Young black women in particular have never had such a powerful role model in mainstream media and the way they respond to her presence in a room – typically with excited laughter and tears – speaks volumes to the positive impact that diversity has when given the largest platform in the world. The clips of her mentoring young people, which weave in and out of the narrative, drive home how important her refusal to retire from the limelight is. Towards the end of the documentary, the fantasist in me imagined Obama suddenly turning to the screen and saying, “And that’s why I’m running for president.” It never comes, but she does give us hope when she says she’ll use her platform to help others for as long as she can. The contrast to the person who occupies the White House today is striking, but rarely mentioned explicitly and, above all, Becoming will make you yearn for a time when we were led by people with compassion, intelligence and dignity. Political figures are often accused of being out of touch, but the Obamas knew what their supporters both wanted and needed because, at one point or another, they probably wanted it too. The reason Obama’s message resonates with so many is because she understands what those who weren’t born into privilege are going through. Obama faced similar hurdles in her own life, having being told by a school teacher that her dreams of attending Princeton University were too ambitious (she got in, obviously) and stereotyped by the media as an angry black woman, and although she overcame them, it shows just how generations of disadvantage can shape a person’s outlook on the world.
She describes him as someone who was perpetually underestimated, equipped with the basic tools needed to succeed, but held back by boundaries drawn out by racism and class.
A large portion of the documentary is dedicated to Obama’s father, Fraser Robinson III, who battled MS and passed away before he got to see the incredible impact his daughter would have on the world.
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