By John Saeger
New York politician Jimmy McMillan once ran for the Rent Is Too Damn High party. Little did he, or many others, realize just how true that manifesto would be almost 30 years later. The documentary Push examines how the accelerated cost of living in urban areas like New York City created a global housing crisis.
Push is directed by veteran documentarian Fedrick Gertten. In his latest piece, the Swedish filmmaker traverses the globe and discusses the simultaneous climb in rent in major cities. Gertten interviews a handful of experts and tenants who are trying to live with the harsh reality. Metropoli like the Big Apple, Toronto, and London are among the cities examined in the film.
Push is not a generic documentary that rails against systemic gentrification and urban development tied to traditional neighborhood renewal. It looks beyond those previously established trends. Corporations and private individuals are purchasing large quantities of housing. Their collective investment in assets that lay vacant or result in escalating rent have pushed tenants from their neighborhoods and cities.
Push specifically focuses on the corporation Blackstone, a private firm with assets in the billions that controls a sizable chunk of the global housing market. The documentary transitions its narrative from stoking audience anger to visceral heartbreak as Gertten breaks down how their own investment portfolio may be financing their housing demise.
The hero of the documentary is Leilani Farha. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on housing treks all over the globe to investigate the issue. Farha speaks with government officials as she fortifies the documentary’s thesis on the global housing crisis.
On its surface, a documentary about rent prices is something a lot of people can empathize with, but does not sound interesting. After all, rent checks are something that billions of people write every month. Push turns the contemporary gripe about rent into a compelling look at a debacle that feeds into other issues like homelessness and poverty. Push is a worthy viewing experience that informs audiences looking to understand the contemporary political climate and a terrifying reality for so many.
Learn More About “Push” & Director Fedrick Gertten Online Below:
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About the Author: John Saeger is a music and film writer from Philadelphia. Since 2017 he has been writing his pop-culture blog Long After Dark, a site dedicated to the arts in the City of Brotherly Love.
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