Kill Your Boomers and Birthright tackle the housing crisis through fiction, exploring the sharp divide between generations.
Overview
Australian author Fiona Wright’s debut novel Kill Your Boomers and filmmaker Zoe Pepper’s movie Birthright both address the housing crisis through fiction. Each work depicts the growing intergenerational tensions surrounding housing affordability.
The Stories
Kill Your Boomers follows Keira, a 30-something Sydneysider obsessed with real estate but unable to afford a home. The novel explores the indignities of renting and a revenge fantasy against landlords.
Birthright centers on a couple in their 30s who move in with parents after an eviction, creating intense conflicts under one roof.
The Crisis by the Numbers
Housing affordability has worsened dramatically for younger Australians.
- National median house values have increased over 400% since 1999.
- Between March 2020 and March 2024, house values rose ~38.4% while wages increased less than half that amount.
- Rents rose $177 per week over the same period.
- Home ownership rates: 55% of millennials, 62% of Gen X, and 66% of baby boomers at the same age.
- Millennials are the most qualified generation — 79% pursued further education, compared to 48% of baby boomers.
Voices from the Works
Wright began writing the novel in 2018, before the term "housing crisis" was commonly used. She described renting as involving "indignities" such as lengthy searches and frequent moves.
Pepper noted that during the pandemic, many friends moved back with parents temporarily, leading her to explore the power dynamics between generations living under one roof.
Wright said the cultural conversation around renting and ownership changed notably during the writing process.
Other Artists Weigh In
Other millennial artists are also addressing housing themes:
- Ellena Savage – novel The Ruiners
- Ian Strange – photography and installations
- Alana Hunt – exhibition A Deceptively Simple Need
Hunt’s work included delivering letters to expensive houses requesting free housing for a decade as an art piece.