You gotta believe

Nina Paley is an American cartoonist, animator and free culture activist whose first animation was made when she was 13.

Many parts of Paley’s life can be seen in Sita Sings the Blues, a feature-length treatment of the Ramayana focused on Rama’s wife, Sita, using a variety of animation styles and techniques. Many of the episodes have appeared in recent animation festivals. The finished work premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival on Feb. 11, 2008.

In 2012 she began work on a project called Seder Masochism, an unorthodox animated film of ‘The Exodus’, narrated by recordings of Passover Seders. Phase I was an experiment with recordings; the real movie will be produced in Phase II.

In this episode of Seder-Masochism, Moses is confronted by the goddesses the Patriarchy is about to crush.

Directed, animated, etc. by Nina Paley
Music: “You Gotta Believe” written by Norman Whitfield, sung by the Pointer Sisters, circa 1976
ninapailey.com

Lyrics

Doodle wop a-rat-a-tat boom
I’ll make the sound of a jet plane zoom
Doodle wop a-rat-a-tat boom
I’ll make the sound of a fire

You gotta believe in something
Why not believe in me?
You gotta believe in something
Why not believe in me?

Tell me brother,
what have I, I, done to you
To make you mean and treat me
the way you do?
Go on and raise your flag,
Brother, start your revolution.
I’m willing to let you do your thing,
Tell me why are you planning a compromise?

You gotta believe in something
Why not believe in me?
You gotta believe in something
Why not believe in me?

Take the chain off your brain
Take the chain off your brain
Stop, take a look at yourself
Stop ridiculing everybody else.

You gotta believe in something
Why not believe in me?
You gotta believe in something
Why not believe in me?….