Bronx Princess is the engaging portrait of Rocky Otoo, born to Ghanaian parents and raised in New York.  Set both in the borough of the title and the city in Africa where her father is a chief, this PBS P.O.V. documentary emphatically shows that unbridled teenage displeasure knows no national boundaries.

    When at home she sucks her teeth at her mother and longs to visit her father.  In Ghana, every whim not properly and immediately addressed leads to sobs and calls home.  Fortunately though, there’s more to this seventeen year old than her bottomless chagrin.

    She was president of the high school student council (which she also served as treasurer and v.p.); captain of the debate team; editor of the yearbook;  and a power forward on the basketball squad.  As she nonchalantly states in a voice-over, she is a natural leader.  A photo of her beside New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg accompanies this pronouncement.

    Otoo wins a full scholarship to Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, where she expects to major in international affairs.  After that she anticipates appointment as an ambassador or being elected President of the United States.   It seems foolhardy to dismiss the notion.

    The film would have benefited from interspersing more actual representations of her accomplishments and focus.  Her episodes of boredom and extravagant disinterest are given too much prominence.  Despite her evident charisma and talents, this compromises a more well-rounded appreciation of her, as well as some viewer sympathy.  Still, Rocky is clearly a force to be reckoned with and this documentary addresses generational and cultural conflicts in a frank and compelling fashion.  Blitz the Ambassador provides a lively Afro-Pop score, and there are also some clever opening and closing credit treatments.

    The hour includes two interesting shorts: So the Wind Won’t Blow It All Away looks at three resilient teenagers in post-Katrina New Orleans.  They’re struggling on their own with the many hardships in the aftermath of the storm, but remain unwilling to surrender to despair.  This succinct and heartfelt short is a profound reminder of the lingering devastation that afflicts the city and its inhabitants.  Chalk one up on the board for high school marching bands as a poignant and blazing symbol of keeping one’s chin up.

    Stewart Copeland’s Jennifer is a warm, nostalgic remembrance of his deceased mother, a grade school science teacher in Tennessee.  One of her most treasured moments is shown in actual footage from the 60’s: when her 8th grade class communicated via radio with astronauts orbiting the Earth aboard an international space station.  ★★★½☆☆ -- Alex Roberts

    Bronx Princess airs tomorrow (Sept. 22) at 10 p.m. on PBS.

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