Barack Obama: he’s handsome, he’s a great orator and he’s inspired the nation as the first African-American to be elected president. But what makes Obama really special is that he’s keiki o ka aina.

Obama’s early years in Hawaii will be the focus of a locally produced documentary, titled “An American Boyhood: Barack Obama in Hawaii,” set to premier this month.

It’s obvious that the film is angling to dispel some of the myths surrounding Obama. For example, interviews with classmates from the Punahou School not-so-subtly reference the Christian school’s religious teachings, an obvious attack on the mindset that “Barack must be a Muslim because he has a scary sounding name!”

I love the little details this film provides about our soon-to-be prez. He was born at Kapiolani Medical Center, which I drive by weekly. He bummed around his neighborhood of Makiki, where I get coffee now and again. He lived in a modest apartment, not a well-appointed mansion. His first job was working at Baskin-Robbins on King Street. (As a McDonald’s alumnus, this makes me feel better about my future, despite not having any designs at a presidential nomination.)

But the movie has one notable challenge: to tread lightly the line between a legitimate Hawaii focus to the film and a less-legit and more preachy, pro-Hawaii vehicle.

From the trailer, every interviewee copiously mentions a direct relationship between Obama’s success and his childhood in Hawaii. It seems a bit trite to me, which could seriously jeopardize the film’s ability to gain widespread appeal outside our islands.

But then again, trailers can only reveal so much, and I’m optimistic. As a kama’aina, I have high hopes—I hope to hear a story about our new leader that is yet untold because only homegrown, island people can tell it.

Stay tuned for a review when the movie is released.

Visit www.BarackObamaHawaii.com to see a wonderfully lengthy half-hour preview

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Categories: Government, News
Tags: African-American, Barack Obama, Barack Obama in Hawaii, Features, Hawaii, Kapiolani Medical Center, Keiki O Ka Aina, Makiki, president, President of the United States, Punahou