Week 1 - blog post #3

                A long time ago, there was a man named Khika who had the most glorious voice in the whole world. Thousands would travel from around the globe simply to hear him sing one of his many legendary songs. Khika’s reputation preceded him, as he was the most famous singer in the entire world.  One day, a group of women known only as the Tzipourin came to his home to determine if he was in fact the world’s best singer. The leader of the Tzipourin, known as Sibkhi, asked Khika to sing one of his famous melodies. He obliged Sibkhi’s request, and began to sing one of his songs, only to be cut off as Sibkhi finished it for him.

Embarrassed, Khika began to sing a different song, only to be cut off this time by another one of the Tzipourin. This continued all afternoon as the Tzipourin were able to finish every one of his songs, even if Khika only sang the first word. After the sun set that evening, the Tzipurin revealed their true purpose.

“None of these songs are yours!”, they exclaimed in unison, “You have been stealing them from other singers and then killing them to cover your tracks!”

Khika couldn’t deny that they had discovered the truth. “But I sing their songs much more beautifully!”, he claimed, “If I didn’t sing them as my own, the people of the world would never hear them!”

Despite his excuses, the Tzipourin judged him to be guilty, and prayed to the gods that he be punished. When Khika awoke the next morning, he discovered that he was now a beautiful bird, but had no voice of his own. As a song sparrow greeted the sun outside his window with a cheerful song, Khika felt compelled to repeat it three times. From that day forward Khika was known as a mockingbird, doomed to forever repeat the songs of others. 

Week 1 - blog post #2

                Sita Sings the Blues is an animated movie in which Nina Paley (writer, director, and producer) presents a version of the Hindu epic Ramayana, alongside her own experiences with her husband, Dave. While many myths are concerned with explaining the origin of the universe, that is not the case in the film Sita Sings the Blues. According to Mary Magoulick, “for many people, myths remain value-laden discourses that explain much about human nature”. I believe that this quote accurately describes the purpose of the film.

                One of the recurring themes present in Sita Sings the Blues is the idea that our actions are often driven by external perceptions. Despite Sita proving her fidelity through a trial by fire, Rama still abandons her in the forest after witnessing a washer-man expelling his woman saying “I am no Rama who forgives a wife who has slept in another man’s house” (referencing her time spent as a captive of Ravana). Despite the gods having deemed Sita as pure, Rama still abandons his wife because his subjects view him as being too forgiving of her supposed infidelity. Even after raising Rama’s sons to love and worship their father, Sita is still forced to prove her purity and faithfulness one last time, presumably because Rama is concerned with what his people will think if he brings Sita back to Ayodhya. To prove her loyalty and unwavering love for her husband, Sita asks to be swallowed by Mother Earth if she had always been faithful to Rama, which is exactly what happens.

                I believe that the story presented in Sita Sings the Blues is a heroic myth. Rama could be described as a hero, as he goes to great lengths (including starting a war against Ravana) to rescue his wife. Despite his heroic attributes, Rama still doubts his wife's fidelity throughout much of the saga. I believe that the real hero of the story is Sita. She continues to love only her husband, even when captured by Ravana. When her husband doubts her faithfulness to him, Sita willingly submits to a trial by fire to prove her undying love. Even when exiled by her own husband into the forest, Sita raises her children to love and worship Rama as she did, despite his untrusting attitude. Sita's actions are a prime example of how love can allow one to overlook the shortcomings of others.   

References

Magoulick, Mary. What is Myth?  Date accessed: 12/26/13 URL:                      

     http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~mmagouli/defmyth.htm

Sita Sings the Blues. Dir. Nina Paley. 2008. Film. 

Post #1 - Introduction

My name is Josh Greenberg and I am a senior majoring in Ecology, Evolution, & Natural Resources with a certificate in Environmental Geomatics. I am taking World Mythology because I needed to take one more elective over the winter term to graduate, and of the online classes available, it was the one that sparked my interest the most. 

Another reason why I decided to take this course is that I really don’t know much about mythology and am eager to learn more. Growing up, I went to a Jewish middle school and high school, so I am familiar with various creation stories and other parables from the Hebrew bible. Outside of that however, I am not knowledgeable about very many aspects of mythology. Most of us are probably familiar with some of the modern takes on myths such as the recent movie Thor; I am eager to read the "source material", so to speak, and see how similar or dissimilar the major characters are to their historic counterparts. I look forward to exploring various myths in the coming weeks and learning more about mythology in general.