Growing up in front of the eyes of the public isn’t something Malia Obama is not familiar with. Being the daughter of the former president of the United States, Barak Obama, she has spent her life under the limelight, and even today, the media is interested in her every move.
The 25-year-old just presented her directorial debut, The Heart, at the Sundance Film Festival. In the Sundance Institute’s “Meet the Artist” spotlight video, Malia Obama revealed she was going by the name Malia Ann, thus ditching her moniker.
Malia, who was born Malia Ann Obama on July 4, 1998, has her middle name honoring her paternal grandmother, who died from ovarian cancer at the age of 52 in 1995, and now, she has dropped her last name in favor of her middle name.
Speaking of the short film for which she served as both director and screenwriter, Malia said. “This is an odd little story, somewhat of fable, about a man grieving the death of his mother after she leaves him an unusual request in her will.” Further, in the YouTube clip of the short film, she wrote, “The film is about lost objects and lonely people and forgiveness and regret, but I also think it works hard to uncover where tenderness and closeness can exist in these things.”
The Heat isn’t her first attempt into the profession. Previously, the Harvard grad worked in the writers’ room on Donald’s Amazon Prime show Swarm, co-writing the fifth episode, “Girl, Bye.”
“She’s a very professional person,” Swarm‘s co-creator Janine Nabers said Malia in a January 2023 Vanity Fair interview. “She’s an incredible writer and artist. She made significant contributions… She’s very, truly committed to her craft.”
Swarm‘s executive producer Stephen Glover also spoke of Malia. “We can’t be easy on her just because she’s the [former] President’s daughter,” he told Vanity Fair. “No, she is really down-to-earth and cool. So it’s not an issue at all.”
Malia Obama isn’t the first celebrity who made the decision to ditch their family name. Other celebs have done that before, including Nicolas Cage, who changed his last name from Coppola, and Angelina Jolie, who dropped her surname, Voight.
For her directorial debut, Malia looked cozy, with minimal makeup, her curly hair down with small braids scattered throughout.
The Mysterious Little Pocket in Your Jeans
Ever wonder why there’s a small, enigmatic pocket in the front pocket of your jeans? You’re not by yourself! Though many of us have been making assumptions about why it exists, we haven’t been able to come up with a compelling explanation.
It isn’t big enough to fit a cell phone, tiny bills, or anything else. And the keys? Ignore it! There is simply no way that a key could fit in there.
So why is there a small pocket on every pair of jeans? Let’s investigate a few hypotheses and attempt to solve the puzzle!
Experts at the renowned American denim company Levi Strauss claim that the little pocket is referred to as a “watch pocket.” Cowboys in the 1800s used pocket watches on chains, thus they required a secure location to keep their watches. At that point, Levi’s unveiled this ingenious small compartment that was made especially to protect and safeguard cowboy timepieces.
However, what about right now? You might be wondering if this little pocket watch is still useful given the fall of pocket watches. Even if it might no longer be useful for its intended function, there are still some contemporary applications for it. A folded note or some coins or keys are among the little items that some people use it to store. Despite its modest size, it has a lot of versatility.
Thus, keep in mind its past the next time you reach inside that tiny pocket. This small fragment of fashion history has withstood the test of time.
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