Stuart Hall’s essay “The Spectacle of the Other” discusses how the media/ art can be often used to reinforce stereotypes of a certain group. This is something that I’ve noticed countless times growing up and watching a lot of shows. For example, I am Indian and have seen Indians being portrayed in Hollywood with strong accents and often having strict parents. For Madama Butterfly, the performance also in some ways reinforced the exoticism of women of color. The main character Cio-Cio-San is a young girl who is East Asian, willing to get married to live a better life. Her character alone already plays into stereotypes surrounding women of color being innocent while still being sexually desirable, and in need of saving from their “cultural life” (they are usually saved by a white man similar to how in this Opera it is an American man that marries her). One song specifically “ancora un passo or via” has Cio-Cio-San singing while decorating her home with flowers to welcome her husband. This song goes back to reinforcing stereotypes as it shows how Cio-Cio-San is there to appease her husband and make him happy. It further paints her character as an exotic, submissive, young woman who is there to simply serve the man in her life. Seeing Opera for the first time was a very intriguing experience. Growing up, the opera seemed something that was meant for very upper class people, but now seeing how easily accessible it is for students in NYC makes me more interested in going on my own. It’s also very fascinating to watch how the performers are able to sing like that, personally I’m not the best singer in general so hearing them sing like that was very impressive to watch. I was a little confused with understanding what was going on in the show and also a little disappointed when seeing how many subtle stereotypes were being enforced. But overall it was still mesmerizing to watch and I would like to look into other performances I could go see in the future as well.