Orientalism in M. Butterfly - 1278 Words

She is petite, submissive, and great in bed, the greatest combination for the perfect woman. Yellow fever is the psychological 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 in a Paris prison. Gallimard declares himself as a celebrity, and relishes that his â€Å"fame has spread to Amsterdam,†¦show more content†¦Butterfly does not reflect the complications between the U.S. and China, but certainly depicts secret intelligence being traded among the Chinese from an outlier source, French diplomat Rene Gallimard, who did not realize this dece ption from his â€Å"Perfect Woman†, Song Liling. Before the full context of M. Butterfly can be explored, it is important to establish the oriental stereotype that is expressed in the play. â€Å"Oriental women have long been fetishized into a stereotype; they are depicted as submissive and passive, and are silenced by the double pressure from race and sex†, â€Å"Oriental woman, as Said (1979) states in Orientalism, is usually viewed ―with sexist blinders and serves as ―the creatures of a male power-fantasy† and â€Å"Asians as a whole are considered to be inferior and emasculated, easy targets for exploitations and dominance. Asian woman, always caged and subordinate both in the patriarchic society and in the Oriental rhetoric tradition, are natural subjects for the White‘s desire† (Weilin). This stereotype is still regarded in todays’ society. According to Prof. Dr. Opfermann and Prof. Dr. Wippermann from Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, their thesis Orientalism in Contemporary Asian American Literature - Mounting Madame Butterfly on the Asian American Needle implies that David Henry Hwang had two objectives in mind â€Å"†¦ (1) NegatingShow MoreRelatedButterfly : A Romantic Drama Directed By David Cronenberg1515 Words   |  7 Pages M. Butterfly is a romantic drama directed by David Cronenberg in 1993. This screenplay was based on the written by David Henry Hwang on his play with the same name. Jeremy Irons and John Lone presented as the main characters of this film. The time shown in this film is from 1958, before the outbreak of the Vietnam War; across the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) until 1986, which situated in Beijing, China and Paris. Rene Gallimard as Jeremy Irons, is a diplomat at the French Embassy inRead MoreAnalysis Of Orientalism In Rice Or Song Of Orientalism1000 Words   |  4 Pagesfrom the submissive, the superior form the inferior, and the human from the other human. Orientalism is â€Å"a Western style for dominating, reconstructing, and having authority over the Orient† (Said, 3). An Orient does not choose to be oriental, someone else defines and reinforces the stereotypes that come with being oriental. Notes from a Divided Country, M. Butterfly, and The Vagrants all have traces of orientalism and through these three pieces of literature, they expand on the idea of how the labelRead MoreRacism, Sexism, and Sexuality in M. Butterfly1149 Words   |  5 Pagesseveral points that have already been previously stated. 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Rana then goes on to say â€Å"...In which biology and culture are often conflatedRead MoreThe Oriental And Gender Stereotype1230 Words   |  5 Pagesindy Coronado March 2, 15 HILD 7B A10923676 TA: Josh Newton 1:00-1:50 The Oriental and Gender Stereotype M.Butterfly, an opera by David Huang, is recognized as a reexamination of John Luther Long’s Madame Butterfly. During the beginning of the 20th century, Asian and Asian Americans were often perceived to a collective stereotype. Well-defined differences between the American Westerner and the Oriental are undermined in both of these readings as â€Å"the west† is seen as the more masculine region andRead MoreRacism, Sexism, and Sexuality Shown Through M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang1782 Words   |  8 Pagescomparing them to a woman, or just simply calling their race feminine. The show M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang is able to express different issues regarding the theory of Orientalism by hiding it amongst several conversations between characters. The play can be seen as highly political because of topics it chooses to discuss despite the fact that the lead character is a diplomat. Though somewhat unrelated; M. Butterfly can even have a certain Brecht-esque quality to it. Because it contains severalRead MoreViolence As A Cleansing Force Essay1686 Words   |  7 Pagesviolence in decolonization: French colonialism is a war force; it has to be beaten by force. No diplomacy, no political genius, no skill can cope with it (Toward the African Revolution 97). The Vietnam War pervades David Henry Hwang s M. Butterfly. It deals with the international politics related to the Vietnam conflicts. In other words, the Vietnam conflicts function as the thematic pivot of the play. Hwang got the motif for the play from a real story reported by The New York Times in whichRead MoreAnalysis Of The Butterfly By David Henry Hwang1929 Words   |  8 PagesLove in M. Butterfly, by David Henry Hwang, is a fantasy. Fantasy, as defined by Teresa De Lauretis, is a â€Å"primary psychic activity, a creative activity that animates the imagination and produces imaginary scenes or scenarios in which the subject is protagonist†(4). Rene Gallimard and his wife Helga are the primary protagonists in their fantasies of love. Gallimard is a French diplomat who gives into his love for the Chinese opera singer, Song Liling. The relationships in this play exemplify a kindRead MoreASAM 5 Notes Essay6590 Words   |  27 Pagesviews these realities as constru cted and thus amenable to acts of revision-including those that transcend ethnic borders to take humanity as their subject.          Lecture 14 Thursday, February 27, 2014 9:28 AM    David H.... Hwang Madame Butterfly On DHH Born in 1957 to Chinese American immigrants in LA Educated at Standford University and the Yale School of Drama Early plays all deal with the immigrant struggle to assimilate and forge a new identity and community The next two playsRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesHistory of Southern Life Lisa M. Fine, The Story of Reo Joe: Work, Kin, and Community in Autotown, U.S.A. Van Gosse and Richard Moser, eds., The World the Sixties Made: Politics and Culture in Recent America Joanne Meyerowitz, ed., History and September 11th John McMillian and Paul Buhle, eds., The New Left Revisited David M. Scobey, Empire City: The Making and Meaning of the New York City Landscape Gerda Lerner, Fireweed: A Political Autobiography Allida M. Black, ed., Modern American Queer