The Way I See It (2020)

(On Cable TV, October 2020) Peter de Souza spent years of his life being as inconspicuous as possible—as an official photographer for the White House during the Reagan administration, then the Obama one, his job depended on capturing key moments of the presidency without being noticed, without people even realizing that he was in the room. As such, it gave him a unique look at the way a president behaves in all spheres of his life—personal and political. He probably could have lived the rest of his life in relative obscurity, but as The Way I See It explains, this unique knowledge of presidential behaviour also led him to pass judgment on Obama’s successor, especially as the excesses of the administration trampled upon the exemplary behaviour that de Souza witnessed. Using Instagram and his formidable archives, de Souza became a leading mocker of the commander-in-chief, pointing out the contrasts between the president he shadowed for eight years and his less-than-admirable successor. The Way I See It would not have existed without this controversy—much of the film is framed by a presentation in which de Souza acknowledges these unprecedented times and the unusually combative position in which he placed himself. But this, as he points out, is not a partisan thing—having served both Democratic and Republican administrations, he poses the difference in terms of decency—Reagan and Obama were decent people (a thesis abundantly illustrated with dozens of intimate anecdotes), whereas the current president is not. Much of The Way I See It illustrates its point by speedrunning through much of the Obama administration, pointing out a consistency of behaviour at odds with his successor, and reminding us of what a truly presidential response can be—the Sandy Hooks segment is particularly powerful, showing a president capable of authentic compassion and empathy. The documentary doesn’t need to compare it with the behaviour of Obama’s successor—we all know he’s incapable of such things. If I do have one issue about The Way I See It, it’s that Peter de Souza’s job is fascinating enough that it didn’t need the constant reminders about the current administration: it will date the film faster than it should, although I hope that we’ll soon be able to look upon this documentary as a distasteful reminder of a particularly dark period in American politics.