15 minutes of fame

Today it looked like my 15 minutes of fame were about to happen. During class this morning, a group of people were hovering just outside our classroom (the door is always open) and had a short talk with our teacher on the corridor. After 10 minutes they returned, and while me and my classmates were torturing ourselves with Hanyu, they gestured to my teacher that they wanted to talk to me. I had no idea what was going on, but was happy to step out for a moment. In the corridor, the two men and a woman started talking to me in Chinese and gesturing wildly to help make themselves clear. I only got the word "pian" which if I remember correctly means "photo". One of the man was carrying a camera, so I thought they wanted to take a photo of me, as a representative of a foreign student, even though I was clearly not a typical foreign student here, the vast majority being South-East Asian. Then the woman repeated the story in English after noticing my hesitation, and it became clear that they actually wanted me to appear in a film, which was to be shot tomorrow somewhere out of town. It would take the whole day and they would pay me 500 RMB (which is more than most people here earn in a whole week).
I didn't understand what this film is all about, but it will probably be some propaganda for the university. I didn't really feel like spending a whole day to appear in a movie, not knowing how I would be portrayed, and in what context, and for what purpose. So I explained I had appointments tomorrow (which is true), and also next week would not be available, suggesting they should use another student. They didn't let go so easily though, and insisted I was "very suitable". This made me doubt the whole enterprise even more, fearing I was only selected because of the colour of my hair, and being portrayed as an example student, even though I can hardly utter a word in Chinese.
They were clearly disappointed, but settled for taking a few photos of me right there on the corridor, with my classmates watching. After class was over, my classmates mocked me for being a "movie star". They had picked up more of the conversation than me, apparently.
I pondered my decision for a while, maybe I should just have gotten along with it, but then I would have to cancel my dinner tomorrow, and I really didn't feel comfortable with the fact that they picked me only for my appearance as a Westerner. I have gotten used to random people asking to take a photo with me, and that's usually fine, as long it's a private snapshot. Being used as a stereotype for propaganda is another thing. When leaving the courtyard after class was over, the three of them passed me in their gold-coloured Toyota, waving enthusiastically. I wearily waved back, then joined my classmates for lunch.