ECON 111: Synthesis

Synthesis

      to bring separate units into one cohesive whole

A play is something one should not take lightly. There are far more elements  needed to make a play successful than the average AVP. In contrast to audiovisual presentation, plays are far less flexible due to the lack of editing. Nevertheless, the challenge of translating the concepts involved in The Market Forces of Supply and Demand proved to be quite an exhilarating process for everybody in the group. Although I also participated during the actual enactment of such concepts, I too am responsible in bringing you not a simple summary but an extensive view of the things that went underway both in front of and behind the velvet curtain.

Before we go further, let me first explain my role: I am a Synthesizer. That's pretty cool-sounding in my opinion. I am a diarist of sorts, tasked with the not-so-simple job of retelling (or typing, if you prefer) every event that took place during the planning stage as well as a convenient explanation of the actual play itself. Thus, my job is to collect every piece of event haphazardly strewn in my memory (and my nifty little notebook) and arrange them chronologically to achieve utmost cohesion and understanding not only of the play but of the members as well. Further, keep in mind that the magic of the narrative is in the delivery. The synthesis will shift greatly into the technical side of economics on the later part, and so to keep an intimate and amicable mood, allow me to sprinkle some vitalizing humor along the way. 


With that out of the way, let's get moving, shall we?

The Group

Our group is composed of eleven members each tasked with a specific role both in and out of the play.

Bottom center: Beth Daryl Ocer; From left center: Odyssa Edig, Letiedane Pama, Louisse Tapiz, Anjenette Lacson, Jemaris Billones, Sir James Daigdigan, Nilea Louise Morales; From top left: Mark Michael Ferrer, Mark Jay Damos, Roy Angelo Tumbaga, Jose Martin Evangelista

And to give you a summary of our roles in the group and the play, here is a matrix for reference.

     

The Planning Phase

Day 1: Crickets an Tumbleweeds

This day was probably the shortest and most silent meeting. Since not many seemed willing to prolong the first meeting, I was fast in providing the sheet of paper on which to write our names. Nobody was eager to rush in to the role of the leader. Fortunately , Anjanette was kind enough to fill in the secretary shoes. During this day, many names were written and not many words were spoken.

Day 2: Concept Confidential

The second day of meeting was also pretty silent and disconnected, initially. Except for Beth, who tried her best to put some energy into the group, all of us were tightlipped except for the occasional obligatory friendly smile. Although most of the students in the class knew each other, still many in the group are new faces. Yours truly, for instance, knew not one of the members of the group so I kept taciturn but eagerly listened to Beth.

True to form, Anjanette quickly whipped up a pen and paper and passed it around for us to write are names on. Still, nobody except for Beth spoke. But when Beth mentioned that she wanted the play to break out of the conventional and turn it into a musical mottled with commercial and television parodies, everybody was suddenly filled with energy.  Although I admit I'm not much of a dancer and I rarely participate during plays for I have an irrational fear of performing in front of people, I was deeply engrossed in the concept. All of us decided to go in this direction, and to make sure that the other groups won't follow suit, we kept the concept to ourselves.

Day 3: Strike-a-pose

On the third day, everyone started getting really chatty with each other. We were feeling more comfortable although the concept still seemed a little vague. As a remedy, we brainstormed on the possible scenes we can add to the play, of course without any disregard for the important core concepts of the forces of supply and demand. With those factors in mind, we managed to concoct a medley of technical economic concepts and fun scenarios.


Also, Beth had already visualized what the play will turn out: It was going to be a combination of audiovisual and real enactment. The audiovisual parts will have two: the opening and the ending credits. Aside from merging the ideas behind the play into a comprehensible unit, Beth also took pictures of us to include in the ending credits. One by one, our pictures were taken (the instructions were to give our best irate look). I don't know about the others' but mine was less incensed and more indignant. Nevertheless, the day was wrapped up pretty productively.


Day 4: A Glance, A Wave, A Goodbye


Day four was again another short meeting. Since I assumed not everyone was up for a practice, including yours truly, and since it was a Saturday, we decided instead to reserve the following day for our practice.


Day 5: Absentees and Attendees


By Sunday the fifth day, the group was divided into two: Absentees and Attendees. Unfortunately, not everyone was able to practice. On the bright side, Beth and the others who came to school that day managed to turn it into something productive.


Day 6: Dance Until The Break of Dawn


Just kidding, we did not practice until the break of dawn. We did practice until...twilight. Yes, I love puns but moving on. The choreography was set and all the scenes, props to be used, and roles were finalized. First, we videotaped the opening credits. Since Beth had a class, we were left to tend for ourselves. Fret not because all was finished smoothly as you will see later on. After Beth's class, we headed to her dormitory and practiced in full view of people around. We were courageous, nonetheless, to finish everything and memorize all the dance steps until to the point of excessive sweating...at least on my part. By around 7:30 we wrapped things up.


Day 7: The Groove Before the Storm


Tuesday was fortunate. Since Beth has a class after four, there was no way for us to practice after our Economics class. Fortunately, however, Sir James allowed us to use his time to practice for the play. So we did. We polished everything, captured it in video and refined the necessary details, including the final shoot for the ending credits. 

So without further adieu, let us move on to something more technical--the raison d'être for this blog entry. Allow me to present the combined effort of all the members of the group.


The Play

The opening credits of the play introduced you to some of the FAQs about the Market Forces of Supply and Demand. Here are some of them:

• Normal goods and Inferior goods. Depending on the behavior of the income, a good can be normal or inferior. Once income falls, the demand for normal goods also fall while increases for inferior goods.
• Taste. It is only natural for the demand of a certain good to increase if people like it better.
• Expectations. People who expect a windfall in the near future can increase the demand of goods in the present.
• Number of Buyers. Naturally, the demand of a good depends on the number of buyers willing and able to purchase it.
• Price increase. Another case of expectation is when people foresee an increase in the price of a good in the future causes them to buy more of the product at the current price therefore increasing its demand in the present.
• Complements. Complements are goods whose price and demand are positively related: A fall in the price of one good, increases the demand of another.

First Scene:

The play opens with a dance routine to keep the energy of the members and the group up.

Second Scene:

In this scene, Clara asks Mara to buy her soap. But with a paltry sum, Mara cannot expect to buy the soap let alone ride a cab to the store. Since taxi fare and fare in general depend on the price of oil, an oil price hike will normally cause an increase in the price of fare as well. In Davao today, for instance, fifty-pesos would not take one that far because of the new forty-peso flatdown rate and a 2.50 per kilometer fare. Mara's reason was grounded on the fact that riding a taxi is expensive. Using taste as the primary shifter in this scene, it is deducible then that Mara's demand for a taxi is high. Fortunately for her, Christian is there to give extra coins for her coffer.

Third Scene:

While in the store, Mara is accosted by overly eager sales representatives of different soap brands. The offers and promos are good, but once again, the buyer's preference remains the victor. As seen in the video, Mara chooses her heart when it comes to choosing the right soap. Hence, regardless of how enticing the other soaps may be, she still preferred the one her heart longs for. And as an added comic relief, me and my two left feet enters or rather twirls into the scene.

Fourth Scene:

In this scene, we see a market for juice and hotdogs. The hotdog vendor has a monopoly over his market while the juice vendor also has one for his. While buyers walk around checking out the goods, a spy energetically moves with them, seeking out potential competitors and learning what she can about the market. After doing so, she sets up a hotdog stand of her own but with a slightly lower price than the original hotdog vendor. This resulted in a flurry of overzealous hotdog enthusiasts eager to get a piece of those hotdogs. In a short while, some of them felt thirsty--choked even--so they turn to the remaining original vendor. For some people in this particular market, hotdogs and juice are like ice cream and cake--they complement each other. Insofar as this market is concerned, the increased demand for the hotdogs also caused them to buy juice. The resulting frenzy quickly turns into a dance routine as ecstatic hotdog lovers jump, shake and nearly convulsed out of sheer joy.

As the buyers slowly dispersed a lone hotdog aficionado, despondent over the lack of hotdogs, asks if there is some left. The successful vendor swiftly whipped up a batch of hotdogs much to the amusement of Jemaris, our hotdog uber-lover. Once again, her joy transformed the stage into a dance floor.

Conclusion

There are several forces that affect supply and demand. Our goal was to show some of them using the stage as a medium. We depicted the importance of the buyer's behavior particularly his or her preference or taste in determining which product to buy as well as the seller's in shifting the demand for a certain good. More importantly, we showed how price impacts the demand of a particular product. By lowering the price of the hotdogs she offers, the new vendor was quick in attracting more buyers, therefore increasing the demand for hotdogs. In the end, it is the interaction of the buyers and sellers that serves as a major force in determining both supply and demand--our mission was to make those forces easier and fun to understand.