Michelle Obama has been in the media more and even announced the Oscars for the Best Picture of 2013 on Feb. 23 It was the first time that a First Lady has made an appearance at the Oscars. Critics think she is getting too much attention. According to The Associated Press, “The first lady says it was ‘absolutely not surprising’ to her that her satellite appearance at the Academy Awards ceremony provoked a national conversation about whether it was appropriate, after some conservative critics accused her of selfishly crashing the event in an attempt to upstage it.“Americans have long been fascinated by their first ladies, scrutinizing everything from their clothes and hair to the issues they promote and how they raise their children. Mrs. Obama acknowledged that she and President Barack Obama have added appeal, and perhaps sometimes are subject to extra scrutiny, because they are the first black family in the White House but also a young couple (she turned 49 last month; he's 51) with young children (daughters Sasha, 11, and Malia, 14),” reports AP.Not only has Mrs. Obama been seen by those watching the Oscars, but also she has been seen by kids on children's programming and various talk shows. Mrs. Obama has started a initiative entitled "Let's Move," which fights childhood obesity. She appeared on Jimmy Fallon's late night show to promote this initiative. According to an article entitled "Michelle Obama dances like a mom," found on CNN, the message of her fitness initiative is: “It doesn’t matter how you move, as long as you do."The article continues, "So first lady Michelle Obama took to her feet and demonstrated the ‘Evolution of Mom Dance’ with Jimmy Fallon on his NBC program Friday night, showing off classic dance steps like the ‘go shopping, get groceries,’ the ‘driving the station wagon’and the ‘just the hands part of “Single Ladies.’”There are varying viewpoints of this media exposure. Some say it is for the initiative while others disagree completely. Jesse Oliva, a senior majoring in business human resources from Maryland, states "I don't care about the Obama's involvement in social programs because I think it's all for publicity."
Writer: Tucker Grimshaw~Multimedia Journalist
