If You Push Someone Off The Roof In "The Push" You Should Be Pushed Off A Roof - A Thinkpiece.
Repost from 2/28: KFC Radio Quickie on “The Push” will be out Wednesday, make sure you catch up now.
So by now you’ve either heard about The Push, or you will be hearing about it the next couple of days. It’s the buzzworthy Netflix show of the month (or I guess it’s kind of like “the week” now with all the content Netflix is putting out.) Feits blogged about it last week and made the comparison to one of my favorite, most sneaky-underrated movies ever – “The Game” with Michael Douglas. The Push is that exact same premise, but real life.
Short, simplified point of it: it’s one gigantic staged social experiment to see how far one real person is willing to go to comply socially and fit in with a group.
More detailed description: An elaborately choreographed night at a black-tie charity auction where everyone is in on it except one person, whom they slowly test with more and more immoral and uncomfortable things to “train” him until it all leads up to seeing if he will literally push someone off a roof to their death.
Sounds crazy. Definitely saying to yourself how unrealistic that is because you would never commit murder. How could anyone do that? Well, just watch it.
And, watch it before you read this. It’s way better to go into it not knowing any of the twists and specific events and the final decisions made. So bookmark this, watch tonight then come back to it.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
Couple of things to start. One, I believe that this is real. I believe the main dude is real and not an actor. Obviously who knows with reality TV these days but after watching him, I truly believe he’s genuine. Either that or he’s this generation’s Daniel Day Lewis so kudos to him for tricking me.
Two, I thought the way they structured the episode was brilliant. It was a little over-dramatic and Derren Brown certainly loved to ham it up for the cameras at times, but the way they edited this all together was perfect. Focusing on the dude who didn’t push, then dropping the big reveal that they did it with the 3 others – and they all pushed – was a huge gut punch. The clip of them in the dark stairway kicking the body while crying? That groan from the woman? Man, that will stick with you.
Now for my main point.
The main guy says no to pushing the man off the roof.
But the other 3 all do it.
THREE PEOPLE OUT OF FOUR WALK UP TO A MAN SITTING ON A ROOFTOP LEDGE AND SHOVE HIM IN THE BACK TO FALL TO HIS DEATH.
Then the host comes out to the crying people and gives them a hug, smile! you’re on candid camera! Ashton Kutcher comes out and tells them they’ve been punked, you know the drill. They laugh and feel the relief. Then they run through post-show confessional videos of each person saying how much they learned from the experience, how it’s helped them become stronger people and not just follow the crowd, to have their own voice and stick by their true morals.
Um.
Bro.
You literally committed murder.
And I say literally because in their mind, at the time they did it, they were 100% committing murder. Lucky for them it was all a set up and everyone was fine, but when they were living it, they believed they were shoving a man to his death. Off a rooftop. They hatched a plan with co-conspirators (which is so dumb for anyone who has ever seen a movie before, you honestly trust this random group of people you just met to keep it a secret you murdered someone forever?), they walked 10 feet away, put their hands out, and pushed. A guy. Off a roof. To murder him. To protect the money they made. That’s the conscious decision they made. In my mind they are murderers.
Now would that hold up in court, absolutely not. Obviously there’s entrapment, coercion, all that stuff. You can’t punish these people in a court of law. If, for some reason the harness broke or whatever and the guy actually died, you’d have the host and the people who set it all up going to jail. So forget about legality. But on a realistic level, think about this. You’re letting 3 people who are willing to commit murder for money back out into society. Free to go.
So what’s the answer?
You should push them off the roof.
Simple.
The host should come out and say, sorry, you failed the test of basic humanity and human decency, and tried to kill someone. [BIG SHOVE]. And that’s our show!
And don’t give me the psychological side of it. I know all about that, and I understand it. I’ve read SO much nerdy shit on this exact psychological phenomenon and the studies done on it and tests and experiments that have been done. It’s very real. All the stuff in the beginning, like switching the flags on the sausage rolls, carrying the bag and the jacket, being subservient to someone you think is in a position of power – I would do all of that, 100%. Absolutely I would. I would be mortified to be in a maroon button down at a black tie party. I would be a complete little bitch to someone who was asking me to carry their shit for them. We all want to fit in and not upset the flow and do what we think we’re supposed to do especially in a situation that we are uncomfortable in.
But when it comes to dragging a dead body and hiding it in a crate? Giving a speech pretending you’re a billionaire? Kicking a dead guy’s corpse to bruise it? MURDERING SOMEONE? That’s a whole different line right there. Not saying no to that kind of stuff goes beyond mind games and manipulation and just makes you a weak coward. Not being able to say “no, I’m not stuffing that man’s dead body in a box and giving his speech for him” and walking out the back door and leaving makes you a bad person.
One who should be pushed off a roof.
Update:
Interesting point from an Internet Lawyer.