Michelle Obama is a First Lady who has unabashedly reveled in her intelligence, compassion and love for pop culture during her time in the White House. We will always remember her speech about having to wake up in a house built by slaves, her efforts to educate girls in developing countries, and her fun side — the one that has given us ‘The Evolution of Mom Dancing” on Jimmy Fallon and multiple visits to Sesame Street. Our children and grandchildren will hear the stories of the first time we watched Michelle Obama sing “Get Your Freak On” with Missy Elliot on Carpool Karaoke.
These, perhaps, are the moments we will remember the most. Michelle Obama has never been afraid to step out from behind the costume of the First Lady and be a real and relatable person.
“What I have never been afraid of is to be a little silly, and you can engage people that way,” Obama tells Variety. “My view is, first you get them to laugh, then you get them to listen. So I’m always game for a good joke, and I’m not so formal in this role. There’s very little that we can’t do that people wouldn’t appreciate.”
The Obamas are a symbol of black love, power and achievement. However, what’s most endearing about them (after their awareness of their blackness) is their awareness of the state of being black in this world. In Michelle Obama’s Variety interview, she talks about how television gave her the passageway to become the woman she desired to be. Yet, she does not ignore the very obvious, tiresome problem of diversity on TV.
“For so many people, TV and movies may be the only way they understand people who aren’t like them. It becomes important for the world to see different images of each other, so that we can develop empathy and understanding,” says Obama, echoing the sentiments of a much younger Yara Shahidi, who once spoke on the importance of her Black-ish role not being the ‘stereotypical black girl.’
The importance of representation also expands outside the realm of TV.
During the 2016 Olympics, many photos of little girls aspiring to be the next Simone Biles, Simone Manuel and Gabby Douglas have gone viral, because even at a young age, children can comprehend who looks like them. Michelle Obama has been a major inspiration for young girls.
“And when I come across many little black girls who come up to me over the course of this 7½ years with tears in their eyes, and they say: ‘Thank you for being a role model for me. I don’t see educated black women on TV, and the fact that you’re first lady validates who I am….’”
But she was once the girl sitting on the other side of this equation.
At 52, Obama has lived through the era of now classic black shows such as All in the Family, The Jeffersons, The Cosby Show, and A Different World.
However, Obama tells Variety that The Mary Tyler Moore Show influenced her the most growing up. As a 10-year-old girl, she watched the show with family.
“She was one of the few single working women depicted on television at the time,” Obama says. “She wasn’t married. She wasn’t looking to get married. At no point did the series end in a happy ending with her finding a husband — which seemed to be the course you had to take as a woman. But she sort of bucked that. She worked in a newsroom, she had a tough boss, and she stood up to him. She had close friends, never bemoaning the fact that she was a single. She was very proud and comfortable in that role.”
“I was probably 10 or 11 when I saw that, and sort of started thinking, ‘You know what? Marriage is an option. Having a family is an option. And going to school and getting your education and building your career is another really viable option that can lead to happiness and fulfillment.”
Looking at the current lack of diversity on the little and big screen, Michelle Obama’s comments emphasize why we need more diversity on all levels — and why it’s special to have a first lady tuned in to these issues.
