“To get rich is glorious.”
That phrase, uttered by the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, seems to fly in the face of conventional communist philosophy.
So, too, does the democratic election of a third grade class monitor in Wuhan.
This documentary shows how three children vie for votes in a cutthroat election.
While novices to democracy and only children, they develop a taste for the jugular and do whatever it takes to win.
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With the guidance of their parents, these kids try every trick in the book, including character assassination, whisper campaigns, and promises of plum positions in the third grade hierarchy.
What is fascinating, however, is how the teacher tells the class their secret vote is “sacred.” Is this a lesson the Chinese leadership wants taught to children?
This short (58 minute) film does a great job of following each of the candidates during the campaign. It is fraught with tension and the audience has no idea who will win until the votes are tallied.
The campaign and election is like a microcosm of their American counterparts. Some in the class stick with one candidate, others vacillate, and still more either won’t say or don’t know for whom they’ll vote.
And the class is as raucous as a town meeting, with people shouting and carrying on at times.
The three candidates, one girl and two boys, each have a unique style in their speeches and in the way they cast about for votes.
But a main question to be asked at the end of the movie is, now that these children have a taste for democracy, will they demand it when they’re grown?
Please Vote for Me is available to rent.
Murphy can be reached at: [email protected]
