Politics. The minute that word shows up, it usually inspires either an eye roll, or an argument. Rarely does it succeed in drumming up what it really wants to: hope. Knock Down the House is one such story of hope: about what it’s like to fight for something you believe in and realize other people believe in it too.
Following the 2016 election, Progressive groups Justice Democrats and Brand New Congress pushed hard for female progressives to run for Congress and start a new era of American Politics. So the groups went on a search for candidates whom people thought would better showcase the values of real Americans. We then are witness to campaigns for 4 potential representatives including Amy Vilela from Las Vegas, Cori Bush from Missouri, Paula Jean Swearingen from West Virginia, and a little known 28 year old from the Bronx named….Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, who would shock the political establishment by beating one of their most powerful in her district.
Knock Down the House gives you a little behind the scenes look at what goes into running a campaign in modern day America, and just how uphill a climb the road is for an insurgent candidate. For example, AOC had to get 10,000 signatures in a district that requires only 1,500. Why is that? Because if there is a smudge, or a weird illegible letter ANYWHERE, the signature gets thrown out. Guess who reviews those signatures? Appointees of Joe Crowley, her opponent in one of many conflicts of interest in political campaigning. I wish the documentary had gone a little deeper into the whole process too. We get images of these consultants from Justice Democrats or Brand New Congress who get compared to the crappy establishment Democratic consultants, but we don’t see how these organizations help the guileless newcomers with campaign strategy other than a glancing view here or there. For those going into Knock Down the House looking for a perceptive look at how American elections work in contemporary society, then this movie will leave you wanting.
That being said, Knock Down the House probably settled on the right subject…AOC. This turns the movie into a David vs. Goliath story about the American Dream: something every hard working poor person can believe in. Cortez didn’t even nominate herself: her brother did, because he saw in her what everyone else sees in the Democratic superstar now. AOC is relentless, walking door to door to get every signature she needed, speaking at every event that would ask for her, We get to see how she executes a great strategy, not taking any PAC money and positioning her opponent as an elitist who doesn’t even live in his district anymore, and is beholden to lobbyists. We also see her personal side, how she’s basically a normal working class woman living with her boyfriend in a small apartment in the Bronx. Cortez’s big break is when Crowley stupidly sends a surrogate to a debate instead of going himself, which AOC uses to her advantage to go viral. We get a little bit about how Vilela, Bush, and Swearingen along with AOC run similar strategies to try to win their districts; however, AOC’s plan had the most traction on her district. The moment she realizes she has beaten Joe Crowley is one of the more euphoric moments in the movie, followed by a sweet solemn one that’s equally emotional.
For most people, the American Dream is still this great beacon that each person wishes they could get their hands one. However, along the way, that dream was taken away from the American People. What most US citizens really want is to have the opportunity to claim a part of that dream again. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Justice Democrats, and Brand New Congress are here to help usher that dream forward, with no intentions of slowing down any time soon.