And the monkey dances

I once had a friend (actually, I'll call her a frenemy because that's what she turned out to be) who used to enter heaps of competitions and win a lot of prizes. Her strike rate was exceptional, and I later found out why.

The rules and regulations of competitions in Australia insist that if the draw is of a random nature, that the entity running the competition has to apply for a permit in each of the states where the competition is run.

A permit doesn't cost that much, but the process that you have to go through to get one is paperwork heavy, and can take a few weeks. I know this because I once worked for a magazine that ran competitions and I was the dogsbody who had to apply for the permits.

Anyway, the alternative is the free method of running a competition where the entrants compete on skill. A skill-based competition merely needs someone to judge the entry on a basis clearly defined upon entry. Mostly this takes the form of the '25 words or less' creative entry. There are, however, problems with this.

This afternoon I entered a competition to see a film screening of 'Mao's Last Dancer' based on the fascinating story of Li Cunxin, who trained under Madam Mao's ballet school and then while in the USA, defected from China. Li enjoyed a career as a ballet dancer in the USA and Australia, and now lives in Melbourne as a stockbroker. I saw him speak at the Sydney Writer's Festival a couple of years ago and he was quite moving.

The competition, run by Event (formerly Greater Union) cinemas, instructed entrants to, Tell us in 25 words or less why you want to see Mao's Last Dancer, with a text box ready for entries. Below that was the competition basis: All 25 word or less entries will be judged, and the prize/s will be awarded based on the creativity of the answers.

I don't know about you, but it is very difficult to make a reason you want to see a film 'creative'. I want to see the film because I think his story is fascinating and insightful and says a lot about China; a different China to the economic enthusiasm being celebrated worldwide at present.

The 'creativity' basis thus poses a problem. My frenemy revealed to me that she always used rhyming poetry to convey 'creativity'. I was disgusted, and you'll know why if you know my views on poetry, what it is and what it is not. And yet thess rhyme wins prevail. I have won more '25 words or less' competitions with bad rhymes than I have any other way.

(Although there was that glorious time I won tickets to see 'Adaptation' by making a joke about Nicolas Cage 'Being John Travolta' in 'Face/Off', thus also referencing Charlie Kaufman's previous film 'Being John Malkovich') (P.S: When I won the tickets, my frenemy took credit, noting: 'Some of my luck must have rubbed off on you' despite the fact it was a game of SKILL. MY. SKILL.)

So instead of conveying my appreciation for Li's insights to China in a concise, intellectual fashion, monkey-see monkey-do I ended up submitting:

"Economically, China sets the world alight
But Cunxin writes of creative flight
From the nation's poor reality
His life a book and now movie."

Note the embarassingly poor rhyme of 'reality' with 'movie'. And I did this because I thought it would be more likely to get me the tickets than my original 'reason', which was pretty much centred on my admiration of Li and his story.

I want to see a '25 words or less' competition that makes sense. Instead of based on 'creativity', I want Tell us in 25 words or less why you want to see Mao's Last Dancer, with the competition basis being: The prize/s will be awarded based on the best reason.

P.S: I'll let you know whether I get the tickets.

P.P.S: A competition: In the comments section below, tell me in 25 words or less why this entry is wonderful. The prize is my admiration and it will be awarded on the basis of how much I like your entry.