Please Vote for Me

While "Please Vote for Me" has an interesting subject and an interesting way to look at it, being a part of the "Why Democracy?" series, it fails to make a point about democracy, while only seeming to.

First of all, while not wanting to sound political and unlike the common opinion, I don't think what happens in the film has anything to do with China. These children are third-graders and even if they have their own personalities, in a class monitor election with a campaign, they are basically dependent on their parents. Yes, Cheng Cheng wants to have authority and the Luo Lei beats other kids up but after all, they are children for god's sake! The majority of the behavior that they display in this film is typical of a third grader, regardless of how communist or capitalist a country he or she may live in. I must say there are times when the documentary seems artificial, as in one candidate plans to sabotage another's act in the talent show. It is very unlikely that a kid at this age would reveal such a plan to a friend in front of the camera; these are not kids that are too stupid to tell right from wrong. This age is a time when guilt plays an important role in the child's life.

The only sound comment the film makes about democracy is the view of the parents. Rather than seeing this election as an opportunity for their child to learn about democracy, self-confidence, winning and losing, most of them take it as a chance for their kid (and perhaps themselves) to show others that s/he is better than everyone else, with whatever means necessary. For example, Cheng Cheng has a mother who belittles him, pushes him constantly and doesn't seem to appreciate him at all and this may account for his desire to have his classmates under control, because his self-confidence is always undermined at home. The film does a better job of analyzing the behavior of the parents than making a point about democracy or democracy in China, for that matter. The scenes showing the school children chanting and exercising in disturbing unity didn't add much to it, either because the election process did not seem to be related with what was happening outside and if it were, the film made no effort to mention how.

I wouldn't want to discourage anybody from seeing this film, but I think it is a disappointing film which fails to deliver what it seems to be promising.

This movie provided a once in a lifetime opportunity an insider view of a primary school in China. Better yet, you see what happens when a culture deprived of democracy, and on top of that when children are given the liberty to make a democratic decision! It was such a joy to see how these children interacted with each other & how the families were involved in their campaign. I wish we could show our youth the importance of what is so widely taken for granted in our own country. The spirit of competition was over the top, it was a thrill to see the drive and determination of these youngsters! Enjoy, throughly entertaining!

This documentary showed some of the truth of China. Not every Chinese are fond of "vote". In my option, 80% or more people living here don't care who will be the leader, they just care about there OWN life.

"If I can get rich anyway, I don't care who is wearing the crown even he is a totally b*****d."

But, if the b*****d can not do the job, they just waiting for the "god's willing" to punish him, their patience is FAR MORE beyond your white's imagination.

Probably, there will be change, but not my or your eyes could witness.

Well, guys, it is hard to find this film to watch HERE, that might prove that this documentary is not "lead" by a liberal politico---that kind of creature is more rare than panda.

"Please Vote For Me"

The documentary Please Vote For Me was made by Weijun Chen in 2007. This documentary was about a third grade class in China that was given the chance to learn how a democracy really works. The teacher of this class chose three students that would be competing to become the class monitor Cheng Cheng, Xiao Fei, and Luo Lei. Two boys and one girl were chosen as candidates and then told that they could pick two student supporters to help in their campaign. Throughout the film you are able to see the children's lives at home, during class, and while talking strategy with their parents. During the days before the actual election speeches were given on why they should be elected and why their opponent was unfit or too weak to fulfill the job. Also debates were held during class allowing the three to point out each other's flaws in front of an audience. It was interesting to see that through the whole process the children's parents become more and more involved in their child's campaign. At some points the parents were even teaching their kids how to go about tearing others down and how to make the other kids drop out from the competition. In the end one of the little boys ended up being elected after showering the entire class with gifts provided by his father. This movie was an extremely intriguing film about how nine and ten year olds view the idea of democracy.

The major theme in this documentary was simply to portray how a third grader may see democracy, especially while being raised in a country like China.

Two of Weijun Chen's most famous works are Please Vote For Me (2007) and The Biggest Chinese Restaurant In The World (2008). The Biggest Chinese Restaurant In The World refers to the inside story of a five thousand seat Chinese restaurant called West Lake. West Lake is located in the Hunan province city of Changsha and is more noted for its extravagant shows that for the food it serves. This owner of this dynamic restaurant having well over three hundred chefs is Mrs. Qin Linzi. Chen may have had some other minor works, but these are his most famous.

The main subjects in Please Vote For Me were the three children nominated to run for class monitor. Some other important subjects were the families of each candidate and of course the other children within the class. The teacher also played a key role by giving all of the students the guidelines they would need for the project and explained how to go about being elected.

The type of editing that Chen used was very appealing because it wasn't from an interviewing standpoint. The final product shows you exactly how the kids and everyone else reacted to certain situations without any questioning period. This type of editing in Please Vote For Me gave a smooth, more realistic feeling to the piece. The cinematography of the piece was also very complementing. No major action in the film seemed planned out. The documentary came across simply as whatever happens, happens. The unplanned attitude was most noticeable in parts where the kids said certain things to their parents and fellow students.

The music wasn't really an issue in this particular documentary because no music had been chosen. If Chen had decided to include some type of music I think a fun, techno mix might have been a good fit.

The part within the film that was so surprising to me was how involved the parents became in their child's campaign. Sometimes it seemed as though the children were acting more like adults than the actual parents. The documentary Please Vote For Me was a true pleasure to watch and I would recommend it to anyone.

This lovely documentary makes it very obvious that there is hardly any difference between an "Experimental Election" recently took place in a Chinese elementary school and the "Real Thing". The step-by-step processes of nomination, campaigning, debating, and voting shows that 'Democracy in Action' could be very exciting, unpredictable, and, most definitely cruel. One of the best parts of the film was the way the three nominees were coached by their parents; this behind-the-scenes staging was very well captured by the director. The parents' very ambitious preparation of their children confirmed that there are lots of Karl Rove's on hand willing to provide help to win an election. Visual quality of the picture is also exceptionally good. Anyone who is interested in "Democracy", "Elections", and "Voting" must see this gem. Highly recommend it.