The documentary, “Please Vote For Me” presents an interesting perspective on a democratic experiment, and an in retrospect, my response to the film poses an equally interesting view on democracy in action, particularly to some of the more “unethical” realities of the democratic system. The election of class monitor for the Chinese students highlighted is, as it turns out, more intensely competitive than one might think. A product of this competition is the involvement of classmates and even parents in order to give certain candidates a leg up on the other students in the running. In the context of the class monitor election in the movie, this seems unethical, even a bit unfair, at times. However, when considered as a reflection of the reality of the implementation of the democratic system in a place like the United States, we take the outside efforts of interested parties (and those parties’ monetary power) as part and parcel of our governmental system.

An additional reality of democracy that this film exposes is the power of the incumbent: Luo Lei is denounced as overly strict and harsh in his last two years as a class monitor, but he wins the election regardless as a result of his ruthless campaign methods and the inertia that he capitalizes on as a candidate of the status quo.