Madama Butterfly

Pjotr Sapegin's ARIA struck a nerve with me that I have not been able to shake. While being a very simply made animation, the message was very complex. Before I started studying film, I was a very passive viewer that did not realize the extent that sound affects a story. I could quite literally feel every emotion that Aria was experiencing based off of the music alone. The typical melodramatic film relies on dialogue and much more minimal sound effects to express emotions while this opera and many similar to it only need visuals and music.

I also was deeply moved by the ending of the story. How is a puppet to die? The emotions that she is feeling seem to be projected onto her by her makers in order to appear relatable as a character. The ending gave me the feeling associated with breaking the fourth wall despite there not being any dialogue. She slowly removes her human-like characteristics in hopes of removing her human-like emotions that have been projected onto her. This was interesting because I had never explored the possibility of being able to break the fourth wall and interacting with reality without directly speaking to the audience through dialogue. 

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