M. Butterfly

For some reason I haven’t ever really enjoyed reading plays. I love watching them or reading through a script before it is performed, but I don’t really enjoy reading plays. I would much rather hear different voices read the words out loud than sit in my room and read silently. I just get more out of it I guess.

However, with M. Butterfly, I was actually captivated as I read. Maybe I was intrigued by the fact that it is based on real events, real, somewhat strange events. The idea that a man could successfully hide being a man in a sexual relationship got my attention. But of course there is more to the story than that.

I really enjoyed watching the film version as well. Though at times I did feel slightly uncomfortable with the kissing (I guess it’s just not something you’re accustomed to seeing on a big screen…or least I’m not), I really thought it was well done cinematically. This play and film have the ability to seem at the surface entertaining and interesting, while at the same time really striking at the core of something much more meaningful and symbolic. The fact that that it calls into question Asian gender stereotypes is really interesting to me. Before I read this play last year, I had never really associated Asian males as more feminine, or the East as something to be conquered by the very masculine West. Maybe subconsciously I acknowledged popular images presented of the nerdy, passive, computer-loving Asian man, but after reading this story it came to the forefront of my thoughts. Ever since this play I’ve been so much more aware of Asians in the media and of course how they are portrayed. Why are Asians thought of as weaker? More feminine?
If you just went to the theater to see this production you might miss the intense power of Hwang’s words and the images he presents us. M. Butterfly, to me, is so wonderful Hwang begs us to reflect and truly think about this story; the story of the men and the women; the story of the West and the East. I also think that though it is a highly specific plot, with Rene and his Butterfly, at its core it is applicable to so much more. It comments on love and loss, politics, society, etc. I am proud to say that this has been one