Nina Paley brings her modern, feminist sensibility to the Ramayana, an ancient tale of love and jealousy. Sita Sings the Blues

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"I'd rather see you dead little girl than to be with another man."
-- The Beatles (Rubber Soul, 1965)

To John Lennon fifty years ago, this kind of jealousy was not a healthy love. To our present-day sensibilities, the attitude sounds like a depraved contorted sentiment that could never be confused with "love". Today, we can no longer relate to Frank Stockton's short story The Lady or the Tiger (1892).

Classic plots are rooted in jealous rage (Zeus's wife Hera, Othello, The Winter's Tale, The Kreutzer Sonata). Most incomprehensible and infuriating to us is the ancient practice of punishing women who have been taken against their will. Such is the plot of the ancient Hindu tale of Rama and Sita, which has been retold with variations for each generation. Nina Paley brings her modern, feminist sensibility to the Ramayana, complete with music by Rachmaninoff and Irving Berlin. Sita Sings the BluesFor those of you who are accustomed to using the Daily Inspiration for a two-minute break from your work, I apologize for stealing 80 minutes from your workday. I know you have not regretted the time. --JJM

Authors Bio:

Josh Mitteldorf, de-platformed senior editor at OpEdNews, blogs on aging at http://JoshMitteldorf.ScienceBlog.com. Read how to stay young at http://AgingAdvice.org.

Educated to be an astrophysicist, he has branched out from there to mathematical modeling in a variety of areas, including evolutionary ecology and economics. He has taught mathematics, statistics, and physics at several universities. He is an avid amateur pianist, and father of two adopted Chinese girls, now grown. He travels to Beijing each year to work with a lab studying the biology of aging. His book on the subject is "Cracking the Aging Code", http://tinyurl.com/y7yovp87.