Film Title:  Vote Democracy

Company:  Independent Lens

Age Range:  High school

Includes Teaching Materials

Topic:  Government

Subject Areas:  Government, Political Science, Social Studies, Current Events, Language Arts, Debate, Ethnic Studies, Sociology

Film Synopsis:  Engages students in discussions about democracy abroad, elections, gender, the role of dissent in democracy, and media literacy. Investigate the changing mature of democracy in America and the World.

Running Time and Sections:  7 sections—total of about 47 minutes

Alex’s Review:

Democracy, as defined by Webster’s Dictionary, is “a government by the people, directly or through representatives.” As people of the United States of America, we should be very thankful for the type of government that we have. A democracy allows citizens to have a voice in our government, a privilege that many other countries do not share. The beginning of this DVD has a section that details a class president election from a classroom of little children in China. The sheer fact that those children initially do not know the meaning of “voting” is a very sad thing. This DVD does an excellent job of inciting awareness of democracy and what it entails. There is a section about the first woman president of Liberia. The DVD also contains a few sections about the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago and the riots that ensued from non-violent anti-war protesters. The DVD does a good job at showcasing democracy, however it was not one of my favorite movies because I felt it was mostly about the negative side of government and there was not much of the positive people fighting for what they belief and winning. Which, yes, I know is narrow-minded of me, but I like videos that empower people. And I did not leave this video feeling empowered, but rather upset at the outcome of the riots and the ignorance of some people at all the privileges we, as Americans, have.