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Title: M Butterfly by David Henry Hwang ISBN: 0-452-27259-9 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: February, 1994 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.23 (13 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Trite
Comment: Trite but true! The (trite) notion underpinning this play, that people tend not to be too discerning when thinking about foreign places and people (which leads to stereotyping) is amply demonstrated by the confusion over the setting of the play. Let's get this straight: This play M Butterfly is set in CHINA, Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly is set in JAPAN (a very different country) and neither are set in VIETNAM (though the modern musical based on Madama Butterfly, Miss Saigon, is). Now on to the play itself ...
The play's premise is that the Western Man (represented by real-life French diplomat Gallimard) is so powerfully taken with the myth of the perfect submissive Asian woman who would love him to death (represented by the Chinese opera singer Song Liling) that he would go to great lengths, even mind-boggling self-delusion, to realise this myth. In doing so, he proves that he, not the Asian woman, is the manipulated one; manipulated by his own prejudices and preconceptions.
The myth of the idealised submissive Asian female awaiting her salvation by the love of a big strong western male is deserving enough of explosion. The megaton explosion is handily provided by Song being the ultimate manipulator; a Chinese spy after Gallimard's state secrets, not his love, who also happens to be a man exploiting Gallimard and his fantasy of the devoted Asian woman. Well well. ... That's about it, though. After (it hopes) pulling the rug from under the audiences' feet, the play doesn't replace the rug with any solid flooring. This play relies too much on exposing a stereotype - if in the first place you have never bought into the stereotype of the Asian woman dying to love the white man, it really has very little to say to you. Anyone who has thought through the complex implications of the "Pinkerton syndrome" will find the play rather stale. Admittedly there's something gratifying in having this faintly-offensive stereotype thrown into the faces of a western audience, but this hardly validates the play as a profound voice or an artistic endeavour (and in fact, it's a tad childish). This play isn't very deep; it doesn't improve upon a second reading, nor upon performance. Stripped of its shock value, I find not much left.
Rating: 4
Summary: M. Butterfly
Comment: M. Butterfly takes place in the mind of Rene Gallimard. While the play begins with him in a French prison, we are taken far away from this prison into the depths of his mind. His fantasies of Song Liling are both reality and illusionary. He will ultimately face the most shocking truth about the "woman" he thought he loved for twenty years. M. Butterfly takes a bold move in rearranging common roles set by our society, whether speaking for the present or from fifty years ago. This play dives deep into the pool of stereotypes and makes every turn imaginable. While the Eastern/Western dichotomy is presented with stereotypes of both sides, roles are soon reversed which gives the dichotomy a whole new meaning. Gallimard, initially portrayed as the Western dominant male, and Song, initially portrayed as the compliant Asian woman, will both eventually reverse their sexual roles although their enthnic identities remain in tact. Gallimard evolves from the controller to the controlled, while Song proves his power and control as his masculinity is revealed. All of this role and sexual confusion causes us to re-examine the stereotypes. Are they socially constructed or are they inherent in the person? You must read and decide for yourself!
Rating: 5
Summary: The Hour and a Half Dirty Play
Comment: This play was great! However, I wouldn't recommend it to younger audiences because it's pretty sexual. I was so intrigued with this piece that I couldn't put it down, and I will definitely read it again. Plus, this play has a pretty shocking ending. The sexual undertones make the play lively and suspenseful. However, the deeper meaning of it is what makes me want to come back to it again. It's a play about who has power, denial, deception, and fantasies. Well worth the read!!!
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Title: Chickencoop Chinaman and the Year of the Dragon by Frank Chin, Dorothy R. McDonald ISBN: 0295958332 Publisher: University of Washington Press Pub. Date: March, 1982 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Oleanna : A Play by DAVID MAMET ISBN: 067974536X Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 04 May, 1993 List Price(USD): $11.00 |
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Title: The Woman Warrior : Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts by MAXINE HONG KINGSTON ISBN: 0679721886 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 23 April, 1989 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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