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Democracy is defined as the method of government by which a group elect their representative by the votes of the majority. However, when there is only one candidate to the position, the process is usually seen as "rigged" or maybe even "empty". That's why usually, a democracy is viewed more positively when there are more than one candidate at play (you know, apples and oranges). This unique comedy from Alexander Payne transposes that dilemma to high school.
Set in Omaha, Nebraska, Election follows Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon), a successful and over-achieving senior student determined to become president of the student body. But when Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick), the social studies teacher who oversees the student body and who resents Tracy for several reasons, realizes she's running uncontested, he starts manipulating the proceedings to prevent her from winning.
This is probably the second time I've seen this, after 1999. But even if I didn't remember it that well, my recollections were positive and seeing it mentioned often as a groundbreaking film sure had me craving for a rewatch for a while. That's why when both Andrew and Apex mentioned it to me via Twitter, I really didn't hesitate.
One of the things that Election does so well is to balance a tone that walks a really tight-rope between dark comedy, serious drama, and socio-political subtext. And depending on your state of mind when you see it, there might be different things that resonate with you. This time, I was more drawn to the whole "symbology" of it all, and how Payne and co-writer Jim Taylor use this high school election as a representation of our electoral system, and our country overall.
From a generally uninterested populace, to candidates that are unexpected and coming "out of left field", to those that have good intentions but are ultimately unqualified, to the over-eager ones that are determined to get there at any cost. But among the things that Election makes clear are that elections are rarely opportunities for change, but just stepping stones in the power ranking; but most importantly, that the whole system is broken and that there needs to be more than a "one man change" every now and then for real change to occur.
Grade:
ELECTION
(1999, Payne)
A film set in school
-- recommended by Andrew & @ApexPredator --
(1999, Payne)
A film set in school
-- recommended by Andrew & @ApexPredator --
Jim: "Let's say all you ever knew were apples. Apples, apples, and more apples. You might think apples were pretty good, even if you got a rotten one every once in a while. But then one day... there's an orange. And now you can make a decision, do you want an apple or do you want an orange? That's democracy."
Paul: "I also like bananas."
Paul: "I also like bananas."
Democracy is defined as the method of government by which a group elect their representative by the votes of the majority. However, when there is only one candidate to the position, the process is usually seen as "rigged" or maybe even "empty". That's why usually, a democracy is viewed more positively when there are more than one candidate at play (you know, apples and oranges). This unique comedy from Alexander Payne transposes that dilemma to high school.
Set in Omaha, Nebraska, Election follows Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon), a successful and over-achieving senior student determined to become president of the student body. But when Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick), the social studies teacher who oversees the student body and who resents Tracy for several reasons, realizes she's running uncontested, he starts manipulating the proceedings to prevent her from winning.
This is probably the second time I've seen this, after 1999. But even if I didn't remember it that well, my recollections were positive and seeing it mentioned often as a groundbreaking film sure had me craving for a rewatch for a while. That's why when both Andrew and Apex mentioned it to me via Twitter, I really didn't hesitate.
One of the things that Election does so well is to balance a tone that walks a really tight-rope between dark comedy, serious drama, and socio-political subtext. And depending on your state of mind when you see it, there might be different things that resonate with you. This time, I was more drawn to the whole "symbology" of it all, and how Payne and co-writer Jim Taylor use this high school election as a representation of our electoral system, and our country overall.
From a generally uninterested populace, to candidates that are unexpected and coming "out of left field", to those that have good intentions but are ultimately unqualified, to the over-eager ones that are determined to get there at any cost. But among the things that Election makes clear are that elections are rarely opportunities for change, but just stepping stones in the power ranking; but most importantly, that the whole system is broken and that there needs to be more than a "one man change" every now and then for real change to occur.
Grade: