Ahsan Uddin Shan blog: Our Presentation on February 18, 2009 - hearts and minds //dedicating this to Rahul, Yui, Steph, Rein, Justin, Jimmy

As I have mentioned in my last entry, we are touching the stereotypes against the Chinese products and therefore, we name our project "MIC” or made in China". It was a risky project and was hard to differentiate really good product from poor product and to change people’s perception about government, culture, labor market, people, labor law and many other factors. We all work best to prepare for some constructive, stupid, and harsh comments but it was a wonderful presentation. We all prepared to answer any questions. At the end I was very relived and happy about choosing MIC for our project, as I always felt close to anything that is Chinese :)

Target audience
I. Target people for their lack awareness of how much they are dependent on these products for sustaining their lifestyle.
II. Simply generalize based on a couple of bad experiences with the Chinese products.
III. Lack awareness of the positive side of made in china products.

Final structure of our presentation
Our presentation consist of a play, a video, and couple of slides, all of us involved. Here is the structure of our presentation.

Our Play: MIC Life
We had three scenes, Justin (best buddy, protagonist, main character) play "MIC" or made in china play enact what we speak throughout the presentation.
SCENE 1: MIC’s mum (Jimmy played his dad and humble Yui from BK was his mom) packs bags while Dad gives him advice. They hug him and wave goodbye as he walks away.
Narrator: Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen. What we are going to show you today is not a presentation - this is in fact, a story. The story of MIC. Born to a very devoted family in China, his parents always taught him that the world was a kind place. They taught him to care for people, give to them strength, honesty, loyalty and make them happy...with this advice, MIC left home with the wish to spread what he had been taught.
SCENE 2: MIC Knocks on the door. Rein and I play a typical stereotype couple rejected MIC. MIC explains that he is new and looking for somewhere to stay. Couple shakes their heads. Girl crosses her arms. Boy tells him to leave and closes the door.
Narrator: When he went out in the world, what he found wasn’t what his parents described it to be. He found that it was filled with untrusting, stereotypical people who didn’t want anything to do with him. They thought he was cheap, unreliable and untrustworthy. He was not welcome in their home. And so, They sent him away.
SCENE 3: MIC Knocks on the door. Girl opens door. MIC explains that he is new and looking for somewhere to stay. Couple nod understandingly. Boy invites him in. MIC bows slightly and he goes off to his room. As soon as his back is turned Girl whispers in her partner’s ear.
In this couple (played by Steph and Brian) kind of accept MIC but doubt and never respect wholeheartedly.
Narrator: And even though he found people who welcomed him into their homes and on some level, appreciated him...he soon found that they too fell into a stereotype. They were too quick to judge him on the basis of others who did not have the same values as him
And he felt sad.
MIC sits on a chair depressed, while there is a slide show of good products and bad products shown on the projector.
Narrator: He wanted to tell the world that there are two sides to every coin – and china is no different.
He wants to show the world how many of his trustworthy brothers are helping to make people’s lives better, easier and contributing to their happiness all around the world…and how only a few of his bad brothers are spoiling the name of his country...
He wants to ask the world to stop oversimplifying, to think of the two sides of the coin, to open their hearts and minds.
In this part, we spoke about the stereotype of made in china products being perceived to be low quality and bad in general because of various factors including violations of labor laws/human rights, being excessively cheap etc often forgetting the fact that there are some great products as well. This perception of "made in china" reading as a warning label and generalizing all that comes from there to be bad is what we want to influence. Some examples are Television, Mobile Phones, washing machines, etc. We also touched on specific Chinese examples of good and bad products like the (popular products/brands manufactured in china like Lenovo, Sony, Nike, H&M, Apple etc) and a couple of (fake and cheap products from china like iphone, iPod, etc). After few slides we had a play.

Playing a Video
Our great/greatest videographer, Jimmy from HK edited video fantastically showing the good side of Chinese product. The main characters of our video were Rahul from India (I called him idea factory), sweet sweet Stefanie from Cyprus (I cant forget her, when she always agrees with Rahul) and me. I will try to put video here soon. We wanted to show the existence of good and bad in almost everything that we interact with in our daily lives.

Another play: CAN YOU LIVE WITHOUT MIC
Narrator: Here is a play called “can you live without MIC: a tale of MIC and MII. We get a glimpse of what can happen when you reject MIC without any second thoughts. A tale of MIC and MII (MIC girl friend). We get a glimpse of what can happen when you reject MIC without any second thoughts. A silent play enacted by MIC and his girlfriend narrated by speakers, starring Justin as MIC and Brian as the wig-wearing girlfriend. The play shows what happens when a stupid girl decides to dump his Chinese boy friend. MIC takes all his made in china stuff and leaves and that entire girl is left with is an empty room. The play will underpin the theme of how dependent we are on Chinese products and how important they are for us to sustain our lifestyle.
Narrator: Its half past one on a Sunday night. MII (the girlfriend of MIC) is looking rather agitated. What could be wrong? She checks her watch again and again. Suddenly she hears a loud knock on the door.
Knock knock…
MIC (walking up in drunken stupor with beer bottle in hand): “Sorry darling, I”
MII(cuts him off): What time do you think you call this? I’ve been waiting up all night. Your dinner is ruined. AND you’re pissed as a fart!
MIC: “I’m so sorry, I met a friend, then we were helping an old lady, then we-
MII (cuts him off again): Just stop! I’ve had enough of you and your drunken lies. I can’t take this anymore.
Mic: “But baby, I –“
Mii: “No! I want you and your stuff out of here. Tonight.”
Mic puts all the stuff into the black bag and leaves.
Narrator: He tries in vain to give Mi a kiss but instead receives a slap. With Mic gone Mii looks around the house and sees how bare it is. She misses MIC and wonders if she’ll be able to live without him. Could you?
Narrator: Mic wants to ask all of you. Is there anyone who still thinks that Mic is untrustworthy? Put up your hands!!!