"Sita Sings the Blues" and the Festival of Books

Saturday April 24, 2010
I thought that "The Secret of Krells" was an outstanding, fabulous, original, wow! animated film ---- and I still do. However, today I saw another animated film that is so unique, and brilliant, I don't know how to praise it enough, and I'm running out of adjectives. (Of course, I'm definitely enthusiastic today, having spent a couple of hours at the intellectually stimulating - though exhausting - LA Times Festival of Books at UCLA -- my alma mater. --- well, OK, so I didn't graduate, but I was a freshman there in 1948. The campus seemed big then, and now it's beyond HUGE. More about the Book Festival later.) Meanwhile, back to "Sita Sings the Blues." The centerpiece of this brilliant film is "The Ramayana" (pronounced ra-MY-uh-na) , the classic tale from Hindu mythology. "Sita Sings the Blues" is a fantastic combination of the epic of Rama and Sita Ravana, and Hanuman told in several ways, including stylized "Betty Boop" like illustrations singing sultry blues songs from the '30s, narrated hilariously by voices from obviously Indian commentators, who kind of make up some of the details of the story. And also, woven in is the contemporary tale of the break up a marriage in San Franciso, animated in an entirely different style. This remarkable creation was conceived, written, animated, and produced by one woman! (Nina Paley) The Los Angeles Times Calendar section today carried a great review of it, that I can't begin to equal. Just want you to run, don't walk to see it! I don't know if it will be equally appreciated by people who are not familiar with the epic tale of Rama and Sita, and her abduction by Ravana, etc. -- but I think all of you gentle readers will get it!

So, the Festival of Books. Another wow! Thousands of people, hundreds of forums, a mind boggling gathering of authors and categories. I listened to a panel discussion moderated by David Ulin, the Book Editor of the LA Times (and an author in his own right), called"Rebooting Culture: Narrative and Information in the New Age." The panelists were Nicholar Carr, David Shields, and Ander Monson. All extremely articlulate and interesting. Basically, it dealt with the trend toward other mediums of infomation beyond the hard copy (that I'm loyally addicted to), their books about it, and what is happening to our brains as a result of the changes. Next year, I hope to plan ahead and make a reservation for tickets to presentations that appeal. I just kind of fell into this one, because it was near where I had parked! (The Festival is free, but the parking is $10 for the day, except for those of us with Handicap placards -- three bucks only!) UCLA provides information and helpful guides all over the place. One young student (Engllish major, she told me) walked me all the way to an elevator -- to avoid the daunting steps that otherwise marked my chosen path. And, standing in the "ticketless" but hopeful line, I got into a conversation about books with a very nice young man who kept me company. I have found that wherever I go, there's always someone to help --- Guru's grace for sure! See you at the movies, or in a bookstore! SP