Madama Butterfly and Multiculturalism

We went to see Puccini's Madama Butterfly last night.  DH and I both like opera and we've talked a couple of dear friends into season tickets with us.  Last night was our first night of the season. This darn social/cultural differences class that I'm taking got me thinking about this opera in a way I would have never thought before...

First, wow, Americans sure don't come off very well. Or, one American, Lt. Pinkerton, the man who "marries" Cio-Cio San (with the option to renew every month). Pinkerton is shallow, swaggering, eager only for adventure and conquest of any sort. Turns out that Puccini wrote this during the Spanish-American war.  I thought the European snobbery regarding us Americans was a much younger phenomenon than that. Sharpless, on the other hand, is a good American and could have been written to be the real hero in the show.  That he wasn't just reinforces Puccini's apparent disdain for Yankees.

Then, Japanese culture doesn't come off very well, either.  Apparently some critics think that it is patently racist to even stage a traditional show of MB. The culture does come off as weak and feminized, even in the men's roles.  Problem is, maybe that's how I've always thought of Japanese culture.  Except for the samurai stuff.  Anyway, the other part of this is how Cio-Cio San commits suicide at the end of the story.  She does this to preserve her honor, and uses the same knife her own father had used on himself years before, to avoid dishonoring his family.  I don't know what to make of a culture that sees the honorable thing as the quick exit, rather than hanging in there and doing all of the hard stuff. That seems so utterly foreign to my way of thinking that I can hardly wrap my head around it.

So, neither the Americans nor the Japanese really come off very well. What in the world did Italians make of this when it debuted (other than it tanked the first time it was staged)? What did this tell us about how we all related a hundred years ago, and what about now?  The most bizarre part of this is really that I would probably not have considered these questions before my class. My world is getting bigger in spite of myself.

I had a day off yesterday but didn't get nearly as much done as I had wanted to.  It just felt good not to be going anywhere!  But I've been doing a lot of thinking.

The multicultural class is, um, interesting.  I have never ever ever had a professor say she doesn't believe in testing.  She believes in experiences.  Okay.  So one of my assignments is a cultural immersion experience.  I've been mulling that one over.  Dim Sum in Chamblee would be great if we didn't do that regularly already.  I could do one of a multitude of religious experiences, black Baptist or AME church, mosque, Hindu temple.  I mentioned going to a football game an historically black college, but DH wasn't very interested.  He thinks I should immerse myself in the culture of the ultra-wealthy--hey, it's a culture, too!  Maybe I could spend the day with one of my former students, hanging out with my now-college freshmen.  THAT could be a lot of fun.  I have to decide quickly, since the assignment is due in a month.

I find myself really looking forward to the skills class today.  This is what I'm interested in, and this is really where you dig in and start learning the best ways to help people.  As long as I can keep a view of constantly improving, constantly learning and growing, I'll be fine.  And we all have to practice, so I might as well get over the nerves.  After all, being nervous will just get in the way of taking criticism and learning.  Right now I'm just looking forward to that class.  I have to say that since it's my smallest class, only nine women, that I'm looking forward to our becoming more of a group of friends, as well.

The house hasn't fallen apart yet, but the first week isn't even over!  I think I should be able to manage as long as I define the times I need to focus and the times I can play, the times for me and the times that belong to my DH and my kids.  It will really take some practice, I think.