Beautifully and compellingly directed by Dawn Porter, the movie chronicles Pete Souza's years in the White House. While the focus is of course on his Obama years, we also get some great material from the 80s when he served on the team of photographers for the Reagan administration. The fact that Souza worked for both a Republican and a Democrat is significant, because one of his key messages is that his attacks of Trump are not based on political affiliation. Instead, his disgust stems from his years of witnessing what it means to be a President of the United States and the weight of that office, regardless of political party. He may not have agreed with Reagan's policies, but he still respected him as a President, and chronicled the many difficult decisions that man had to make and the scandals he had to weather while in office. He also speaks fondly of Reagan's relationship with his wife, and the love the two had for each other. Of course, when we get to Obama, there are plenty of photos of the First Family to further gladden your heart and remind you what it was like when the President was a man who was actually beloved.
The key to Souza's job was to get unlimited access to the President. He was the fly on the wall, documenting every trip, every speech, every meeting, and every snowball fight with Sasha and Malia. While yes, it is a government job to show the public what the President is like, Souza doesn't view these photos as being part of a PR exercise. Given his background as a photojournalist, he took this job very seriously, viewing himself as a historian. He took photos that showcased what life was truly like for the President during his time in office, and these photos will be archived and studied by future generations. One of his biggest bones of contention with the Trump administration is that they have not allowed unfettered access to photographers and only release posed photographs. It is such a loss to the historical record and further adds on to the lies that emanate from today's White House.
Souza's focus when chronicling Obama was leadership and empathy. He knows the story behind every photograph he took, and as the movie progresses, you will be inundated by images that chronicle everything from the mundane to the magnificent. Many of these photos are iconic images that you've already seen before, but others might be your first glimpse into how the administration dealt with a particular win or a devastating tragedy. There are so many examples of Obama's kindness to other humans, so many hugs, so many smiles, so many tears, so much compassion and sheer charisma. You will relive all eight years of that administration, and while they had their ups and down, the man at the center was always a President who was steadfast and respectable, a man that you could admire.
The Way I See It is a beautiful movie that tells a political story from an unlikely perspective. No one ever thinks about the photographer, and yet, here he is, one of the few people who knows more about the President than any other human being. And like many people, he was largely apolitical until the 2016 election, when Trump turned him into an outspoken Instagram and media star. It's an unlikely transformation for a man who was previously so content to be quiet and take photos, but he is a fascinating and thoughtful figure whose story is well worth hearing. A picture tells a thousand words and this movie is an epic saga. I shed multiple tears on watching it, swept away by the memories of what it was like when an honest and decent man was the President of the United States. On November 3, perhaps we can see an honest and decent man reclaim that title. So watch this movie and make sure you VOTE.
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