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With the
controversy surrounding the 2008 Summer Olympics in China and the
Presidential campaign here in the United States, the Please Vote for
Me DVD release could not have been better-timed. This is a
documentary about a group of three Chinese third graders. China is a
communist country, but a local school has decided to conduct an
experiment. They are going to hold a democratic election for the
office of class monitor (quite an esteemed position among the
kiddies). The teacher wants the students to get an understanding of
how democracy works. In past years, the school had simply appointed
a class monitor. This time, students will have a chance to choose
for themselves.
The first
candidate is a spirited young man named Luo Lei. He is the incumbent
and has been class monitor for the past two years. Luo Lei is not
particularly popular with many of the kids, as he has developed a
reputation as a bully. A pretty large chunk of students at the
school claim to have been beaten by Luo Lei at some point simply for
stepping out of line. Luo Lei's "fascist" regime of the schoolyard
is being challenged by Cheng Cheng, who is declaring that he will be
a "manager, not a dictator" of the students. Cheng Cheng is a
charismatic and slightly chubby young man whose pleasant demeanor is
occasionally subverted by his severe temper. Finally, there's Xu
Xiaofei, a quiet and shy young girl who seems to be the gentlest and
most timid of the three young candidates. The candidates have one
thing in common: they are remarkably smart and resourceful. I know
China has plenty of problems, but I imagine their education system
is working on some level. This film suggests that a lot of the
8-year-olds over there could run circles around kids the same age
here.
As these
three begin their campaigns, they turn to their parents for advice.
At first, the parents offer the expected words of wisdom. "Be
yourself, be brave, don't be afraid to speak up." The campaign
quickly takes a nasty turn, and Please Vote for Me reveals itself as
a particularly astonishing snapshot. Given a small taste of the
democratic process, the students almost immediately begin to spin it
and corrupt in the way so many political candidates have throughout
the years. Name-calling and mud-slinging begin almost immediately
(the candidates attempt to compile lists of their opponents' faults
that they can pull out during the debates).
As the
candidates and the campaign increase in intensity, so do the
parents. There are moments in which each of the candidates seems to
be more or less out of the race, and they will make a surging
comeback by using a dirty move or bribing the students. Winston
Churchill once said, "The best argument against democracy is a
five-minute conversation with the average voter." That's certainly
true of the young students in the school, who are as easily swayed
by presents and promises as…well, as much of the American public.
The campaign
progresses, and you can sense each of the young candidates growing
weary. They get grumpy and irritable, and start to complain about
having to memorize speeches. At some point, every one of them is
reduced to tears by the savage insults being tossed at them by their
classmates (poor Xu Xiaofei is told she can't possibly lead the
students because she "eats too slow"). The film quite remarkably
reflects the events and emotions of an actual democratic political
campaign, enhanced to a level of painful satire by the fact that
commonplace insults and tactics that we think of as "childish" are
being employed by actual children. For all of our supposedly
remarkable progress here in America, we're still resorting to the
same old mudslinging, false promises, campaign spin, and bribery. I
will not tell you how this film ends, but let me say that I found
the final scene to be both cynical and punishingly truthful.
Another
oft-repeated Winston Churchill quote: "It has been said that
democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that
have been tried." That's the kind of exasperated truth that Please
Vote for Me reflects. Democracy is a beautiful thing on paper (I
think so, anyway), but as long as we have lies, corruption, and
apathy, democracy and every other form of government is doomed to at
least some level of failure. Who would have thought that a
documentary about a few Chinese third graders would be such a
thought-provoking conversation-starter? Please Vote for Me is an
absolute must-see. It's got all the emotional effectiveness and
entertainment value of a great Michael Moore documentary without any
of the self-indulgent spin. Set aside 57 minutes of your time and
see this film.
From
DVD Verdict
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