Political narratives and intersectional representation: A critical reading of Michelle Obama's becoming

Abstract

This paper examines political narrative and intersectional representation in Michelle Obama’s Becoming in the light of Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri’s political theory and Stuart Hall’s notion of representation. The autobiography encapsulates Obama’s journey from the girl to becoming America’s First Lady. Highlighting highs and lows of her life, Obama describes how she transfigured her from becoming ‘me to us’. The memoir also depicts how political power transformed her identity and she gradually gained the potential to challenge and subvert the power structures. The research focuses on specifically there questions: What are the factors that affect Obama’s early life? How does she realize that there is racism everywhere in the USA? How does she succeed in maintaining her distinct identity despite the racism and political biasedness prevalent in American society? The paper embodies Hardt and Negri’s idea of political theory to highlight that by acquiring political power one can emphasize the role of social movements and gain the potential to challenge the submissive power structures. Similarly, Hall’s concept of representation has been adapted to present that representation locates the power as it is influenced by the dominant ideologies and can reinforce existing hierarchies. This paper, in this regard, concludes that political power works as a mechanism to bring a desired change in the nation making the sphere full of opportunities for those neglected and subordinated. Keywords: representation, politics, power, identity, intersectionality