A real look at the shoes changing the world
Nike’s Air Jordan brand is one of the biggest shoe brands in the world. Seen across all of pop culture and at some point been on a majority of people’s feet the Air Jordan brand became it’s gigantic self quite quickly and to this day it remains as one of the most popular shoe brands. One Man and His Shoes is a documentary that looks at the shoe brand and it’s important to watch.
One Man and His Shoes, directed by Yemi Bamiro, tells the story of the phenomenon of Air Jordan sneakers and their social, cultural and racial significance. It’s a story that an alarming look into brand marketing, materialism and corporate accountability, especially if you live outside of the US.
The documentary, which begins with some incredible artwork for opening titles and has an overall great design, tells the story of the rise of the Air Jordan brand well. You get your usual overall retelling of the Air Jordan history as well as bits of info again of how amazing of an athlete Michael Jordan was.
What is important about the Air Jordan story is what it has done for the world of advertising and branded content. Michael Jordan’s journey and achievements off the court in this area has truly changed the way sports stars and brands are advertised and used for advertising. Its crazy to think that it wasn’t really that long ago that it was so different and One Man and His Shoes really makes that clear.
The part that is normally looked over in this triumphant story is what is at the core of One Man and His Shoes and that is the effect it is having on people’s everyday lives. One Man and His Shoes goes from telling this great success story to a story about the effect the brand has had on kids and society in our modern-day life.
The documentary isn’t afraid to show the stories of shootings, muggings and killings over Air Jordans. It is something that I wasn’t completely aware of, maybe because I live outside of the US where, according to the documentary, most of the events occur but that would need some further research. People have truly become obsessed with sneakers and sneaker culture, paying ridiculous about of prices for shoes they’ll never wear, I would do the same for Lego if I had the money so it is something that many items and cultures have.
One Man and His Shoes focuses on Nike and Michael Jordan’s seemingly lack of caring about these events which, when watching, will really make you think about your choice of brands you buy from. The documentary also takes a look at how Nike uses particular events and picking the right side of topical issues in their marketing to get you to go with their brand. It is all something that the documentary has opened my eyes a little more to help me realise.
One Man and His Shoes is certainly a must-watch documentary for many people. You should watch it if you already care about how a brand treats its customers. You should watch it if you’re a fan of the Air Jordan brand as you may learn a lot of new things. You should definitely watch it if you’re about to choose a new pair of shoes because maybe Nike and the Air Jordan brand isn’t really what you think it is. One Man and His Shoes is a surprisingly in-depth look at something we wouldn’t normally think about, how a shoe brand has changed the world and not all of it is good.