M. Butterfly, Written by David Henry Hwang

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Recommended: diversity in the united states

As a big crucible, the United States is well known for its multiplicity of races. In order to maintain the diversity, the American government not only receives people from different backgrounds, but also sends American to all over the world in order to learn from various cultures. Even though countries become increasingly closer in their relations, there still exists numerous stereotypes and negative labeling among multi-ethnic groups, which are most common between oriental and western. Along with a sharply risen number of Asian visiting America, Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, which has never experienced much exotic cultures before, is facing both opportunities and challenges from Asian civilization. As a result, for the fourth play selection, M. Butterfly, written by David Henry Hwang, is a wise selection as a part of the season for the Illinois Wesleyan Theatre Program. David Henry Hwang, a Chinese-American play writer, concerns the role of Asian in the world today, and hence, with his unique perspectives, he attempts to reveal and criticize the prejudice of Asian, especially the Chinese in United State. Unlike the other preceding chosen comedies and musical, M. Butterfly is rather a tragedy, which can enrich the genres in this season. Throughout this play, audience will explore cultural fantasy stereotyping between the East and the West, as well as misconception of gender and sexual identity.
The play M. Butterfly is inspired by Rene Giacomo Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly. It based on an absurd but true story of Gallimard, a French diplomat who carries on a twenty-year affair with Song Liling, a beautiful Chinese diva, without realizing that his lover is in fact a male spy masquerading as a woman. In the play, G...

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...ang precisely described normative Western cultural attitudes about the East by experiencing both cultures, leading the audience emotional connection to the characters; on the other hand, by inserting historical events logically into the play, including the Vietnam War and China’s Cultural Revolution, Hwang succeeded in making the whole story more convincing.
M. Butterfly, a profound masterpiece, breaks audience’s normative views on both Oriental and gender in a dramatic irony and cautious manner. In such an intercultural society we live in today, to eliminate stereotypes toward Oriental, as well as different ethnic groups, plays a decisive role in effective communication around the world. As the fourth play of this season, hopefully audience will no longer impose any labels on different cultural communities, and also get rid of stereotypes toward people worldwide.

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