Netflix Original Documentary
Directed by : Nadia Hallgren
Produced by : Barack Obama, Michelle Obama
Distributed by : Netflix
Year : 2020
For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim.
I see it instead as forward motion,
a means of evolving,
a way to reach continuously toward a better self.
The journey doesn’t end.
– MICHELLE OBAMA –
And true to her words, never did she let her work, her family, her position in life, her power or anything else define her completely. She let every moment of life be the paving stones for the next path and then the next.
In life, as she check-boxed each of her goals, she moved through each milestone with a perfect score. From the south side of Chicago, growing up in a family rooted in love, faith, openness, intelligence and ambition, to moving to Princeton, Harvard law to working in big firms, she not only steam-rolled ahead, she did that with strength and passion. From becoming the wife of a man she loved to becoming a mother to two beautiful daughters to becoming one of the most powerful woman in the world, she has seen more than most dream to see in multitudes of lifetimes. Yet something in her kept flowing and whichever role she was essaying, her ease and strength reflected in her being.
Michelle Obama was not just the wife of the President of the United States of America. She was truly the First Lady of the country, and to many she still is, though it has been nearly 4 years since she left the White House, and started afresh a new chapter of her life.
That chapter came in the form of her auto-biographical book “Becoming”. And the title of the book truly reflects the fluidity yet strength of her being. The book was a window into the many layers of her as an individual, not just what the world perceived of her or was shown to them, but what she really is.
And it definitely was a page-turner, which was something one usually doesn’t expect from an auto-biography. If indeed you loved her as the wife and a strong partner to one of the most beloved Presidents, the book would make you admire and love her for being just her, for her words, her strength, her life and all of it.
The book indeed is a must read!
“Your story is what you have, what you will always have. It is something to own.”
– MICHELLE OBAMA –
This week, Netflix released a documentary on the book tour of “Becoming” with Michelle Obama. And though the words spoken by her, the message she brought forth to the world, the love she got from all around is indeed heart-warming to watch, there is nothing really new or interesting that the documentary presented. Though it is beautiful to get a glimpse into her life, into the lives of those who were part of her journey and the love and effort she made to reach out to so many, for most parts, the show drags and the 1 hr 26 mins did feel longer than what it was.
Since I have read the book, the bits and pieces from her interviews or the quotes/ anecdotes from the book did form a flow. But without that to fall back on, the documentary seemed like glimpses of many things that didn’t really form a seamless narrative.
All in all, though high expectations were built-up before its release and the impact of the book still strong on the mind, the documentary was just many fleeting glimpses that didn’t culminate into a complete and fulfilling moment.
But the book is more than enough to speak for itself and her words still create the magic to make one want to go back to them again and again.
“Happy seemed like a starting place for everything.”
– MICHELLE OBAMA –
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