She Sings the Blue
The film, “She Sings the Blue” is set with an American viewpoint of an American view. The film gives a presentation of a traditional Hindu story that revolves around the legend Prince, Ramayana and the demon king, Ravana. Despite the main character being male, the film dramatically presents women’s cry for equal treatment and upholding of truth and justice. The film takes the shape of Ramayana; a traditional Hindu fork tale that describes the life an exiled prince, Rama of the kingdom of Kosala during the reign of the devil king Ravana. The story is a form of allegory that depicts characters in the structure of ideal family set up. The film is ethnocentric because despite the unclear presentation of the producer’s ethnicity, the Indians are used to present evil human giants ruled by a demon king and an ogress queen, and with the rescuers of humanity depicted as the monkey army.
The film is a presentation of a traditional Hindu story using the Indian culture as a basis for the plot. However, how the characters are presented gives a different perspective of someone who does not respect the Indians or their culture. The depiction of Indian characters as giant evil humans led by a demon king does not represent a respectable position of humanity. An ogress represents the queen of the Kosala kingdom. In addition, the forests in idea are said to be invaded by monsters and evil spirits. The producer is an American and could have been driven by some bit of ethnocentrism. Some symbols like using fire to compel gods into proving the purity status of a woman could be hard to understand by non-Indians. Also, the relationship between monkeys and human beings is a phenomenon hard to be understood by non-Indians.
The modern Indian society may find it more offensive to learn that their history is represented by evil and lack of respect for the femininity. The other offensive trait of the characters is the level of submission by women, which involves going to the extent of jumping into the fire to prove purity. Women are historically seen as creatures that can go to any extent in appreciation of nature (Marshall, 1993). The use of college could be associated with the false representation of the Indian community. The shadow puppets are of the Indian origin, and it is unclear why the producer decided to include the use of an Indian group to represent a group different from the entire community. The purpose of jazz music could be attributed to the simplicity of synchronization to the film lines. The imagery of voices seems contemporary and somehow irrelevant but it could a deliberate move by the producer to portray the theme of contrast between modern comedy and ancient tragedy. The Ramayana is a traditional Hindu story, more of poetry that describes the lives of Rama and Ravan. Rama, the exiled blue prince who represents the rare breed with humanity, kills the demon king at long last. The struggles of Rama represent the reality of human relationships and the event that he finds it hard to believe Sita’s purity is enough evidence of human emotions in love.
The film is ethnocentric because the representation of Indian culture is not given utmost respect. The setting of the film seems to be affected by the producer’s ethnicity causing a bit of ethnocentrism. The characters in the movie are depicted as evil and monstrous. Also, the use of imagery builds the theme of contrast between traditional tragedies and modern comedy. The role of Rama can be seen as a representation of saviors among a group of evil beings. There is an excellent representation of human emotions and relationship struggles in the film.