Reflection: M.

Butterfly (1993 Film)

You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of
your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You
yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.- Buddha
What a tragic, sad but beautiful play. A man betrayed by his own fantasy, choosing an
honorable death over a dishonorable life. Loosely based on true events, M. Butterfly is about the
French diplomat, Rene Gallimard, who carried on an affair with a Chinese opera singer, Song
Liling, for twenty years, only to discover she was actually a man. The drama examines themes of
sexual and racial stereotyping, Western imperialism, the role illusion plays in perceptions, and
the ability for one person to truly know another.
The love, the power of attraction between two people, and the descent into betrayal
involves in the story. If mans love for woman is perfect, surpassing any attraction or experience
he has ever known, then the perfection depends on his imagination. As long as he can keep his
Butterfly in mind and as long as woman sustains the fantasy, he can live his dream. However, it
betrays and destroys the illusion. The spying is part of the betrayal, but without the arrest, the
perfection of the Butterfly would endure. With the arrest, the truth identity is revealed. Having
lost the Butterfly of his imagination, turns to death.Breaking the fourth wall, it frequently
reminds the audience that he has been loved by the perfect woman. Yet, the so-called prefect
female turns out to be very male, a clever actor who knows the exact qualities most men desire in
an ideal woman.
For the time period in which this story was written, the racial and gender stereotypes
were accurate. Today, the labels of race and gender are not the same. Like in the drama, the
West is still seen as superior over the East. But, the East is not seen as feminine. The East is still
more traditional yet they are still as intelligent as describe in the play. Unlike M. Butterfly,
women are not seen as helpless, but they are seen as dependent. In some cultures, women are
actually more powerful than men. M. Butterfly demonstrates the racial and gender differences.

J. Samonte (2016)
johnsamonte128@gmail.com