in-progress” said Hudson. In regards to the film, she explained how it “brings the Ramayana into the 21st century with a bang.”

“I could just hear Valmiki [the most accredited author of the story] rising up from the past and shouting, ‘Finally, someone who understands me!’”

With those profound words, the film began.

Through a myriad of animation styles, from simplistic doodles to shadow puppets and more, the film specifically tells the stories of Sita, the heroine of the Ramayana, and Paley. The dialogue-based portion of Sita’s story features more traditional Indian art styles, the necessary background information of the Ramayana, and the hysterical commentary of three often confused shadow puppets. Is the story’s island of Lanka actually on NASA satellite? How do you spell Suruphanaka? Or is it Shurpanaka? Sroophanka? How monkey-like were the monkey-people? The shadow puppet narrators are not too sure.

The other half of Sita’s story is told through a different cartoon style but, most importantly, through the alluring voice of popular 1920’s jazz singer Annette Hanshaw. The songstress enchants her audience through both her euphoric love songs (“Here We Are,” “What I Wouldn’t Do For That Man”) and her heartbreaking laments (“Moanin’ Low,” “Am I Blue”). She also punctuates each one of her song’s with a cutesy trademark “that’s all.” By acting as Sita’s voice, Annette Hanshaw breathes out a voice that transcends time.

A concurrent tale, drawn in the simple and scattered Squigglevision style, compares Paley’s journey with Sita’s. Both women are zealously devoted to their husbands. Both women follow their men on their journeys. Both women end up kicked to the curb regardless.

After the film, the spotlight was put on Nina Paley to answer the audience’s pressing questions.

On how she discovered Annette Hanshaw’s music, she explained how, after having been dumped, she temporarily lived with an old record collector and became exposed to the songs that would later be featured in her film.

In regards to future projects and what sacred texts she could experiment with, she said “the only one that I might do is the Passover story,” sharing laughter with the audience and referring to her Jewish heritage.

Curious members of the crowd also inquired about her husband’s reaction to the film and their past.

“He’s been very apologetic.” She also hinted that he might not have altered scenes in the film, but there’s a good chance he would have added a few more details in about their story.

After several other questions, the Q&A was wrapped up as the audience finally got to see the fleshed-out, both physically and emotionally, version of Nina Paley that they had all been waiting for. She offered raw moments into her life, funny moments into her process, and insightful moments into struggles with her relationship and copyright.

Through her, the voices of three different women spanning thousands of years were able to ring perfectly in unison to describe the unpredictable nature of life. And no matter how often a kingdom can call a man a “god,” that does not make him loyal. Even if he is blue.

Keeping with the trademark of Annette Hanshaw, “That’s all!”

Check out Paley’s film for free online! It is guaranteed to dazzle, entertain, and enlighten. There’s even a built-in intermission suited perfectly for the bathroom break that is bound to happen.