December 08, 2009  (Web Review)

Becoming Barack: Evolution of a Leader
(2009) 55 min. DVD: $19.99. Little Dizzy Home Video (avail. from most distributors).
Narrated by Phil LaMarr (MADtv), Robert Yuhas’ documentary explores President Barack Obama’s formative years, combining archival footage, photos, and interviews with both contemporaries and Obama himself. Becoming Barack: Evolution of a Leader traces facets of Obama’s upbringing in Hawaii while also focusing on some of the experiences, from Chicago to Kenya, that led him to his current life path. From his work as a community organizer at the Altgeld Gardens housing project, to his strategic planning for the Project Vote registration movement and his tenure as Harvard Law Review president, the program features commentary from those who know Obama (including his half-sister Auma) and have worked with him, and it underscores the fact Obama has been striving for change since long before his 2008 campaign slogans. “He always felt everybody was somebody,” says one interviewee. Although the folksy soundtrack is lackluster and some choices to illustrate Obama’s embrace of black culture seem off-topic (such as the inclusion of a picture of sitcom characters George and Weezie Jefferson), overall the documentary presents interesting background information on the Nobel Peace Prize winner and his singular journey. Recommended. Aud: P. (J. Williams-Wood)