Laura Menzel Blog #11: Sitayana

Wow.  Let me start by saying that I am so impressed by the work put into Sitayana.  The attention to detail in the performances, set, music, and other aspects of the play was mind boggling.  Everyone who had a part in the production should feel immense pride for the good work they have done.

"wisdom is born in the minds of all, so all must be asked, all must speak, all must listen"

Sitayana encompassed everything Sexy Racy is about - the voice of women, Spivak and the voice of the subaltern, and community.  Sitayana also had an important message that is echoed in our class - that all have the right to speak, if the world will only listen.  We seek to watch movies that are not as mainstream so that we hear the voices that might not otherwise be heard.  In class discussion, everyone has an opportunity to speak if they so choose.  The story of Sitayana came to the audience from many different mediums.  There was only a brief speaking part, in Korean, which many audience members would not have understood without the translation.  Although the story was outlined by subtitles on the wall, this made up only a small part of the communication of the story.  The full story was conveyed by the movements and dances of the actors, the smell of incense, the sound of the music and chanting, and the expression conveyed in the occasional singing parts.  Sitayana was a performance that reached all the senses, and reflects the diversity of communication.

When we first discussed Spivak and the question, "can the subaltern speak?", we reflected on the example of the burning women in India - those that voluntarily lit themselves on fire to protest the custom of burning a wife when a husband wishes to marry again.  These women protesters took such drastic action because language was not a privilege to them.  As a class, we wondered if this was actually the subaltern speaking.  If no one cared, and no one listened, did it matter?  Sitayana has shown that even if no one is listening, we must all continue to speak, and speak loudly, until someone does.  Now that we have been educated in the plight of others and exposed to different forms of expression, it is our duty to listen, and listen hard, to what they have to say.  Moving on from this class, I hope to continue to listen to and learn from all forms of speech.