Essay on M. Butterfly - 1681 Words

At the end of the play M. Butterfly, a jailed French diplomat turned spy named Gallimard says, There is a vision of the Orient that I have (Hwang 3.3.7). In that moment he is implying that there are still beautiful women, as he thought his Butterfly was. This is suggestive of the colonial appeal. Colonization is made possible by one society characterizing another in a way that makes it seem like a good idea. The characterization of these cultures, such as the Orient or Africa, is carried out through literature, works of art, and drama. Certainly, plays, poems, books, and stories are only a few of the ways used to convince the masses of a modern nation of the justification to colonize.†¦show more content†¦What stands out in postcolonial drama is the overt way that the idea is delivered to the audience. In A Tempest, Caliban says, Call me X (Cesaire 1.2.55). This is because his previous name was a slave name, and, like many others decided during the civil rights movement, a different name was more appropriate. Its hard not to see a connection between Caliban and Malcolm X, or any other of the black radicals who took the role of revolutionary. When he says this the audience is pulled out of the play allowing them to see the modern connection of the performance. This effect is repeated throughout the play. The same can be seen in M. Butterfly when Song explains the colonial ramifications of Madame Butterfly, and asks Gallimard, â€Å"Consider it this way: what would you say if a blonde homecoming queen fell in love with a short Japanese businessman? He treats her cruelly, then goes home for three years, during which time she prays to his picture and turns down marriage from a young Kennedy. Then, when she learns he has remarried, she kills herself. Now, I believe you would consider this girl to be a deranged idiot, correct? But because it’s an Oriental who kills herself for a Westerner-ah!-you find it beautiful†. (Hwang 1.6.42-48) This scene not only lays out the goal of Hwangs play ,it also exposes strong beliefs against colonization, Hwang and Cesaire both clearly favor theShow MoreRelatedOrientalism in M. Butterfly1278 Words   |  6 Pagespsychological inclination towards Asian woman that has been expressed by a portion of the male population. This stereotype is a part of orientalism that continues to be discussed amongst today’s society; it is deemed odd or labeled as a fetish. M. Butterfly a Tony Award playwright written by David Henry Hwang consists of ideas related to orientalism through the layers developed in gender identity, global politics and art forms. The play begins in the present 1988 with Rene Gallimard sitting inRead MoreAnalysis of M. Butterfly by David Hwaung965 Words   |  4 PagesButterfly M. 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Gallimard assumes the cultural stereotypes of this inferior culture and expects Song to fulfill this role while still alsoRead MoreRacism, Sexism, and Sexuality in M. Butterfly1149 Words   |  5 Pagesseveral points that have already been previously stated. The stereotypes mentioned in M. Butterfly are direct representations of the stereotypes mentioned in the theory. Though M. Butterfly is a major piece that has been directly known for its examples, other shows are known for such examples as well. â€Å"The highly profitable reincarnation of different version of the Butterfly story, from David B elasco’s Madame Butterfly to Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg’s Miss Saigon (1989), might well embody