Sunday April 26, 2009
Celebrating differences
By HONG KAH MUN
Students had a gala time dressing ala 1950s America. IMAGINE school without the uniform. Instead, girls would wore nylon floral print dresses paired with tall stiletto heels. As for the boys, they got to strut around in leather jackets with blue jeans and yes, slicked back greased hair.
Oh, this has fun written all over it! The Interact members of SMK Seri Bintang Utara, Kuala Lumpur, did that (although only for a day) at their recent International Understanding Day (known as IU Day) themed “Rockin’ 50’s”. These Interactors came to school wearing clothes from the 1950s era, surprising many students present at the event.
“I was shocked when I came to school. I thought that it was a normal event with a casual dress code but it was kind of cool for them to dress up. It actually feels like the fifties,” said student Tharuin Naido.
Tharuin was among hundreds who attended the school’s Interact Club’s IU Day, an event to promote understanding of foreign countries and cultures. It also enables students to immerse themselves in the cultures of the chosen countries.
Interact clubs in schools all over Malaysia and the world hold IU Days, which they believe foster international understanding and goodwill. Students choose all kinds of themes, from the 1950s era in the United States to Football Uniting The World. They also invite students from other schools to their IU Day celebrations.
At SMK Ser Bintang Utama’s IU Day, the Interactors had a great time interpreting their theme. Not all the boys wore leather jackets; some opted for a clean-cut, preppy image of the fifties. They wore vest and suspenders worn over white-collared shirt with a fedora to complete the look.
The girls had fun with their hairspray as they pile their hair up in beehives.
And what would an event set in the fifties be without famous icons like Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Audrey Hepburn and Charlie Chaplin. The Interactors managed to recreate the icons’ famous looks.
To add to the American feel, emcee Ruzanna Aniza spoke with an American accent which she had since young.
Even the actors and actresses who performed a play entitled “The Great Run” put on their American accent. The play touched on racial segregation in the 1950s in the United States.
Besides the play, a musical set in the high school of the 1950s was also presented to the crowd. The musical called Love Around The Clock tells a story of two lovebirds whose love managed to stand the test of time, and objections from their parents and friends.
Other performances include renditions of Doris Day and Dean Martin’s Baby, It’s Cold Out There, Michael Bublé Fly Me To The Moon and Ben E. King’s Stand By Me.
A scene from the musical "Love round the Clock" An exhibition on the1950s era in the US, which took the Interactors a few months to put together, was held in the school’s exhibition hall. The exhibits were impressive; they include a life-size Cadillac, the Explorer 1 satellite and miniature Disneyland’s castle. The displays were accompanied with information boards. A make-shift diner was also set up to serve milkshakes made from vanilla ice-cream and fresh milk.
The Interactors certainly put in a lot of effort to make their IU Day a success, and everyone had a great time immersing themselves in 1950s America.
At Sri Garden Kuala Lumpur, its Interact Club with the help of its sister club, Youthact, hosted an all-day IU DAy celebration.
Coincidentally, their theme was also based on the US; theirs was “America: Here I Come”.
“Most teenagers have the perception that America is just famous for its pop culture. But America actually has a variety of cultures and traditions that can be explored,” said its IU director Hiew Jian Yong.
The opening act was a performance by three girls who sang Pretenders I’ll Stand by You and Michael Buble’s Sway.
After that, it was the educational bit of the night; a video presentation about America’s history and its culture. The video entitled Hai-Me-Lei-Ga turned out to be rather humorous as the crowd was entertained by the antics of students re-enacting historic events.
It even managed to get the crowd craving for fast food, which was lucky for them because dinner were hot dogs, orange juice and free flowing popcorn. However, it was a pity that popcorn were not allowed into the hall. It would have been a perfect combination; caramel coated popcorn and a hilarious video.
The highlight of the night was the performance by dancer, Kenneth Chieng who danced to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. He did not merely perform any dance moves; he did the Moonwalk (the dance move which shot Michael Jackson to fame) and many other famous Michael Jackson moves.
Various Interact Clubs in the different schools will be holding their IU Day celebrations. It’s a lot of fun to make the rounds and attend as many IU Day events as you can as there is no telling how creative and thorough students are in interpreting their themes.
And even though it’s hard work organising these events, it’s actually fun and memorable. The challenge is to come up with the best IU Day ever.
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