True Films: Please Vote For Me

Please Vote For Me

Talk about unleashing democracy in China...here's a cautionary tale. As an experiment a third-grade class in a large city in China introduces elections for the class monitor. Elections are new to the kids, parents and teachers. The results are fascinating, horrifying, and electrifying. Every abuse and virtue of democracy is re-discovered. Bribery, mudslinging, spin, debates, slander, campaign reform -- and all this with the first few weeks in elementary school! We also get a glimpse into how China's one-child policy focuses pathological amounts of parental attention as they "coach" their kids. This short (less than an hour) film operates on many levels: it is a lesson about democracy, a warning to China, a reminder about the lord-of-the-flies savagery of third grade, and a portrait of a fat boy who will probably grow up to someone's tormenting boss -- or president. A lovely hoot, with lots of moments, in Mandarin with subtitles.

-- KK