Category: Hidden Figures

Children’s perspectives are often looked over when it comes to injustice in the world. They are seen as naïve, silly, or that they simple just don’t understand. However, it is in the eyes of a child, unconditioned by society, that the greatest evidence of injustice lies. This is demonstrated thoroughly in the texts To Kill a Mockingbird and Hidden Figures. Both texts have perspectives of children, though they are opposite races. To Kill a Mockingbird is in the 1930s from the eyes of a 7-9 year old white girl, Scout. Hidden Figures has a perspective is the 1960s and has a perspective of young black boys. Both demonstrate the injustice that African Americans had to live with and how the children react to it. It is important to note that the children are unconditioned by society as it is by society that a majority learn their morals and values. Racism is not natural. It is taught.

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird is wrought with examples of this. Scout is a young, white, privileged child who is witness to the injustice of American court. The trial was against a black man, and although all evidence pointed towards him being the innocent party, they convict him anyway. The children of the text are horrified, her older brother reduced to angry tears at the injustice. Part way through the trial though, Scout had to leave and sit outside. It was then she got the chance to talk to a white man, called Dolphus Raymond, who receives injustice for choosing to marry a black woman. Scout took the opportunity to ask him why he acts the way he does, as though he is perpetually drunk. Raymond explained that it was so that the white people felt as though they had a reason for why he had married the woman he did. Seeing that Scout was confused as to why he was telling her this said, “Because you are children and can understand it” (page 268, Lee, 1960). Children are the only ones to see something or hear them and take them at face value. As we grow older we feel the need to fit in and be included into society, herd mentality, and so will adopt how the people around us think and behave, often ostracizing those that don’t belong, in order to be included ourselves. “Things haven’t caught up with that one’s instincts yet,” referring to Dill, Scout’s friend, “Let him get a little older and he won’t get sick and cry. Maybe things’ll strike him as being – not quite right, say, but he won’t cry, not when he gets a few years on him.” (Page 269, Lee, 1960). Raymond shows that, yes, when we are older we may see things are not true, not right, or simply unlawful. But that doesn’t mean that we will stand up and say it. People are constantly in fear of being excluded, and so are less likely to stand up for something that those who they associate with.

Hidden Figures

Hidden Figures shows the injustice through children a lot more subtly. Hidden Figures is about three African American women working for NASA and how they deal with racism and injustice at work, whilst also juggling home life. In the text Dorothy Vaughan is seen to be walking with her sons to the library. Across the road, there is protest taking place by some African American men chanting “Segregation must go”. The boys are redirected and told by their mother “don’t pay attention to that, we’re not part of that trouble”. This is teaching them that defense against the majority is causing trouble, and to effectively keep quiet against any injustice that you may come across as to not cause any trouble. In the library, they are sitting on the floor, not causing any trouble, whilst Dorothy peacefully searches for a book. They get kicked out as though they are causing a riot, and are personally escorted out of the library. Katherine Goble’s daughters are shown briefly, but it can be seen that they do not understand society the way that Dorothy’s sons do. Katherine’s daughters believe that their mother can do anything, such as be an astronaut. It isn’t shown how they act outside in the community, but the air of innocence and naivety is evident in the discussion. They go to church, where the parish does go on about how the African American’s are being allowed to do more than previously allowed, such as school students sitting in at lunch counters, but at the age they are, you don’t understand the weight of such things. They’d clap, purely because those around them are clapping. Mary Jackson’s children were standing right in front of their parents when they were having a heated discussion about Mary becoming an engineer. They don’t fully understand the weight and complexity of situations. They see things at face value. As far as they know everyone is equal. The African American children of this text have it worse than any other child, because no one, not even their parents can explain why things are the way they are. White children are unable to be told why either, but they live on the side of luxury and privilege and so may not step out of line because of it.

Today’s Children

Racism and injustice have wrought our society for centuries. Prejudice against the Jews, black versus white citizen and more presently the prejudice against women, particularly educated women, that the Taliban expresses. Although many people act as though it is now purely history, racism and injustice are still prominent in society today. In media today there still is a subtle preference for white actors. Yes, black actors are still utilized, but not to the degree that white actors are. In places such as Texas and Tennessee, there are still people bear the confederate flag and walk around with signs that say “Make Tennessee white again.” The texts show us glimpses into the past and allow us to see that extremes that people will go if allowed. Racism doesn’t even have to come from strangers. A personal friend of mine is of African American heritage and has recounted the kind of treatment she gets from friends and even family. “I’m the first black child on my mom’s whole side of the family. I had uncles disown me before I was even born… my own great grandmother called me the n word when I didn’t even know what the word was,” and “I braid my friends hair because she asks and my white friend says “yes bring out those black ancestors!”” Even subtle things, like the hair comment are hurtful. The texts are important to show us how severe it will get if we allow small acts of racism. People will feel more and more validated, and will continue to make comments that will only grow bigger and more hurtful as time progresses.

Conclusion

It is in the eyes of a child, unconditioned by society, that the greatest evidence of injustice lies. As demonstrated by the texts To kill a Mockingbird and Hidden Figures children identify injustice more readily than adolescents or adults. Adults are less likely to speak out in fear of being ostracized by peers. Children don’t have to worry about being ostracized as they see everything at face value and are more likely to speak out against problems. The texts are important in today’s society as they show the extent of human cruelty bleakly.

Bibliography

1. Lee, H. (2018). To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
2. Melfi, T. (2020). Hidden Figures [DVD]. Dobbins Air Reserve Base: William Morrow and Company.

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to try just one more time” (Thomas Edison).

“Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming. Success is an attitude” (John Wooden).

In ‘Hidden Figures’, directed by Theodore Melfi and ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’, directed by Gabriel Muccino, we meet characters who are defined by their status in life and throughout the course of the movies they break the barriers holding them back, to become great success stories.

‘Hidden Figures’ follows the story of three unassuming African-American mathematicians, Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson in the 1960’s working at NASA’s Langley Research Centre. These three women played a vital role in the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit as well as orchestrating his safe return. ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ follows Chris Gardener, a financially unstable salesman, who struggles to get by in day-to-day life having to support himself and his young son, Christopher. Chris eventually lands an unpaid internship as a stockbroker which sets the course for his rise to greatness and wealth and finding true happiness. The protagonists in both movies discover that it is their inner resources and not their social status or race that gives them the success they achieve at the end of the films. Both story lines demonstrate great success stories, however, ‘Hidden Figures’ highlights what can be done in the face of adversity, when sexism and racism put you in a box and what can happen when you break free of those confines.

The three women highlighted in ‘Hidden Figures’ each face hurdles due to their race and sex. The movie focuses on Katherine G. Johnson, however, by the end of the film, all three women have risen above the societal challenges placed on them to make invaluable contributions to the NASA space program. Their success was not only a personal success for the three women, but for all women working at NASA, and their contributions are now part of the history not only of NASA, but of the struggle of women, and particularly women of color, in the 1960s.

In ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’, Chris Gardener’s pursuit is not about the pursuit of money but rather about the happiness that being a responsible father will bring. It would be easy to misunderstand his real pursuit as he is struggling with financial hardship and earning money is his prime goal, however, that merely demonstrates that having financial security makes life easier and therefore creates a happier life. Throughout the movie, Chris Gardener makes numerous difficult moral decisions which takes his life in different directions. His perseverance in trying to sell his medical machines when no-one was interested in buying demonstrated his perseverance but also his naivety. Where a lesser person would have given up, like his wife did, his commitment to being a good father was put above all else and whilst it would have been easier for him had he not had his son in his care, we were not going to give up. He defines his happiness, his success, as being a responsible father and accepts all difficulties that come with that decision.

Whilst both movies demonstrate success, they are both different versions of success. The first is the success of finally being accepted for their mathematical genius rather than their sex and race and the second is the success of finding true happiness in being the best father he can be (with financial success thrown in as a second). Success should not be defined in monetary terms or acceptance by others but rather how you choose to live your life and about what brings you happiness, satisfaction and meaning. Richard Branson, another inspiring success story, says: “Too many people measure how successful they are by how much money they make or the people that they associate with. In my opinion, true success should be measured by how happy you are”.

References

1. Christopher D. Connors. 2020. The First Step Toward Success Is Defining Success for Yourself. [ONLINE] Available at: https://medium.com/the-mission/the-first-step-toward-success-is-defining-success-for-yourself-92dcfc3dd61c [Accessed 14 March 2020].
2. Unity. 2020. The True Meaning of Success | Unity. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.unity.org/resources/articles/true-meaning-success [Accessed 14 March 2020].
3. Bell Média. 2020. Hidden Figures. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.iheartradio.ca/newstalk-1010/features/movie-reviews-by-richard-crouse/hidden-figures-1.2291551 [Accessed 14 March 2020].
4. The Pursuit of Happyness Movie Review. 2020. The Pursuit of Happyness Movie Review. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-pursuit-of-happyness [Accessed 15 March 2020].
5. WisdomTimes. 2020. What Is the Real Meaning of Success. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.wisdomtimes.com/blog/what-is-the-real-meaning-of-success/ [Accessed 15 March 2020].

“Power is neither good nor evil, but its user makes it so” – Erin Hunter.

When I stumbled across this poem the other day on my phone it puzzled me. I found myself thinking about what power means to me and compared it to scenarios from books I have recently read and movie I have watched. Power to me is the ability to have influence over others. If you have a lot of power over someone you are most likely be able to channel their beliefs and actions. Power is strongly represented in the movie ‘Hidden Figures’ which is directed by Theodore Melfi. This movie details the concepts of racism, hard work, perseverance and community. Another text that I believe really capture the idea of power in a unique way is the novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The text highlights the themes of society, wealth and dissatisfaction. The treatment of this concept seems to be similar in these two texts, as they are both relating to the status a person holds in society. Throughout the novel it seems as if many people go through the struggle of power, rather from their own power or even someone else. It is made clear to readers that in this novel power is gained through lust, status and wealth. ‘The Great Gatsby’ was set in the 190s the time that viewed unprecedented economic growth and prosperity in the USA. During this time several people came into wealth through their desire to be accepted. Highlighting the major clash between old money and new money, which is also represented in geographical location.

In the novel Jay Gatsby, is portrayed to have financial power. He seems to be a wealthy man, who is living in West Egg because he is considered to have ‘new money’. New money is normally frowned upon because it means that you didn’t come from a wealthy family and that they money was self-produced due to success. On the other hand, those who live in East Egg have ‘old money’ showing that they were grown into wealth. The East Eggers generally consider those in West Egg as being flashy and of lower status. This difference sets up the conflicts between Tom and Gatsby.

Fitzgerald introduces the audience to the idea that having more money means that more power will be gained. Fitzgerald show this through Gatsby’s relationship with Daisy. Daisy is obsessed with the idea of wealth, which is one of the main reasons she was driven to marry her husband, Tom Buchanan. To be in the same social class as Daisy is his desire, Gatsby believes that money is the way to build up his class. The great amount of wealth that Gatsby earns gives him power and allows him to pursue Daisy as her only interest is money. Gatsby used his finical power to throw excessive over the top parties to try to belong among the social elite. Though many East Eggers look down on Gatsby, they stared to attend his party, showing that then as now, money talks. These extravagant parties not only give Gatsby the chance to gain a higher social status but also give him the power to reconnect with Daisy again. Money equals Daisy.

Not only does Gatsby have final power he also has network power. This meaning that Gatsby is able to contact a lot of people from all over New York. He has power over the law and is easily able to pay off police. When Gatsby was driving, he was pulled over for speeding. As he had once done a favor for the commissioner, he was in possession of a black card which told the officer to let him off. Fitzgerald has done this make it obvious that Gatsby is able to get around the law.

On the other hand, Tom had power because of his athletic ability and his wealth. He is in possession of old money, as he has been brought up in wealth. Having his power Tom is able to keep his mistress.

‘Hidden Figures’ is set in one of the most significant decades in US history, the 1960s. This movie presents a true story of a battle for civil rights but also ties in an apace adventure. During the 1960s there was a struggle for social justice, trying to gain equal rights for black people under the United States Law. The movie deals with the tedious yet meaningful struggle in American history, at a time were tension between the whites and blacks was at an all-time high.

In ‘Hidden Figures’ power comes in the form of social power. In particular the separation of blacks and whites. The movie shows how one ethnic group is in a better position to succeed, whilst disadvantaging another group. Theodore Melfi uses contrast to show how disadvantaged people of color were in this era.

Not only are the black women who work in NASA separated in a completely different campus to the white people, they are also are given a lower status. During this time racism was a big issue, so demonstrate this in the movie the director has made huge separations between the two races. The black women are labelled as computers and are kept in west wing in a small run-down room. They do not receive the same amount of respect that the other white colleges do, though their job is obviously more challenging than others. The only reason that I believe that they hold less power is their race.

The head lady of the computers is Mrs. Dorothy Vaughan, though she is not properly label as such. I believe this is because they do not want to give her any sort of power over anyone because in this time people of color had no respect. It would have been believed in this time that placing a colored women in charge is inappropriate. So instead, they made a white women in charge of the wing, even though she does not affiliate to this ‘group’.

During the months upcoming the launch of the first ever rocket ship, Mr. Harris asks for a computer to come help with some equations. Mr. Harris is the head of the NASA team. Kathrine Globe a genius mathematician is assigned to a unit in NASA, where the members are all white. During the movie, the white assistant tells Kathrine about the dress code, stating that’s he has to wear stockings though stockings are only made in one color and that is beige. This shows that during this time companies were only making clothes to fit their ideal women, not considering the huge diversity of people.

The lady also shows Kathrine where she is allowed to get coffee, in a tiny pot label ‘colored’. Kathrine has to walk all the way to west egg to go to a ‘colored’ bathroom. Upon return Mr. Harris asked why Kathrine always leaves for excessive amounts of time, serval times a day. Kathrine lacks so much power due to the color of her skin. She is constantly reminded that she does not belong. She continues to stand up for herself, stating that there are no colored bathrooms in the east campus and that all her ‘white colleges’ won’t even share a pot of coffee with her. The event that happens next is one of the most significant in the movie. Mr. Harris peels the label off the coffee mug and hammers down the sign that specifies what color goes to what bathroom. He states “at NASA we all pee the same color”.

It is clear in this movie that the white people have power. They are more respected due to their skin color. The separation of the two races shows us that the white people think that they are better than the colored. This is a belief of the people at that time as white was seen as superior.

‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘Hidden Figures’ both display the concept of power. Though they are represented in different ways. Power in ‘The Great Gatsby’ is treated as finical and networking power. As at this time there was an overwhelming economic growth in the USA. Compared to ‘Hidden Figures’ were the main type of power that is represented in social power. Racism was a huge issue in this time. The movie shows the segregation of the races and the fight for human rights.

A hero is defined as a person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities (Oxford, 2019) However this definition doesn’t characterize a hero by their skin or gender, yet since the beginning of time the heroes in our stories have been depicted as supreme white men. These are the stories of superior white European men being the natural masters of the world, showing strength, bravery and skillfulness in order to overcome the dangers of nature to save some poor distressed damsel (Margery Hourihane, 1997, p.1.) Despite our media records there are a lot of outstanding women who have accomplished amazing feats alongside our courageous men. Unfortunately, those women who too have shaped our history haven’t had their own fair share of storytelling. However, over the last decade the faces of heroes in our media have been challenged. Starting with the introduction of Wonder Woman to our comic books in the 1940’s to more recently the cinematic production of films such as ‘Hidden Figures’. ‘Hidden Figures’ is an excellent example of how modern media is transforming in order to convey these untold stories. And the best part is, these stories are in fact a part of our history and are actually true! Rather than being based on superhuman powers and unnatural beauty standards. Throughout this paper I will talk about how modern media reinterprets heroes through the lens of ‘Hidden Figures’, a modern biopic about an old story.

‘Hidden Figures’ conveys a quintessentially American story about Katherine, Mary and Dorthey, three African American women who worked for NASA during the time of the Space Race between America and Russia. Throughout the film each of these women encounter their own battles as they navigate through the white majority and very male dominant industry of engineering and mathematics. The film is set in the Hamptons during 1961, where women and especially African American’s received great discrimination in and out of the workplace.

Katherine, a human calculator for NASA experiences great discrimination in her field when she is assigned a new position at the Langley Research Centre. Her new job requires her to check over all of the calculations used for the launch into space…a very important task if you ask me!

However, when she is transferred across to the East Building of the center, she is faced with a major setback within the first few hours. When asking her colleague – the only other female in the building – where the bathrooms in the building were. The woman pretentiously stated, “I have no idea where your bathrooms is”. This meant that Katherine would have to journey back to the West Building where she knew there were ‘colored bathrooms’. A simple 5-minute task for any of her white colleagues would take her over half an hour.

Loaded with stacks of calculations Katherine is seen running across the center to the tune of Pharrell William’s ‘Runnin’, the perfect juxtaposition to reinforce the absurdity this scene truly is. All of these scenes of Katherine’s trip to the bathroom are shot in short and fasted passed snippets to build up tension and momentum that lead the audience into a fiery argument with Al Harrison.

Another distinctive feature in this scene is Katherine’s costuming. When handed the assignment to work in the East Building, a much higher-class facility than where she had previously been working. Katherine was also told that she must wear a pair of heels, that her skirt must be at least knee length, only simple make-up and no jewelry should be worn except a simple string of pearls.

Uniformity is a key feature throughout the film. It is used to mirror racism in a slightly less confronting way and is expressed through the characters costuming. As viewers we are invited to the cast’s wardrobe, through a range of wide angled shots of the office. All of the white employees are dressed in either black or white, representing purity and X. More specifically the men in the office wear pristine white button-down business shirts tucked into black straight leg pants with polished black dress shoes. And for the white, rarely spoken receptionist, bar a racist comment. The only other woman who works in the building, wears a black skirt and blazer that displays her equally as harsh persona.

Katherine, however, is always dressed in a dull colored skirt suit or dress that hits just below her knees. Interestingly she doesn’t wear a string of pearls like she was recommended to do, like the receptionist does. This is because – “I don’t own pearls. You don’t pay colored’s enough to afford pearls” – part of her breakdown speech in front of the office. This highlights the continuous isolation that Katherine would have felt. One thing after another Katherine is yet again pushed back and forced to take the back seat in her attempt to make history.

Films such as ‘Hidden Figures’ helps to shape our modern definitions of heroes. Like these women had a crucial impact on NASA developing the science to successfully launch their first manned orbit into space. It really does make you question what other events in history have been shaped by women? The film industry as a whole, tells these stories as a tool to reconstruct our history and to provide better role models for our younger generations. Films like ‘Hidden Figures’ are a revelation to those heroes who have been previously unrecognized and marginalized, especially women and indigenous cultures.