Holding a position as prestigious as President of the United States is a job so rare, dynamic and so all-encompassing that the title sticks with you for the rest of your life, but what of the first lady?

Being the first lady is a job of the same magnitude as President, but unlike President, it is less of a choice and more of a responsibility or calling.  

While these positions come and go and there is always a President and first lady, the story of Michelle Obama is unique in so many ways. 

“Becoming” is a documentary revolving around Obama’s book tour as she traveled the country through 2019, visiting 34 cities, holding interviews on stage and connecting with fans of all ages at book signings and schools as she reminisces about memories leading up to and during the Obama administration. 

“She served our country as the 44th First lady of the United States,” said Oprah Winfrey as she introduced Obama on stage in her hometown of Chicago. “She made us always feel like the White House was our house; the peoples’ house.”

The pressure of being in the spotlight, on a global level, for eight years would be a significant chapter in any woman’s life, but Obama’s story is so unique in it’s own way that it magnified the intensity beyond what I can imagine. 

That’s why this documentary is so important, so necessary to give people an idea of what it was like. 

This family really grew up in a world of diversity, conflict and barriers on their way to the highest office in the country and overcame so much to get there.

Director Nadia Hallgren captures the emotion well by balancing heartwarming moments of the Obama family, as well as the stress of being such public figures that news outlets would criticize their fashion and tops it off with the level of inspiration consistent with the First Lady’s persona. 

Barack and Michelle had a job that made them the representatives of the United States but even more so, representatives of the African race in real world situations, not Hollywood. 

Beyond the people hoping they would fail for their own beliefs, the world of politics makes it worse when people try to make stuff up or twist words to sabotage you further just for political background as if race isn’t enough.

“I was becoming effective in the campaign so they went after me like they would a candidate,” Obama said. “It blind-sided me.”

In short, the Obama legacy is a pivotal historical event and if anybody has a story to tell, this is it.  

This documentary is the closure that curious minds need to truly understand the climate of the American culture and to get a feel for the truth behind the publicity. 

The Obamas led a defining moment in history, and what’s more, did it so well they made it look easy. This documentary is a wholesome truth, adding humanity to politics that I encourage the world to see. 

“We got on Air Force One and when I got on the plane, I think I sobbed…for 30 minutes,” Obama said with an emotional pause about her last day. “And I think it was just the release of eight years of trying to do everything perfectly.”