Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’ Documentary Shows an Overview of her Life and Journey to First Lady
Starting in Chicago, to the lawn of the White House, America’s first African-American first lady has lived a remarkable life thus far. No matter your background, this film tells important life lessons anyone can use in their life.
Michelle Obama in ‘Becoming’ / Netflix
Regardless of political views, it’s clear Michelle Obama has made a great impact on the United States and the world as former First Lady. She is widely known for her kindness, commitment to public service and public good, and setting a positive example for those around her. After publishing her autobiography “Becoming”, Netflix released a documentary alongside for book to commemorate her life and share her story with the world.
The film is mostly narrated by Michelle as she shares insights into her childhood, upbringing, and life once becoming the First Lady of the United States. Her story is incredibly inspiring and is one that many can look to as one that proves hard work and perseverance truly pays off. She details her journey of being raised in the south side of Chicago and eventually graduating from Princeton University and continuing to study at Harvard Law School. She became a lawyer who advocated for a plethora of issues, form public education, military families, and social justice. Her humor and light personality keep the film entertaining and I especially love how she emphasizes all the important moments in her life before becoming famous and how everything that came before that is also a part of who she is.
She also discusses her journey into becoming First Lady and delves into the initiatives spearheaded during her time living in the White House. She prioritized childhood health by instilling the initiative “Let’s Move!” and focuses a lot on military families through the “Joining Forces” program. Despite Michelle being an extremely accomplished and inspiring individual, she manages to maintain and personal approach with her interviews and shares her own struggles and tribulations throughout her life. She shares many messages that anyone of any age can apply to their own lives. Another aspect of the film that I really enjoyed was how the filmmakers incorporated clips of her family members and relatives as they went on about their daily life. This candid view into someone as influential as Michelle Obama helps make her seem more relatable and down to earth for audiences.
Additionally, the film revolves around Michelle’s contributions and projects after moving out of the white house. The film emphasizes how her journey and impact in the world is just beginning, and she has many passions she hopes to become involved in. Her focus in this film is working with youth in schools and talking with them about the barriers some of them face as students of color. She advocates for attending college, and celebrates with students as they apply and commit to a variety of universities.
This film is incredibly uplifting and positive, and instead of focusing on issues or negative topics like many documentaries I tend to watch, this one gave me hope over any emotion. Michelle Obama’s relentless hard work and advocacy for the greater good of society is incredibly inspiring and I love how the film utilizes her story as inspiration for others to fight for change and better society. Her words of wisdom and sharing of personal experiences acted as motivation for me to go out and continue to work hard. While I don’t dream of becoming First Lady, her story motivates me to never stop pursuing my dreams and always do things for the greater good of those around us.