In anticipation of the upcoming NBA season, we’ve finally got cable TV. Well, we’ve actually always had it, but we are now officially paying for it so that we can watch with integrity. We got this great deal for $29 bucks extra each month for the next twelve months or something like that, which is less than we would spend on beers and bar food if we watched all the NBA games at local sports bars.
ANYWAY. We have naturally been watching more TV. There is definitely a good variety that we enjoy. We watch American Gladiators reruns on ESPN Classic (did you know NBC is bringing the show back?), a lot of fighting (UFC/IFL/Boxing), Rachael Ray’s 30 Minute Meals, Travel, HGTV, and PBS.
The other night, we were watching PBS and they have this segment called Independent Lens which their website describes as “an independent Film Festival in your living room.”

We caught the second half of the documentary, Please Vote For Me, the story of a third-grade class in Wuhan, China that is holding a democratic election for the class monitor.
“To prove their worthiness, the candidates must perform in three events. First is a talent show, where each candidate plays an instrument or sings a song. Second is a debate, in which the candidates bring up the shortcomings of their opponents as well as their own personal qualifications. And finally, each candidate must deliver a speech, an opportunity to appeal directly to classmates and ask for their votes.”
The irony of this mini-election is not lost on us. The implications of a democracy experiment in communist China is fascinating on so many levels. As I’m cheering on the kids, the husband is remarking at the way the quasi experiment in a third-grade classroom can be extrapolated to the adult politics in China.
I’m especially interested at the fanatical parental involvement with the preparation of the speeches. Several of the parents write the speeches and coach the kids on speech content, posture, dramatic pauses, confidence, and even the tempo of their speech. You can almost see the weight of the burden that’s placed on the kids. Even though the children are only eight years old, their facial expressions carry a uncomfortable depth that kind of breaks your heart.
I really liked the way this documentary was filmed. The filmmakers were silent and the editing was pretty subtle. There are so many documentaries where the will of the filmmaker dominates every scene and every cut but in this movie you forget for a moment that there’s a giant film crew in the small living room as one of the kids practices his campaign speech in his underwear. You feel as though you really are an invisible observer in the classroom. This is helped tremendously by the fact that the kids are candid on the film and seem to interact with no regard for the camera.
Class monitors are usually appointed. To hold an election is bold, almost a bit daring. But the results are depressingly the same as before the election.
There are three candidates running for the position of class monitor. The first candidate is a girl named Xu Xiaofei who is attacked for her gossiping and her tendency to cry in tough situations. She has a dedicated following of her girlfriends but is not much of a contender. The second candidate is named Luo Lei and is the incumbent class monitor. He is strict, believes in physical punishment, and despite his small size, speaks with the authority of true politician. The third candidate is a chubby, lovable boy named Cheng Cheng who promotes democratic processes and promises to invite class input on how everything should be run. At one point he asks the class to raise their hands if they’ve been beaten up by the Luo Lei, the incumbent class monitor. A large number of hands shoot up in the air. He tells them that it doesn’t have to be this way. He encourages them to think about how it would be if they didn’t have to live in fear of being hit by Luo Lei. He gives a great final campaign speech. It’s not hard to guess who’s my favorite.
Luo Lei also gives a pretty good final speech but the real kicker is that his dad has bought a stack of greeting cards for him to hand out after his speech as mid-autumn festival gifts. This infuriates me. It’s a dirty underhanded trick. And it really just kills me. Because I know it’s going to work.
And it does.
In fact, they vote for the Luo Lei in a landslide. With their pretty gifts in their hands, they so quickly forget about the idea of a democratic classroom. They vote for something that’s familiar. Luo Lei can’t be that bad. After all, he’s given them gifts!
Isn’t that the whole problem with democracy? Don’t get me wrong, I still think democracy is the best form of government. But just because a country has a democratic process, it doesn’t mean the country is saved from corruption and poor leadership. More times than not, the wrong people are elected into power by the uninformed popular vote that doesn’t know what’s good for them.
Weijun Chen, the filmmaker, has the same sentiments. He is quoted on the website saying:
“A consummate democratic system does not necessarily create a perfect democratic society. Why? This is where the “human factor” plays a big role. Ultimately, a democratic system must depend on the people within the system for implementation and compliance. If the people are not equipped with the necessary democratic culture or if there is a conflict with their inherent cultural beliefs, then the democratic system will only be reduced to a stiff and rigid legal provision. It would then be difficult to create a true democratic society.”
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Cheng Cheng cries his eyes out when he finds out the results of the election. I want to cry with him.
Here’s the trailer: