'Becoming' shows Michelle Obama's loving bond with her brother: 'He was my first crush and protector'
Spoilers for 'Becoming'
Former First Lady Michelle Obama's documentary on her tour for her memoir, 'Becoming', takes you into the world of a young woman who grew up on the southside of Chicago and "never felt invisible". Keeping her calm as she stepped out of the White House making way from the Trumps that followed, Michelle said she sobbed on Air Force 1 and called it the "release of eight years of trying to do everything perfectly". While the documentary sheds light on where she gained her confidence and her expectation of young people to be great, we get a glimpse of her relationship with her brother Craig Robinson. Their sibling relationship is almost enviable as we see how their bond only got stronger even though "everybody liked Craig" more.
Although it was an honor to have been the First Lady of the United States of America, Michelle said it was like being "shot out of a canon". With her interactions being "sanitized", she craved the emotional bond and time with young people — one she got to experience during this book tour. "It's an emotional sociological dance with people," she said as we saw youngsters in awe of their role model.
Michelle's mother Marian Lois Robinson's appearance in the documentary portrays the strong family bond the trio share, especially after the passing of her father, Fraser C Robinson III.
Coming from a family where Michelle says one was free to "ask anything" politely at the dinner table with some BBQ and music, she said her life "wasn't hers" anymore after she became the First Lady. Marian said she was "too soft" on Craig and admired Michelle's feisty nature. This is when Craig chimed in saying that their mom was "too strict". With much laughter and a peek into their old family photo albums, we get a glimpse of the strong bond this family shares.
Turns out that in high school, Michelle was ready to follow her brother's footsteps to Princeton when her guidance counselor had said, "I don't think you're Princeton material", a comment the former First Lady is still "salty" about. We are then told the counselor doesn't work at the school anymore.
"My first crush — my big brother. Everybody liked Craig, my mother liked Craig more than me. At Thanksgiving, butlers were like 'where's Craig', and I was like come on, I am the first lady, what more do I have to do?" joked Michelle.
Speaking of his sister, Craig said, "That's incredible, everybody in the world knows who my sister is. What is that? That's dumb. Nobody should have to deal with that, no one. No brother should have to deal with their sister being the most popular person in the world." Michelle has been part of a media storm that judged her every "gesture and eye blink".
In her memoir, Michelle wrote that her brother, a basketball legend at Princeton, was her "protector". She wrote, "Craig’s opinion of Barack mattered to me and my brother knew how to read people, especially in the context of a game."
'Becoming' is now available to stream on Netflix.
