Obama Bio-Pic Recounts Rise to the Presidency
 

Barack Obama: The Man and His Journey
Click to order via Amazon

Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Number of discs: 1
Rating: Nit Rated
Studio: Vivendi Entertainment
DVD Release Date: January 20, 2009
Run Time: 80 minutes

DVD Review by Kam Williams
Very Good (3 stars)

As might be expected, the market is suddenly being flooded with Barack Obama books, bio-pics and bric-a-brac. This DVD is an uncritical vanity piece which essentially retraces his historic rise to the presidency, as recounted by a combination of news footage and entertaining interviews with some familiar talking heads.

Among the luminaries making appearances here are CNN's political consultant Roland Martin, Harvard Professor Laurence Tribe, comedian George Lopez, Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. and Harvard attorney-turned-actor Hill Harper. Lopez talks about how Latinos initially resisted Barack before taking the Kool Aid, while Harper reflects on his former classmate's prowess on the basketball court.

Designed as a keepsake for fans of the new First Family, no one has a bad word to say about Barack, so this documentary doesn't have anything controversial to offer, unless you count taking a few funny swipes at John McCain and Sarah Palin. Otherwise the biography is a cloying love fest from start to finish aimed at Obama supporters inclined to revisit every aspect of the campaign.

And it's all here, from the surprising win in Iowa to the temporary derailment by Reverend Wright to the tide-turning racism speech in Philadelphia clear through to the convention in Denver and the Election Day triumph. Readily recommended as a pleasant recap, provided you're not looking for much depth.
 

Related Links

Barack Obama in Hawaii and Indonesia: The Making of a Global President
Click to order via Amazon

by Dinesh Sharma, Ph.D.

Hardcover: 276 pages
Publisher: Praeger (September 22, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0313385335
ISBN-13: 978-0313385339
Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches

Read an AALBC.com Book Review

Barack Obama is the first American president born and raised in Hawai'i, the most diverse state in the Union, and the first American president to have spent a significant part of his childhood in a Muslim-majority nation, namely, Indonesia. What effect did these�and other early experiences�have on the man who is now, arguably, the world's most popular political leader?