Sophia Michaels
Barack and Michelle Obama signed a wide-ranging deal with Netflix in 2018. The projects are now starting to pour forth, including a recent uplifting documentary, Crip Camp (about the transformative but ramshackle summer camp for disabled teenagers situated down the street from Woodstock). Soon, we’ll also see a documentary about former First Lady Michelle’s life following two presidential terms in the White House. In the above clip from Becoming, she makes clear to a group of young women that her path was unclear while transitioning back into “normal,” and she’s still “figuring out” life.
That sounds familiar to all of us right now, but guess what? Michelle also revealed in a press-release letter that she really misses hugs, and folks are bound to identify with that sentiment in these strange times as well. Uproxx Editor-in-Chief Brett Michael Dykes recently wrote in a newsletter (you can sign up for future editions here) that he’s missing hugs during the pandemic, and here’s what Michelle had to say on the subject:
“As many of you know, I’m a hugger. My whole life, I’ve seen it as the most natural and equalizing gesture one human can make toward another — the easiest way of saying, ‘I’m here for you.’ And this is one of the toughest parts of our new reality: Things that once felt simple — going to see a friend, sitting with someone who is hurting, embracing someone new — are now not simple at all.”
Michelle’s letter continued to express that humanity can come together with empathy despite our inability to gather, and she hopes that we can “remake the world” to be a better place despite the fear and loneliness that many of us feel right now.
With Becoming, director Nadia Hallgren takes an intimate look at how Michelle tackles the notion of profound change, which will likely resonate even more strongly now than it would under “normal” circumstances. The documentary will dive behind the scenes as Michelle tours 34 cities to support her memoir and finds a striking commonality among audiences in the process. It’s a project where “becoming” defines how people should dare to express their hopes and dreams, which can (hopefully) transform into beacons of light during our current difficult times.
Netflix’s Becoming streams on May 6.
Written by: Uproxx
