M Butterfly and SSTLS

In both M Butterfly and SSTLS, there are similarities in their themes about culture, gender, and politics. Even though M Butterfly is set in the past approximately 50 years ago and SSTLS 50 years ahead from now, the depiction of Asian women is similar. They appear to be delicate and tragic if they fall in love with a white man. This was surprising because the roles of Asian countries and the United States/ European countries have switched dominancy roles and I expected some stereotypes to disappear. I think this is also because culture plays a big role in Asian countries. In M Butterfly, the women are not allowed to let a man in their home because it is taboo to do so. Similarly in SSTLS Eunice's parents are always concerned about her "mystery." This shows that certain aspects of Asian culture have persevered through time. In both stories, the women hold loyalty in their role, which is a custom in Asian culture. While Butterfly held loyalty to her/his own country, Eunice tried to fulfill her role as the person who takes care of her family. Both also did not let love interfere with their roles. Butterfly still carried out her betrayal even though she seemed to love Rene in the end. Eunice did not let Joshie or Lenny steer her away from her family until she knew that they were okay. However, in both stories, political turmoil and issues brought the lovers together and it also tore them away from each other. From this film and SSTLS, I learned that some things in humanity do not change over time. Even if the settings and historical periods are different, there will be certain aspects of society that will persist due to culture and love. Those aspects are what makes us human.