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| Sita Sings the Blues; Hindu epic meets jazz and MLP | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 23 2012, 10:48 AM (421 Views) | |
| Fjord Mustang | Jul 23 2012, 10:48 AM Post #1 |
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I Don't Really Look Like This. Usually.
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Has anyone seen the animated feature Sita Sings the Blues ? The Nostalgia Chick (TGWTG) recommended it as one of her favorite films (this week). I caught it on You Tube where it has been released for free distribution. It's hard to explain, but it's really original and was done by one person using flash animation. A lot of the animation style reminds me of the new My Little Pony animation, and there is a lot of intelligent humor in it, too. The person who animated it is Nina Paley, a comic book artist I like. A lot of the animation style actually is very comic book based, come to think of it. The easiest way to explain it is a retelling of the ancient Indian writer Valmiki's Ramayana epic as an animated musical using the songs from the 1920s jazz singer Annette Hanshaw. It's kind of a look at how hard it is to go through a romantic break up and how to move on and put your life together. The movie cuts between 1000 BC and the pure, noble-hearted and strong-willed princess Sita's rejection by her husband, the awesome bow-wielding warrior-prince Rama, and a 21st century American artist dealing with the breakup of her husband when he goes to India on a consulting trip and then emails her that he no longer wants to be married to her. I thought it would be full of bitterness, but it is actually a movie that is full of humor and admiration of the Indian art, music and culture. It was a quite interesting and respectful introduction to Hinduism and Indian epic literature. Probably what "made" the movie was having much of it narrated by three characters who are young, modern day Indians discussing the Ramayana and how they interpret it. It's done in a humorous way, a bit like the characters in Mystery Science Theatre 3000 put their spin on a sci fi movie. They are animated as ancient Indian or Indonesian shadow puppets. Their debates with each other (sometimes they reminded me of Fishlegs) are so cute. The movie shifts between four animation styles, but they all reminded me of the new My Little Pony animation. 1) Cosmic style animation showing the Hindu view of the universe 2) Retelling the Ramayana using actual drawings and artwork from ancient India and Indian Shadow puppet sillouhettes-- this is a more stiff animated style 3) When Sita sings the jazz songs, the animation was like MLP animation and also 1920s Betty Boop style 4) The more comic strip animation of the scenes set in the 21st USA and India- this was very simplistic blending hand drawn animation with photo backgrounds. I was happy how simple the style was and yet fully got across the idea and humor. It shows that idea comics and graphic novels and animation don't always have good drawings but can instead tell a good story. The movie is probably T rated for some cartoon style battle violence and very, very mild nudity (a very brief depiction of Bhūmi, the Earth Goddess is faithful to ancient statues depicting her as a bare breasted mother) You can find it on You Tube, available for free download. P.S.- Note to AvannaK- Rama in the Ramayana epic supposedly shot lightning/fire bolts from his bow, though this animation does not show that aspect. But it made me realize the warrior with the bow that shoots lightning bolts generated from his body comes from a very, very old origin-- at least 3,000 years old. Edited by Fjord Mustang, Jul 23 2012, 11:08 PM.
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"And now each night, I count the stars. And each night I get the same number. And when the stars won't come to be counted, I count the holes they leave." — Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones) ** Signature art designed by Gumdrop Ch4rms *** | |
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| Athenaeum | Jul 23 2012, 10:06 PM Post #2 |
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Learning to Fly
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I don't remember how I stumbled across it, but I've had it on my hard drive for a long time (file is dated 3-3-09). Your description is dead on and makes me want to watch it again. I found a lot to like about it, but I think I got hooked right at the start on the music. The heavy bass line, the modernized sitar music and the beautiful animation told me I was in for something good. I highly recommend it to anyone who has any interest in history, jazz music, humor or tales well told in a most unique way. That's all. Edited by Athenaeum, Jul 23 2012, 10:07 PM.
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| Fjord Mustang | Jul 23 2012, 11:31 PM Post #3 |
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I Don't Really Look Like This. Usually.
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Oh, wow! Thank you for your reply! LOL- That's all! It seems there are many really artistic and music-loving people who have found this movie and made it a favorite. I am so glad you are one of them! You liked it for the same reasons I did. In general, I really like Indian culture, and this movie did it some good homage (I have some minor criticisms of it, but I won't get into it here-- overall, it was really original, educational, and hopeful in tone.). One of the things that impressed me right off was showing the Hindu cosmic view. The animator did her homework. I saw that she based her depictions of the opening scenes of the cosmic world and Vishnnu/Rama and Lakshmi/Sita on this image. It was nice to see the movie drew on historical references Glad you liked it as much as I did. Thanks for your comments! Edited by Fjord Mustang, Jul 24 2012, 09:15 AM.
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"And now each night, I count the stars. And each night I get the same number. And when the stars won't come to be counted, I count the holes they leave." — Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones) ** Signature art designed by Gumdrop Ch4rms *** | |
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4:45 AM Jul 11