Although earlier political machinima films existed, "The French Democracy" attained an unprecedented level of mainstream attention, according to Paul Marino, executive director of the Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences (AMAS). Based on the interest, Marino considered adding a documentary or commentary category to the AMAS' awards. Xavier Lardy, founder of machinima.fr, stated that no previous machinima work had "such a clear and prominent political message". Others further contrasted "The French Democracy"s serious nature with the prevalence of gaming-related references in other machinima works, such as the Leeroy Jenkins video and Rooster Teeth Productions' comedy series "". Berkeley stated that "The French Democracy" was a rare exception to machinima's basis in "accepted cinematic and televisual conventions".