Through her own gentle narration, the newly released Hulu documentary “The Lady Bird Diaries” gives an inside look into Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Johnson’s time behind White House doors. Director Dawn Porter and Johnson’s shared perspectives as women with law backgrounds allowed Porter to share and balance the complexities of Johnson’s story in a way never seen before.
The documentary’s use of Johnson’s diary recordings, old interviews, telephone calls, news footage, family film and photographs makes viewers feel like they’re watching a 1960s broadcast segment. The film begins the same way Johson’s time as the First Lady did: with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In the first few minutes, Johnson explains that her press secretary Liz Carpenter, also a UT alumna, gave Johnson her son’s recorder to recount her experience through tapes that became her personal diary the audience hears throughout the film. Johnson’s diaries detail how her worries extended beyond just highway beautification. The recordings weren’t released until after her death in 2007.
Throughout the film, old shots of Johnson donning bright dresses in rooms of suited politicians make her stick out like a wildflower during one of the darkest most controversial times in American history. The coincidental symbolism in this old footage further emphasizes the light, insight and undying aid Johnson gave to her husband and country between the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War, despite being talked down on in headlines or public gatherings.
While Johnson supported her husband during his presidency and spoke fondly of him, her recordings account for the occasional constructive criticism she provided. They also reveal Johnson never wished for her husband to run for a second presidential term. Johnson took her husband and family’s well-being into great consideration when expressing this to her husband at the beginning of his presidency and nearing the end of his presidency.
Additionally, Porter balanced the political side of the Johnson presidency story with the side that doesn’t get talked about as often. This included spotlighting how Johnson and her daughters received criticism for things even as ridiculous as their stylishness and the emotional toll of living in the White House. Porter also stressed Johnson’s environmental passions that extended long after being in office and encouraging her husband’s support on hundreds of environmental bills.
With the complexity of Johnson Porter managed to portray, “The Lady Bird Diaries” does more than share a First Lady’s story. It provides a closer look into America in the ‘60s, and it allows Johnson to tell her own story through her diary recordings. For that, the film proves unique and worth the 60-year wait.
4 ½ bluebonnets out of 5
