01.11.07

Fuzhou Media Circus (Part 1)

Posted in Me on TV at 11:42 pm by Benjamin Ross

Being a member of a minority in a country where the minority (in this case people who aren’t Chinese), is a fraction of a percentage point of the total population, comes with a few perks. One is a much greater likelihood of being picked up by the local media….not in the creepy Dick Cheney Big Brother kind of way, but more so in the Bob Sagat America’s Funniest Home Videos kind of way. And as one of the several hundred honkies in a town of 6 million Chinese people (yes Ron, I know there are black people in Fuzhou too), I have had my share of exposure. Although after several game show appearances, a news interview about the Spring Festival, a promotional infomercial about underground cable, and an appearance in the “Foreigner of the Month” section of the Fuzhou Evening News, nothing has compared to the current media extravaganza surrounding of all things…an English class

Two months ago, Melody and I began teaching a small neighborhood English class out of our apartment. The class was designed to provide a relaxed environment for neighbors (mostly young professionals) to learn English, and provide Mel and I with a chance to get better acquainted with the community and make a little extra cash on the side. We got our first batch of students through postings Mel made to our neighborhood’s Internet message board. The response was big at first, but we ended up with a modest 6 students who actually showed up for our first month-long ’semester.’ After the first month was over, it was our plan to have our first 6 students continue on to our “middle level” class and at the same time, find a new crop of students to make up a “beginner level” class. The response was pretty weak, with only 2 students who said they were interested actually showing up.

The situation looked pretty grim until we got a call from the Fuzhou Strait News who wanted to write a story about our class. The article (translation will be up soon) was pretty cheesy and included some rather gross misinformation, but as soon as it was printed, we began receiving random knocks at our door from people who had read the article and wanted to find out information about our class. It wasn’t just in the house. Everywhere I went whether it was eating at a restaurant, buying groceries, or getting my haircut it was “Hey, aren’t you that foreigner with the English class. I saw you in the newspaper.” I really had no idea how many Chinese people read the newspaper until this happened. I even overheard a Chinese friend of mine when talking to me on the phone refer to me as “that foreigner in the newspaper.”

After all the exposure, Mel and I were quite satisfied. After all, we were able to fill up our new class with 8 students, and add 2 more to the “middle level” class. The hype was beginning to die down until yesterday we got a call from the Fuzhou TV station. They told us they had seen the article in the newspaper and wanted to do a short interview with us about our class. We told them they could show up before class on Thursday, interview us, and listen in on class. Mel and I were a little surprised to have received so much hype over a simple English class, but we had no idea what we were in for.

The two journalists showed up at 7 (class begins at 7:30) with full camera and microphone equipment. They asked us some basic information about class, and told us they wanted to film the whole process (students coming in the door, us greeting them in English, teaching the class, etc.) Presumably because of the rain, we only had 3 students show up to class, so it quickly digressed into a rapid fire interviewing session with us and our students. It was also at this point that the journalists told us that they weren’t doing just a short clip about our class. It was to be a 5 to 8 minute segment about Me and Mel and our life, as if we were some kind of superstars. They asked us all kinds of personal questions about our relationship, how we met, how often we fight, and what kind of cultural obstacles we face. After the students left, they filmed us as we cleaned up our house and re-created our pre-lesson preparation so that 6 million people could get a glimpse into our “everyday life.” Then we took Zhao Zhao for a walk, and the obligatory number 2, which was also caught carefully caught on camera. The journalists then followed us to the nearest store where we bought orange juice and rice cakes. As if this wasn’t enough to capture the sheer thrill and excitement of our lives, they told us that they want to meet us again tomorrow downtown to film us walking around shopping.

Throughout the whole night, Mel and I kept looking at each other in humorous disbelief in regards to the extent at which they were covering our lives like we were some sort of celebrities. I don’t think Arnold Schwarzenegger got this much coverage the last time he was in China. And if this wasn’t enough, I’m scheduled this weekend to do another interview with a magazine who wants to do a 6 page spread. This is all pretty overwhelming, ridiculous, and humorous, but I’m willing to ride the wave as long as I can get a few good laughs and stories to tell. More updates to come as the situation unfolds.

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