15 Best Netflix Originals Of 2020 So Far - Ranked
14. Becoming
Michelle Obama's 2018 memoir, also titled Becoming, is the jumping off point for this Netflix special. This follows Obama on the multicity booktour to promote the memoir, filled with positive attitude and messages for all to see.
The special can be accused of seeming somewhat routine, with the feel of a star handpicking what to show the audience, yet at the same time, none of that feels particularly on show.
It is different from the memoir in that it is slightly less personal. The memoir relates private stories from Obama's upbringing and her years in the White House, so in terms of revelations there's not an awful lot new in this piece.
However, that aside, it is a wonderful presentation of one of the most influential women in recent American history. She is warm, open and caring. The conversations she has with smaller groups of spectators are the real treat on offer. She fields questions like how does she deal with her own sense of impostor syndrome.
She attributes this to her parents, saying that they always advised her that one cannot wait for the world to be equal to really feel like being a part of things and belonging.
The film is not the open-book special that many might like to see, but it is a refreshing view of a beloved public figure. Well worth a watch.