Madame Butterfly Animation

Aria by Pjotr Sapegin is a very thought-provoking animation. I think that the medium they chose, stop motion animation, was useful in telling the story the creator intended. At first Pinkerton appears to be a nice guy, as he left Butterfly his hat and record player. But overtime we as an audience lose hope in him as he fails to return, leaving Butterfly pregnant. Displaying the baby as a goldfish in a bowl was a good representation to use, because of the parallels to water breaking in pregnancy. The umbilical cord is still attached to the mother showing their strong connection, and when Pinkerton returns, he severs that cord. This leaves Butterfly alone and empty. Her hair immediately greys as she runs away, the pain driving her to dismantle her puppet body and become a pile of nothing. Even though an inanimate object can't show emotion, the animation conveys her sadness perfectly through the symbols and imagery used.