I detest the opera Madame Butterfly. When the New York City Opera came to play it in Japan in 2005 as part of the USA's official participation in the Aichi Expo, I frankly questioned its sense of wisdom.
OK, simply speaking, the story is like this: an innocent Japanese teenage girl called Madame Butterfly meets a sleazy US Navy officer based in Nagasaki. He has a fiance in the USA, but deceives Madame Butterfly, sleeps with her, impregnates her, and gets married with her. But he comes back to the USA and gets marry with his fiance, too. Three years later when the two visit Japan, Madame Butterfly is shocked, gives her son to the couple as she decides that would give him better life, and kills herself in a Japanese traditional samurai way, seppuku.
A Broadway theater called M. Butterfly was made to counter such a stereotype of naive Asian women. It was made into a movie of the same title in 1993. Actually, the show was inspired by a real story of a French diplomat deceived by a beautiful Chinese woman......perhaps I shouldn't tell more, as the story unfolds in an amazing way. Anyway, it sends a totally different message from Madame Butterfly.
The movie was included in an "all-you-can-see" Hollywood movie package available online on Yahoo! Japan's movie page. It's only 997 yen (USD 9) per month, including more than 100 B movies and several classics, which you can see whenever/however times you like. The quality of the pictures and, especially the sound, are pretty good. With my 20-inch PC screen and fine speakers, the package helps my beloved lazy days off....especially under the stormy weather like this long weekend.
OK, simply speaking, the story is like this: an innocent Japanese teenage girl called Madame Butterfly meets a sleazy US Navy officer based in Nagasaki. He has a fiance in the USA, but deceives Madame Butterfly, sleeps with her, impregnates her, and gets married with her. But he comes back to the USA and gets marry with his fiance, too. Three years later when the two visit Japan, Madame Butterfly is shocked, gives her son to the couple as she decides that would give him better life, and kills herself in a Japanese traditional samurai way, seppuku.
A Broadway theater called M. Butterfly was made to counter such a stereotype of naive Asian women. It was made into a movie of the same title in 1993. Actually, the show was inspired by a real story of a French diplomat deceived by a beautiful Chinese woman......perhaps I shouldn't tell more, as the story unfolds in an amazing way. Anyway, it sends a totally different message from Madame Butterfly.
The movie was included in an "all-you-can-see" Hollywood movie package available online on Yahoo! Japan's movie page. It's only 997 yen (USD 9) per month, including more than 100 B movies and several classics, which you can see whenever/however times you like. The quality of the pictures and, especially the sound, are pretty good. With my 20-inch PC screen and fine speakers, the package helps my beloved lazy days off....especially under the stormy weather like this long weekend.
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