“Student… council… president.” from the film “Election.” Jim tries to cheer up Paul and give him some drive by explaining to him the use of democracy. Ideal for Young Adult Males in their 20s. 1 Min.
Written By: Tom Perrotta and Alexander Payne
Jim and Paul:
JIM’S CLASSROOM – DAY Paul sits in a chair, while JIM stands
JIM
Paul, I know you’ve been pretty down
since your accident.
PAUL
I wanted to play next year so bad I
could taste it. And maybe go on to…
JIM
I know. I understand disappointment.
I really do.
PAUL
Yeah.
JIM
But you’ve got a big choice right now.
You can choose to be depressed about it
for the rest of your life. Or you can
choose to see it for what it really is:
an opportunity. I personally think you
have a big future ahead of you, and I
don’t mean the fleeting glory of sports.
PAUL
What do you mean?
JIM
Let me give you a clue. You’re a born
leader. You’re one of the most popular
students at Millard. You’re honest and
straightforward. You don’t choke under
pressure, as we all saw in that amazing
fourth quarter against Westside. The
other kids look up to you. What does
that spell?
Paul furrows his brow and looks around, searching for an answer. His
lower lip is wet.
JIM
Student… council… president.
It takes a moment for this to sink in. Finally
PAUL
Who, me? Nooo. I never… I don’t
know anything about that stuff, Mr. M.
Besides, that’s Tracy Flick’s thing.
She’s always working so hard and —
JIM
Yeah, no, she’s a go-getter, all right.
PAUL
And she’s super-nice
JIM
Yeah. But one person assured of
victory kind of undermines the whole
idea of a democracy, doesn’t it? That’s
more like a… well, like a
dictatorship, like we studied.
JIM
Paul, what’s your favorite fruit?
PAUL
Huh? Oh. Uh… pears
JIM
takes a piece of chalk from the lip of
the blackboard.
JIM
Okay, let’s say
PAUL
No, wait — apples. Apples.
JIM draws illustrative circles on the board as he speaks.
JIM
Fine. Let’s say all you ever knew was
apples. Apples, apples and more apples.
You might think apples were pretty good,
even if you occasionally got a rotten
one. 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.
JIM
Exactly. So what do you say? Maybe
it’s time to give a little something
back.
