An Emotionally Packed Tale of Fighting PACs
Alicia Whitty
I walked into the theater at 8 AM, waiting for the others in my group to arrive, adorned with red lipstick and an eager energy coursing through my body. As the others arrived, my excitement levels just heightened. I sat next to my friend and we squeezed each other’s hands. Since seeing this film as an option on our list, I had been counting the hours until I got to see “Knock Down The House,” a movie following Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cori Bush, Amy Vilela, and Paula Jean Swearington in their campaigns for the Democratic primaries. Each of them is refusing PAC donations and working to be a representative of the working class without being bought out by corporations.
It was amazing being able to follow Amy Vilela and her story of running for the Democratic primaries in Nevada, inspired by the loss of her daughter to fix the issues in healthcare, Cori Bush in Missouri, the same place where Mike Brown died, connecting with other working class people after having gone through many of the same issues she is fighting to stop, Paula Jean Swearington in West Virginia show the destruction of coal and fossil fuels of her hometown and trying to usurp the industry, and of course, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaking of how she went from losing her father to being a bartender to entering Congress.
Despite already knowing the results of each of the races, the film captures your heart and you are moved through the political process as if it was your first time. It mixes personal stories about the motivation behind these powerful women running, displays of the people helping to support grassroots campaigns, thought provoking campaign footage, and iconic quotes by each of the candidates.
Not only was there a political aspect, there was an amazingly human aspect to it as well. Each person running was so much more than just their campaign and issues, though seeing AOC make Joe Crowley sweat was wildly entertaining. It wasn’t just a victory documentary about one new member of Congress, it was a realistic tale of the power of the political machine, both in highs and lows. It showed how one person was able to defeat their opposer despite being laughed at originally and how three weren’t able to do so, at least not this time.
Though there is an obvious love of the candidates, Director Rachel Lears said that she has had people from any side of the political spectrum compliment her about the film. It has the ability to focus on the power of corporations taking away from the power of democracy as well as how personal stories influence political beliefs so well that, especially as the competition was entirely Democrat vs Democrat, it was acclaimed by all as an ingenious film.
When Lears and and Robert Blotnick walked on stage after the film was finished, the audience all rose up for a standing ovation. Everyone was touched, despite coming from many different walks of life. It left me in a haze for the rest of the day, reconsidering my decision of never wanting to run for political office and already excited to see Cori Bush, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Paula Jean Swearington and hopefully Amy Vilela run again.
Netflix attained the rights to this movie and I know that at least I will be recommending it to as many people as possible and hope this review has inspired you to see it so you too can feel as inspired as I did.
*This was originally posted 2.5.2019
