14 Nov 2008 / Permalink
After flaking a dozen times, I finally saw Nina Paley’s masterpiece, Sita Sings the Blues, last night. The animation is a feminist’s perspective on the Ramayana that intertwines with Nina’s own story of being dumped by email. Nina animated every frame of the movie, mostly in Flash.  The stills are gorgeous, and the simple animation style allows you to focus on backgrounds and characters as long as you want. My favorite part of the movie is the narration, which Nina didn’t write.  She recorded a few of her Indian friends (including Aseem Chhabra) trying to recount the story of the Ramayana.  Nina turns them into characters from ancient paintings, which makes their stumbling narration hilarious. Unfortunately, the movie is illegal.  It’s a musical, with songs mostly by the jazz singer Annette Hanshaw.  The songs are in the public domain, but you cannot synchronize them with moving images.  Meaning, although she has won dozens of awards, she can’t make any money off the film. Her next movie is going to be about freedom of speech. More here »

After flaking a dozen times, I finally saw Nina Paley’s masterpiece, Sita Sings the Blues, last night. The animation is a feminist’s perspective on the Ramayana that intertwines with Nina’s own story of being dumped by email.

Nina animated every frame of the movie, mostly in Flash.  The stills are gorgeous, and the simple animation style allows you to focus on backgrounds and characters as long as you want.

My favorite part of the movie is the narration, which Nina didn’t write.  She recorded a few of her Indian friends (including Aseem Chhabra) trying to recount the story of the Ramayana.  Nina turns them into characters from ancient paintings, which makes their stumbling narration hilarious.

Unfortunately, the movie is illegal.  It’s a musical, with songs mostly by the jazz singer Annette Hanshaw.  The songs are in the public domain, but you cannot synchronize them with moving images.  Meaning, although she has won dozens of awards, she can’t make any money off the film.

Her next movie is going to be about freedom of speech.

More here »

11 Nov 2008 / Permalink
If he was any further away from Bush, he’d be out of the frame.

If he was any further away from Bush, he’d be out of the frame.
10 Nov 2008 / Permalink
My friend Anita Bhat sent me this picture from Jaipur.  Barack fast?

My friend Anita Bhat sent me this picture from Jaipur.  Barack fast?
9 Nov 2008 / Permalink

Media Mutt

In a meeting yesterday, I was trying to describe our animation studio’s target audience and strategic position . I struggled a bit, and then said:

We’re the f***ing Barack Obama of animation studios.

I felt really badass when I said it (like an investment banker in 2007).  But, what I meant is we’re building shows for a time when the ethnicity of our characters is secondary. In our case, their skin color is secondary to story, style, and humor.

This is proven by movies like Harold and Kumar, which work precisely because the characters are stoners first and Asians second.

This Sunday’s NY Times agrees with me and helps form an argument for why we will soon see television that is as cross-bred as our President-elect.

  • Generation O: The 18 - 29 year old demographic is well-organized (due to social networking) and has fervently celebrated not just what Obama’s candidacy represents, but also his background and mixed ethnicity.
  • Parallel Cinema: Post-Bollywood Indian movies are gaining steam and getting good (can’t wait to see Slumdog Millionaire!).
7 Nov 2008 / Permalink

Get Your War On draws first blood on Obamanation political satire:

Black Guy: “(Now that Obama’s won), you’re gonna have to wear a dashiki.  Do you know what a Dashiki is?”

White Guy (almost crying) “A special kind of mustache???”

Black Guy “Yeah, sure, whatever scares you the most.”