Summary

Stuart Hall’s essay “The Spectacle of the Other” shows how the West sees the “Other,” often through stereotypes that serve to reinforce cultural dominance. From the concept of Orientalism, Hall argues that Western portrayals of the East, or the “Orient,” are infused with a sense of inferiority, and mystique, opposite to the modern and superior West. Puccini's Madama Butterfly shows an example of this criticism between East and West, with its portrayal of a naive, submissive “Oriental” woman who is ultimately victimized by the imperialism of her Western lover. In Act 2, when Pinkerton, the American naval officer, returns to Japan after a few years, having married another woman in the interim. Cio-Cio-San, still believing in Pinkerton’s promise of return, has waited faithfully and hopes that he will come back to her and their son. “One fine day we’ll see” is a poignant expression of her hope. In this scene, the music reflects her naivete and emotional vulnerability. Her faith in Pinkerton is presented as sincere and tragic, but also as a symbol of the misguided, almost childlike perception of the “Other” by the Western gaze. From the perspective of Hall’s argument, this moment in the opera underscores the stereotype of the East as a passive, submissive, and ultimately tragic "Other."
As for my experience of seeing opera for the first time, I found it both interesting and unusual. The genre is extremely different from other forms of storytelling. I found certain aspects of opera confusing, particularly the language barrier. Even with subtitles, there’s a distance between the audience and the characters. However, I was amazed by the intensity of emotion shown not only through the singers’ voices but also through the orchestration. Opera seems to have a unique ability to express the emotional extremes of characters in a way that no other performance can.