Inauguration Road: St. Louis Kids & the Obama Inauguration

As with any minor documentary, this is about presenting ideas rather than achieving a satisfying style. In this case, it explores the social landscape of one section of America leading up to Obama's inauguration, as well as gathering a bunch of cute children and having them give their thoughts on then-contemporary politics. Mostly, these kids try to talk beyond their knowledge, stating that there are problems with the Iraq War, the economy and such. Standard application of the whole "through the eyes of innocence" thing. The presentation is too on the nose at times: when talking about taxes and money, the image shows dollar signs, and later dollar bills, drifting across the screen. Tacky. Interestingly, it makes a note of the litter left by the crowd after the inauguration and has some of the children remark on it. Not an angle that usually comes up when reflecting on these events.

All in all, it is a record of the time it portrays. It isn't remarkable, but it is a worthy addition to the pile of material for future historians.

On a side note, I watched this because I'm friends with one of the girls in it. She was so cute then!