Tech Tip; Embedding a Youtube Video

I decided to embed a Youtube video into my portfolio for everyone to watch/listen to as they read my story! I think it fit really well with the theme of the story, as well as the theme for this class. To view my story and the embedded video, visit my first portfolio story. :)

Week 5 Story; The One Where Rama Runs Away

***Check out the new and revised version of this story at my portfolio!***

Dasharatha: Look, Rama. Everything the light touches is our kingdom. 

Rama: Woah...

Dasharatha: Just as the sun rises and falls everyday, the king's rule rises and falls every now and then. One day, the sun will set on my time here, and will rise with you as king.

Rama: And this will all be mine?

Dasharatha: Everything the light touches.

Rama: ...But father, what about that forest over there, just beyond the light?

Dasharatha: That is a tricky place, Rama. There are dangerous creatures there and illusions beyond our scope of mind. You must never go there. Never.

Rama suddenly woke up and found himself surrounded by large trees and two huge monkeys staring at him from above. His disappointment at being in reality again was clearly noticeable. He always had the same dream and he could never sleep past that last word, "never." It was one of the last words he had heard from his father, Dasharatha, before he was killed. Before Rama ran away. Before everything began.

*One month earlier*

Rama and Sita, who had recently gotten married, decided they wanted to get out of the palace and have a picnic in a beautiful park by the forest surrounding the kingdom in Ayodhya. They settled down for lunch and were enjoying the peaceful breeze when something immediately got Sita's attention: a perfect, golden deer. Rama could tell from the look in her eyes that she craved to hold the golden deer, and since he had vowed to always make her the happiest woman in the world, he began to call to the deer. When the deer trotted away from Rama, he went closer and attempted to embrace it. The deer kept backing away, but Rama was determined to make the deer his friend by sunset. He chased the deer farther and farther into the forest, when suddenly he heard a battle cry coming from the kingdom. He immediately realized his mistake: the golden deer was a diversion and both him and Sita fell for it. He knew he was never supposed to go into the forest, he knew there were many illusions that distorted reality, but he had not heeded his father's words of advice. He rushed back to the kingdom with Sita, and what he saw left them both speechless.

The streets of Ayodhya were flooded with Ravana's army and the palace was undergoing a stampede by Ravana's chariot and thousands of rakshasas. In the distance, Rama could see his brother Lakshmana in the middle of the fight with a hundred rakshasas surrounding him. Dasharatha was attempting to save him, while Rama silently stood, watching the fight. He did not carry his bow and arrow to the picnic with Sita, so he desperately watched as the entire kingdom tried to fight Ravana's army and as Dasharatha took Lakshmana's spot in the fight. As soon as Dasharatha picked Lakshmana out of the fight, a rakshasa stabbed him straight through his heart. Rama, Lakshmana, Sita, and the rest of Ayodhya's citizens suddenly dropped to the floor, surrendering to the demons that just slayed their favorite king right in front of their eyes. They could not believe it. As Ravana slowly got out of his chariot with an evil grin on all ten of his heads, all Rama could think about was his father's dead body and how the golden deer so wittingly deceived him. "I should have been more alert. I should have listened. This is all my fault. I did this." Rama muttered to himself as he slowly backed away, out of the palace. He could not handle it anymore. He turned on his heel and ran. Ran far away. Through the forest, into another, and finally collapsed on a piece of land close to the beautiful pond.

*Present time*

Now, when Rama tried closing his eyes again, the creatures began whispering.

"Do you think he can see us?" the smaller one asked.

"Hanuman, don't be silly. Of course he can see us. He is only pretending he cannot."

"Then why is he not saying anything, Sugriva?"

"I don't know, let's ask him."

"Oh, don't bother." Rama finally spoke.

Sugriva, the larger monkey, laid down next to Rama. "What brings you here? I haven't seen your kind around in a long time."

"I'm nobody. I just wanted to get away from my land." Rama answered.

As Hanuman also laid down next to Rama, his tail accidentally brushed across Rama's head and he immediately saw everything. He could see every minute of Rama's life and every person he cared about. He could even feel Rama's love for Sita, Lakshmana, and the rest of his home, as well as his grief over his father's death. At this moment, Hanuman realized it was his destiny to be Rama's companion for the rest of his life. After he explained this feeling and his purpose in life to both Rama and Sugriva, Sugriva decided that he too should help Rama in getting his kingdom back. Rama, for the first time since he ran away and exiled himself to the forests, finally had some hope. Hope that he might be able to enact revenge on Ravana and win his kingdom back.

Source: The ever-famous Lion King quote, when Mufasa tells Simba about the kingdom.

Author's Note: 

I'm sure most of you got the reference to the Lion King with the beginning quote, but in case you are not a Disney fan, just know that the Lion King is a CLASSIC. I love the movie so much, and when I read the part of the Ramayana where Rama is exiled into the forest, I immediately thought of the Lion King and how Simba runs away to the forest after his father Mufasa died in a stampede conducted by Simba's evil uncle Scar. I replaced Simba with Rama, Mufasa with Dasharatha, and Scar with Ravana. I decided to keep the main plot line of the Lion King, so that is why Rama decides to exile himself rather than someone else making him leave. I also love the characters Timon and Pumbaa in the Lion King because they are hilarious and good companions, so I thought Hanuman and Sugriva could be the two companions here, since Rama could not have beaten Ravana without them. I also decided to have Rama run away by himself, because in the Lion King, Simba runs away without telling anyone where he is going either. If I get a chance to finish the story, I'm sure you can tell how that would end: Sita would come looking for Rama, they would all go back together with Hanuman, Sugriva, and the rest of the monkey army, beat Ravana, and get the kingdom back. We'll see if I can do a part two to this :) Hope you guys enjoyed!

Reading Notes; Nina Paley's Sita Sings the Blues, Part B

Everything after the intermission was really interesting and weird for me, just because I've always seen Ram in a positive light and always imagined a "happily ever after" once Sita is rescued. However, it is way different than I had expected!

I thought it was cruel of Ram to banish Sita to the forest after finding out she was pregnant, just to gain the approval of his subjects! I had never seen this side of Ram before, so it was all new and weird. He suddenly turns into this selfish king, but Sita, being the pure-hearted woman she is, still prayed to Ram everyday. That was also one of the things the narrators talked about; how and why she still prayed to him when he didn't let her come back to the palace. However, I really liked the depiction of Ram and Sita's sons and the song they sang in praise of Ram (I thought it was very amusing... and it's still stuck in my head so there's that). If I were to rewrite this part, I would make it more of a modern-day break up story maybe, kind of like the animated versions of Nina and Dave. 

I could also have Lav and Kush go find Ram once they're older and bring some sense into him, luring Ram and Sita back together once again. There are lots of movies, TV shows, and other story plots where the kid grows up without a parent (or both) and eventually pieces together who they were born to, then goes and finds them. I think that's where I got this idea - it is just so common these days! We'll see how my story turns out after I brainstorm some more :)

Bibliography: Nina Paley's Sita Sings the Blues.

Source: The appraisal song sang by Lav and Kush in Sita Sings the Blues.

Reading Notes; Nina Paley's Sita Sings the Blues, Part A

I thought this version of the Ramayana was HILARIOUS. I couldn't stop laughing; the different animations were funny, the narrators were funny, the dialogues were funny, I could go on and on. I feel like everyone should watch this short film just to watch it because while it tells the story well, it also adds many little side twists to it.

I really liked how Nina Paley put some of her own life story in the film as well, with little tweaks here and there. And many of her life's story correlated with what was going on in the Ramayana as well. I also thought the songs were interesting and were sung with a beautiful voice. 

I thought it was great that the film added in a little background of how Ravana was so devoted to Shiva and how his lust for Sita all began. It depicted the events of the Ramayana really well, and I thought it was amusing that the narrators argued over things a lot. If I were to re-write some of this, I could put it in the point of view of Brahma, the creator of all things, or even in Ravana's point of view. I could have something happen between Rama and Ravana in their childhood that made Ravana despise Rama. 

I thought it was super interesting that one of the narrators didn't like how Sita didn't go back to Rama with Hanuman. Is it because she didn't trust him or is it because she wants Rama to come himself? There are many possibilities, and I could write about one of them. I could write a story in which Sita goes back with Hanuman, which would be interesting because that is the only reason Ram was even going to Lanka in the first place. 

In this film, Lakshman is not shown very often; he is not seen guarding Sita when Ram goes after the golden deer (Maricha) or even accompanying Rama to see Sugriva and such. This got me thinking - what if I wrote a part of the Ramayana without Lakshman? Or without Hanuman? Or any other huge character in the Ramayana? There are many different ways I could take this story, we'll just have to see what I go with!

Bibliography: Nina Paley's Sita Sings the Blues.

Source: A narrator of Sita Sings the Blues describing the scene where Sita is praying for Rama while captured by Ravana.