Written by Rachele Terranova, Photo courtesy of Focus Features
Much like Pete Souza’s journey to Chief Official White House Photographer, “The Way I See It” remains relatively apolitical — until the end when the narrative flips. After chronicling some of the most crucial moments of Barak Obama’s presidency, Souza redirects his formerly behind-the-scenes seat in politics to bring new relevance to his images.
He previously photographed Ronald Reagan’s presidency, a president Souza did not necessarily agree with. Despite this, he began to develop his sense of humanizing the Office through all-encompassing images of what life as Commander in Chief is truly like. Souza contrasts the struggles, impossible decisions and devastating moments common in the everyday life of a president with heartwarming glimpses into their personal relationships.
Through his lens, we are introduced to the human side of the man in charge. As the film progresses, we are reminded of the necessity for the president to be led by someone with humility.
While in the White House, Souza recalls the hardest days were not the days he documented the Osama Bin Laden raid or Obama’s fight to pass the Affordable Care Act, but it was the days the President was faced with true human loss — visiting homes after natural disasters, meeting injured soldiers and embracing the families of shooting victims. Now, the darkest days are when we look back to the previous administration and see their empathy through leadership.
“There’s no substitute for empathy. It is a foundational relationship between human beings,” says David Wheeler, the father of a Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim, following a visit from President Obama.
In his own eyes, Souza is a historian. He is documenting still images of human history. But human history and the life of a president goes beyond what happens on the job. This realization shows a new side of the film. The shift from moments of warm nostalgia in the Obama White House is a stark contrast to our current administration. But Souza uses this to say that, given how little we know of the current administration, it’s hard to know what we are missing.
“We need real moments of real history,” he says. But with a Trump White House, PR photos are all we see.
His book “Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents” is the culmination of these efforts by Souza to establish the contrast between the two administrations. He began this through Instagram posts to respond to Trump’s tweets. This was Souza’s effort to actively throw shade.
The film culminates with messages of change, hope and “what the office can be, has been, and can be again” in light of the events of 2020.
These messages are, as described in the title, the way Pete Souza sees it. In the end, the same as a historian and photojournalist, we can all see the humanity of Barack Obama. We can all see the deep human connections between the former President and the lives he touched. And today, we can all see the demand for indispensable empathy at the root of every president.
Pete Souza makes us see that you don’t have to agree with all of a president’s politics, but if they are good at their core, you’ll see it.
