Hidden Figures Film Analysis Hidden Figures is a 2016 film that recounts the story of three incredible black women in NASA history: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. The film largely sheds light on the experiences of these three women working as computers for NASA during 1960s segregated America. Public restrooms are separated between the whites and coloreds, the white male patriarchy dominates the field, and as always, racism is alive and well. During the film, the political unrest of the country is present and very much of conversation, and as these three women navigate their way throughout society with positions no one expects them to hold, they quite literally make history through their groundbreaking work, history …show more content…
The acting of the three main characters was genuine, honest, and truly exemplary. What I also found to be quite interesting and perhaps a weakness of the film, was the sense of performative racism that four of the main white characters utilize and how the makers of the film appeal to such a phenomenon through symbolisms as well. In the movie, there seems to be two main kinds of racism the characters exhibit, one of them being blatant racism and another being subtle racism through microaggressions. For example, Katherine experiences blatantly racist and misogynistic behavior from her coworkers, especially from Paul Stafford, the lead engineer (making groupthink much easier) and Ruth, the only other woman working in the office. On the other hand, Al Harrison and John Glenn appeal to the subtler sides of racism and performative white pity, Glenn going out of his way to shake the hands of the computers as the film attempted to paint a positive, “not-all-whites” picture of inclusion, acceptance and tolerance, a kind of racism that almost all of the white people in the film come to, by its end. Examples of this can be seen in scenes like the one in which Al Harrison smashes down the “coloreds” and “whites” restroom signs as if implying that doing so will abolish all racial inequalities with a couple of blows of blunt force. One could infer it seems, that paired with the groundbreaking stories of these three women, white people being decent human
Depending on the perspective of the writer, the reader can be lead to understand history or events very differently. It is such an important thing to consider because one point of view includes only the people that the person that is telling the story has surrounded themselves with. In the case of the book, the reader got a very different perspective of the time, NASA, and the Space Race. United States History does not teach about the women who helped in such an influential way. No one would have ever known about this story if it was not because of the book. The author did not even know about until a very late period in her life and even when she did, she had to do a lot of research before the story even made sense. Hidden Figures gives a more complete story as to the time and allows the reader to explore the issues of race and being a woman in the field of
The film Hidden Figures is based on a true story and adapted from the book ‘Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race’ by Margot Lee Shetterly. The movie is centered around a trio of African-American women who worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and played an essential role in sending John Glenn to space amidst a burgeoning Space Race between the United States of America and Russia. Based in Hampton, Virginia in the 1960’s, film depicts the deep racism and sexism prevalent in the United States at that time. The film provides a glimpse of the stark realities that black women faced at the time. From the segregated bathrooms and
The 2016 historical / drama film, Hidden Figures directed by Theodore Melfi explores the themes of racism and sexism in America during the 1960’s. These themes expresses Theodore Melfi’s intention of this film is displaying that sexism and racism is hard to abolish. Melfi uses visual and verbal features of dialogue, costume and symbolism to contribute to the director’s intention.
To a historian studying African-American women in the United States in the 1960’s, Hidden figures is a one-way ticket to the ways and views of people during this period of time. Coloured women in the 60’s who worked at NASA were usually made to be “human computers” (the likes of which dated back decades before space exploration) While they did the same work as their white counterparts, African-American computers were paid less and relegated to the segregated west section of the Langley campus, where they were made to use separate bathrooms and dining rooms. They became known as the "West Computers." Despite having the same education, they were often never considered for promotions or other jobs within NACA. Hidden Figures depicts this in a
Hidden Figures is a movie that focused on three women and the space race. Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson played a main role in helping NASA with the space race. All three of them worked to help for John Glenn’s flight to orbit the earth. The behind the scenes that lead up to Mercury-Atlas 6’s blast off was acknowledged in the movie Hidden Figures. 1961 is when all of the major change that lead to today’s history started to happen inside of NASA.
The setting of the movie greatly influenced the issues, actions, conflicts, and consequences the characters faced. The opening of the film “Hidden Figures” takes place in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia in the year 1926 when Katherine Coleman was just a sixth grader. The following scenes takes place in Hampton, Virginia of 1961. The film sets the struggle for equal rights against the backdrop of the space race recounting a time when even at NASA, African-Americans were segregated from their white counterparts. However, if the story had taken place in a different country or a different time period, the nonmaterial culture would have been completely different. Nonmaterial culture is “a group’s way of thinking (including its beliefs, values,
Hidden Figures, a book about 3 African American women who overcame adversity, takes place in the mid 1960s. A time where racism was at its worst and poverty was in effect. The names were Katherine Goble, Dorothy Vaughn, and Mary Jackson, who were all 3 geniuses in their fields of study. Katherine was a math expert, Dorothy was a supervisor, and Mary was an engineer. During a time of racism, nobody would’ve imagined that 3 African American women, along with many more women, that they would work for N.A.S.A. These 3 women went through so many obstacles in their life. These 3 women are perfect examples of overcoming anything that stands in your way.
Hidden Figures is a box office success representative of the socio-political climate of the modern cinematic developments in the West. With the Hollywood stamp of approval, so to speak, Theodore Melfi’s directing and the diplomatic writing of Margot Lee Shetterly expose a ‘hidden’ moment in American history. This film promotes hope in a time of political confusion, i.e. the construction of a wall to illustrate Donald Trump’s xenophobic approach “to making America great again.” The sixties is a strategic backdrop for interweaving three distinct stories, accounting for each woman’s experience and service to NASA. These women’s legacies contributed to the launching of John Glenn into orbit. Their minds are the metaphorical shields to
After watching the movie Hidden Figures from Humanities class. The way how three African American women, who were Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan gain the respect of the white men in NASA was admirable. They did excellent jobs to make white people changed their mind about giving respect to African American people. They dared to think and dare to do what they have thoughts. They used their gray matter to contribute to the space race of the United States vs. Russia at that moment, and also they changed the white men thoughts about colored people.
Katherine Johnson proved to be an intelligent and an intrepid character. She was proud to be negro and was quiet, yet when provoked, she stood up for herself and expressed her thoughts. These attributed were showcased many times throughout the film Hidden Figures. As the main character, she fulfilled that role and had a hard-working mentality. Such as staying behind at work and working overtime. Her extensive knowledge of mathematics proved that dark-skinned women are worthy of going to college and working in a society where all people are treated equally.
The movie Hidden Figures is about 3 African American women who work for NASA during the 1950’s.The three women are Katherine Johnson,Dorothy Vaughn,and Mary Jackson.Katherine Johnson had a hidden talent that most of the people that worked at NASA didn't know she had , she was a master with the numbers.Dorothy was the manager of NASA's segregated West Area Computing Unit and she was also good with the numbers,just not as good as Katherine.Mary Jackson was an American mathematician and aerospace engineer that worked at NASA,along with the other three girls.Many African American women worked for NASA they just don't receive much recognition but these three women seem to have changed the game for everyone.
The 2016 historical film, Hidden Figures directed by Theodore Melfi which explores the themes of racism and sexism in America during the 1960’s. Melfi uses visual and verbal features of dialogue, costume and symbolism to display that sexism and racism is hard to abolish. The messages that Melfi conveys to the audience is that unequal pay and expected sexist uniforms are still present, but if we do something about it, it can be removed.
Katherine G. Johnson, the main character in Hidden Figures, looked beyond through working long hard hours and easily tackling problems due to the color of her skin. Despite these obstacles, this woman strikes the viewers by constantly enjoying every second of her journey and remaining respectful to those who don’t return it. Johnson’s powerful dialogue discloses the confidence within herself and how content she is with her actions. Katherine Johnson knew who she was clearly stated in her line,” I don’t have a feeling of inferiority. Never had.
During this movie, there seems to be a problem with race equality. Not so much of NASA not hiring black people, but with them actually helping out and trying to solve the problem. From the article Hidden Figures and the Appeal of Math in an Age or Inequality, it says “ It’s about winning battles as a result of common interests even as you adversaries have trouble seeing you as a person who
1961 was an exciting time for Mary Jackson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Katherine Johnson. These women were Black and they worked at NASA Langley. The movie Hidden Figures opens with a young Katherine being tested and sent to a school where her education and skills of being a mathematician could be of better use to her. It then moves to a scene where the three women are stuck on the side of the road late for work and Dorothy Vaughan is under the care trying to fix what appeared to be a problem with the starter of her car. A white officer stops, asks a few questions and upon learning that these women were a part of the teams that were crucial in the great space race, he escorts them to work. Each of these women played leading roles in this movie and they each faced a different set of racial challenges.