Because of the ongoing coverage of the Olympics in Bejing, I have to tell you about the best political movie in years, in stores next Tuesday, "Please Vote For Me." The movie documents an experiment done with third graders in central China and the surprising, humorous, touching reactions of these children as they attempt to hold a democratic election for class monitor.
Three third graders are chosen to run for class monitor, and though their exposure to any kind of democracy has been limited at best, its fascinating to watch these kids plot, lie, bribe classmates and do all the things we take for granted as part of our own election process. No, the campaign isn't pretty--and those nasty adults sure don't help the process--but it seems like these kids take away some valuable lessons about the human spirit in the end.
On a deeper level, the movie raises questions like: Is the democratic process destined to be corrupt because human nature is corrupt? Are the problems with the democratic process worth the struggle?
The movie is connected to an organization called The Why Democracy? Project, and if I haven't convinced you it's worth the rental, well, just watch this clip:
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