Barack Obama is not only one of our youngest presidents — having been elected at age 47 — but also one of our coolest.
He's not just a fixture in politics, but in pop culture as well, and he isn't afraid to respond to mean tweets or parry with Zach Galifianakis between two ferns. He even dissed Kanye.
But knowing your way around pop culture isn't enough. It's also about taste.
Over the years, Obama has talked about the books, movies, and TV shows he likes the most. Taken together, they create a portrait of a man who’s deeply occupied with American stories, the nature of identity, and just getting away from being the leader of the free world for a while.
Let's take a look at Obama's pop-culture picks:
Obama’s favorite movies are “The Godfather” and “The Godfather II.”
One of our most important clues about Obama's favorite works of pop culture is a Facebook post promoting the Trans-Pacific Partnership and defending the importance of copyright laws. In it, he said his favorite movies are the first two “Godfather” films. It’s a smart pick — the two movies are classic American stories and widely regarded masterpieces of cinema.
“There’s this combination of old world gentility and ritual, with this savagery underneath,” Obama told MTV. “It’s all about family. So it’s a great movie.”
He’s also really into classics.
His other favorites include “Casablanca,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” and “Lawrence of Arabia,” all of which are Oscar winners.
As Obama said, “Who doesn’t like Casablanca?”
Him and Michelle watched “Do the Right Thing” on their first date.
At an event honoring the movie's 25th anniversary, Barack and Michelle Obama recounted the time they first watched the Spike Lee movie: their first date.
"He was trying to show me his sophisticated side by selecting an independent filmmaker," Michelle said. "It ended up being a pretty good movie."
"'Do the Right Thing' still holds up a mirror to our society, and it makes us laugh, and think, and challenges all of us to see ourselves in one another,” Barack Obama said.
Their first date was adapted into a movie itself, called "Southside with You."
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