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From: "Angie Eng" <angie_eng@hotmail.com>
To: mailing list
Subject: New Plastic Doll
Date: Sun, 20 May 2001 07:26:42 -0400

New Plastic Doll

On the edges you could still see the plastic wrap folded down the periphery of the headboard. The floral patterned plastic still shone, but you knew within a year of constant wear, she would be dull and a layer of dirt and grime would have accumulated on her surface. In the corner stood a black metal chair. On its legs were remnants of plastic wrap at the bottom. Only two more inches and you could easily tear all the plastic off. But, to the Chinese that would have been a mistake.

Chinese dentist

Downstairs a family was watching a kung fu movie on a 'new SONHA' television. The manufacturer's sticker still stuck in the corner of the screen. They didn't seem to mind it obstructing the view of the top of the actors' heads. To the side of the television sat the original cardboard box it came in. It too, would remain there, proof of a new purchase. The dad was slumped over asleep on a couch covered in plastic. The manufacturer's tag faded and ripped dangled off the side. The plastic wrap was starting to tear where bodies sat, but the family had fixed this with layers of tape turned yellow with age. They were drinking tea from a thermos that had a sales sticker stuck on the side. I knew if it had been sold in plastic, that it too would remain clinging to the cylinder.

I became obsessed with this thin transparent polyurethane that covered all of China. Shrink-wrap had become the symbol of national prosperity. Icing on the New cake. Packaging equaled more than just a wrapped object, but moreover the ability to buy and consume.

Years of filth clung to household objects. You knew most of the items were much newer than they appeared. Mr. clean does not exist here. Yet. Sweepers are a popular occupation here in Asia. Bamboo hand brooms swish back and forth across floors picking up sunflower seed shells, red dyed pumpkin seed shells, chicken bones, fish bones, crumpled napkins and debris. This is a contradiction; the constant cycle of indiscriminate garbage dumping against plastic covered furniture. (Mind you, this isn't a country where household maintenance takes precedence.) A purchase will be used over and over and over the years without one single rinse and will have its original plastic wrap ripped to shreds, but nonetheless, attached for dear life. Thus, you can imagine 'new' goods in the markets. Old, scratched, even broken goods are shrink-wrapped and displayed as new products advertised as imports. I wondered what the local customers would do when they tried to use one of these broken 'new' products. Do they complain? Attempt to exchange the item? They can't get store credit, as we do in the West. Perhaps, it’s the consumer thrill of experiencing real purchasing power. Plastic residue is a constant reminder of newly acquired wealth.

But, we too are guilty of impulse buys, only to have the new purchase with tags and all sitting on a shelf or hanging on the closet until the Goodwill truck carts it away for destination, China or the third world.

The plastic doesn't stop at the house. Sometimes plastic is used for more practical purposes. Trees and crops are covered in plastic to protect it from the chill during winter months. Scooters and bicycles are covered in plastic tarp to protect them from the scorching sun. Huts along the road are made with four bamboo poles and rolls of red, white and blue plastic shielding. People run around the street in disposable plastic raincoats during the monsoon season. Plastic bags in all sizes have replaced the bamboo basket, leaving disposable plastic bags snagged in the trees and across the fields and rivers. Plastic cloth (polyester) dominates the ready wear clothing industry, saving silk and cotton for luxury festival wear. Rather than squat on hind legs, men and women sit on hard plastic stools in primary colors. Electronic items are incased in imitation metals and aluminum consisting of hard plastic. Entire markets are lined with plastic utensils, plastic garbage cans, plastic bins, plastic trays, and plastic tables. China is a Tupperware party gone out of control.

Chinese grandmas gambling goes way back.

We walk into a patio garden. I reach down to touch the leaves of a potted tree. Yep, that too is plastic. There is a life-size plastic doll with rosy cheeks sitting in the corner. No. I'm mistaken. This plastic doll is a real living child smiling like a Maoist propaganda billboard advertisement with the caption that reads: "WE WARMLY WELCOME YOU TO 100% PURE AUTHENTIC PLASTIC DEVELOPMENT ZONE OF THE EAST!"