Becoming: What Michelle Obama's Netflix Documentary Leaves Out
The Netflix documentary Becoming reveals plenty about Michelle Obama's goals and aspirations, but doesn't necessarily provide an in-depth look at her life. As a result, Nadia Hallgren's film comes across more as a message movie rather than a balanced narrative about everything that Michelle faced before marrying the would-be 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama.
Becoming follows Michelle Obama's 34-city book tour in 2018, in promotion of her Grammy Award-winning memoir. In the Netflix documentary, Michelle reflects about the emotional release of leaving the White House in 2016, and what she learned during the experience. Becoming shows her speaking with young students, and focuses on her "basic joy" of helping people grow. At times, Michelle speaks about her upbringing in the South Side of Chicago, but the majority of the film centers on her ability to find strength from within.
Overall, Becoming is meant to provide an uplifting experience. Viewers shouldn't expect any huge reveals about Michelle Obama's life, aside from her strong opinions about the American voting process and how the media has portrayed her over the years. By the end, many people may be wondering about the full story beyond the focal message. Here's what is seemingly left out in Becoming on Netflix.
Becoming on Netflix opens with a tone-setter, as Michelle Obama listens to music and references her "eclectic taste." She notes that her selections depend on her mood, and whether she wants to be inspired or simply wants to "funk it out." But just when she seems like she'll explain which artists she likes, and why, the moment transitions into a montage sequence that covers her White House experience. As a result, the opening minutes of Becoming feel more like a show rather than intimate moment with a former First Lady.
The selected music cue - "A God Like You" by Kirk Franklin - also feels a bit dramatically contrived, especially through lyrics such as "Everybody wanna be like you, They/Want power and praise like you." In terms of storytelling, the director does indeed hype up Michelle Obama, but never quite returns to a similar moment where she expands about her personal hobbies. Instead, Becoming pays more attention to Michelle's message for America's youth and her quest to once again live a relatively normal life. Because of the book tour premise, many viewers may be curious about which authors Michelle enjoys reading, and which writers challenge her the most.
One of Becoming's most poignant moments shows Michelle Obama meeting with fans during her book tour, and making sure to hear each and every personal story. Not only does the sequence underline the subject's charisma, but also her ability to connect with others, regardless of race, gender, or differing backstories. Michelle describes the book tour as "an emotional, sociological dance with people," and the Netflix documentary shows footage of young people being overwhelmed with emotions. But even though Michelle often reflects about her life, she doesn't say a whole lot about the difficult aspects of touring or traveling.
To be fair, Michelle shows a vulnerable side in Becoming on Netflix, one that allows her to better understand the youth she wants to inspire. But when questioned by students, Michelle is consistently shown delivering a message about being motivated and finding strength from within. On the flip side, she doesn't really discuss the daily stresses of her life. Because of the film's premise, that makes perfect sense. For some viewers, however, there may be value in seeing someone like Michelle Obama drop her guard just a little bit more.
Midway through Becoming on Netflix, an extended sequence reveals the dynamics between Michelle Obama, her brother, and her mother. It's implied that Michelle's upbringing was strict, and that her older brother was raised much differently. And so viewers receive the appropriate context for Michelle's personality traits. Meanwhile, a sequence dedicated to her late father shows just how influential he was before passing away from ALS. From beginning to end, the Becoming family sequences include some familial teasing, but are mostly devoid of any conversations about genuine friction.
In Becoming, its the external conflict that is prioritized. For example, Michelle Obama remembers a counselor who believed that she wasn't "Princeton material," and admits to still feeling "salty." The subject also delivers a moving commentary about how much she was hurt by the media while campaigning for her husband in 2008. In addition, Michelle reveals that she was deeply hurt upon learning how many black Americans didn't vote during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, stating, "After all that work, they couldn't be bothered to vote at all. That's my trauma." But when speaking about her own family, Michelle unsurprisingly stays positive, evidenced most by a sequence when she tells a student that she never felt "invisible" growing up, and that young people need to empower themselves. The message is strong, but it also shows the sharp slant of the Netflix documentary.
When discussing her first meetings with Barack Obama at Harvard, Michelle discusses being struck by the tone of his voice and the slight disappointment of him being late for a meeting. Of course, their relationship worked out well in the long run. Still, Becoming doesn't reveal any major conflict between the couple, and instead focuses on external forces that threatened the relationship. For example, Michelle reveals being concerned about the optics of dating Barack during the late '80s at Harvard, both because of their professional relationship and because there was a small population of black students. Meaning, Michelle didn't want people to believe they were drawn to each other because of circumstance rather than a genuine personal connection. She also speaks about some disturbing experiences at Princeton, most notably how a roommate's mother thought she might be "dangerous" - a clear sign of racism. Michelle also talks about discovering that her more-privileged classmates were "not that smart." Yet Becoming strays from covering any of Michelle's educational conflict in favor of more flattering sequences about her work ethic.
For obvious reasons, Becoming doesn't focus heavily on the accomplishments of Barack Obama. In fact, the Netflix documentary is fundamentally about Michelle being her own woman - before her marriage and now. The book tour premise allows for various sequences that show Michelle conversing with young people she wants to inspire, along with behind-the-scenes clips that introduce her closest friends and companions. But when Becoming shifts to brief segment about Michelle's security detail, it becomes overtly clear that much of her day-to-day life didn't make the final cut. The Netflix documentary effectively demonstrates what she wants to accomplish moving forward, but there's not much footage that details the day-to-day grind of being Michelle Obama, whether it's as a mother, a wife, or as a world-famous woman.