Sita Sings The Blues

Description

A short argumentative essay for Sita Sings The Blues: that is, one in which you have a point you intend to prove or show through the use of argument and evidence. Nina Paley, the artist, plans to make money through voluntary payments, ancillary products, sponsorships, and voluntary payments from public screenings through Creative Common licenses. “Creative Commons has been described as at the forefront of the copy left movement, which seeks to support the building of a richer public domain by providing an alternative to the automatic “all rights reserved” copyright. You need to watch the animation at least two times. You need to watch it once in order to be introduced to it. After the first viewing, you are expected to do some research in order to clarify to yourself in general terms some of the questions (below). The second time you are watching the animation, you should take notes of the things that impress you or confuse you, things you like or find inappropriate, details that you think make the film engaging. The paper is a short (900-1000 words) argumentative/persuasive essay. To write it, you need to have a thesis (a point you are going to prove by supporting arguments and evidence). The question you need to answer in this paper is really very simple: Is this film ethnocentric? In other words, although it concerns a traditional Hindu story and uses visual elements from Indian culture, is it essentially “American” in its viewpoint? Is the film respectful of Indian culture or mocking it? Your thesis should basically be your answer to this question: “Yes, the film is ethnocentric because . . .” or “No, the film isn’t ethnocentric because . . .” or “Yes, it’s ethnocentric because . . . but . . .” Another way to think of the assignment might be: examine the question of ethnocentrism in Sita Sings the Blues in terms of how it influences the artistic style and techniques employed by the artist. Is this ethnocentrism intentional or unintentional? For examples of thesis statements and how to go about arguing them, look at the example papers I’ve attached. The first step towards completing this assignment is to review your text and be sure you are familiar with the term “ethnocentric.” What does it mean to have an ethnocentric viewpoint? Do not write a synopsis of the film!Concentrate on analyzing the film in terms of ethnocentricity and art. Questions: -Is this film ethnocentric? In other words, although it concerns a traditional Hindu story and uses visual elements from Indian culture, is it essentially “American” in its viewpoint? Is the film respectful of Indian culture or mocking it? -What symbols might be automatically understood by an Indian audience, but less easily understood by a  western audience? -Is there anything that a modern Indian audience might find offensive? How about Americans? Women? Men? Hindus? Christians? Moslems? Why? -What is the imagery–Indian miniatures, contemporary pop culture, photos? -Why do contemporary people look so different? What does the image say? -How are the main characters portrayed in the different story lines: which one is the most comical, stylized, or contemporary looking? -What is the meaning of the use of collage? -What is the nationality of the shadow puppets? -What is the meaning of the music? Why jazz? -How many story lines are there in the animation? -Does the animation employ humor, sarcasm, and irony? -What is Ramayana? -Who is Rama? Why is he blue? -What are the human emotions expressed in these stories? Are there similarities between the human emotional struggles and relationships in the stories from B.C. India and contemporary Americans?