Hidden Figure Emotional Impact

In my media I chose to analyze a movie called Hidden figures. I chose this movie because I still remember how I felt watching this movie for the first time but also when I rewatch the movie it still hits me the same. The movie is based on a true story which was about three African American women back in the 60’s working for NASA.

This movie is about a step in a new direction, progression in the world. From segregation, racism, and inclusivity. How the movie is filmed sets the scene back in the day; it shows the struggle and willpower of the ladies fighting for a spot they know they deserve.

This movie is set in 1960’s in Virginia and about three women named Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorthy Vaughan. Directed by Theodore Melfi based on a book by Margrot Lee Shetterly. This movie shows a great performance and inspiring history lesson.

For an example I am picking it is a scene where Katherine Johnson is being questioned by her boss where she is most of the day as he does not see her in her seat when he looks for her. When she responds she goes all out as she feels less than and fed up with the treatment she has been dealing with such as people making her a spot for coffee where she is the only one that uses it as she cannot use the same coffee machine because they don’t want to share with a colored person, then she goes off to how she has to walk across campus just to use the bathroom because in the building she is working in doesn’t have a bathroom for color people and goes onto the dress code for what she should look like when working with skirts and dress below the knee and pearls but she doesn’t wear one because as she says they don’t pay color people enough to get that. “Due to Virginia’s segregation laws, African American female computers have to work in a separate “colored” building at the Langley Research Center.” Said Lenika Cruz. Even though some parts are changed for movie sake it makes a good point of adding it in as it was the 60’s when segregation was still prominent even if NASA was desegregated in 1958. The real story is that Katherine Johnson would use the “all white” bathroom “Johnson has been quoted as saying that during her time at NASA, she just used the “whites only” restroom anyway.

In an article by Pepperdine written by Grace Wood she likes to point out how all three women would like to be promoted for the work they do but can’t because of a race issue “While all three women aspire to achieve higher-level positions within NACA, the barrier of racism prohibits them from being promoted.” Said Grace.

In the movie it shows inclusivity as they started to add women in the project with Katherine Johnson coming into working with NASA with her brilliance in mathematics, her job throughout the movie is figuring out how to get the spaceship to the moon by using her math skills “the U.S. is so desperate to beat the Soviet Union into space that NASA becomes a reluctant meritocracy: Because of her expertise in analytic geometry, Katherine is assigned to a special task group trying to get Glenn into orbit. She arrives at her new job to find she’s the sole brown face in the room.” Said Lenika Cruz. Even during that time the U.S. wanted to beat Russia they looked in a different direction and picked someone that was not white as Katherine is African American and she was good at math they took her on and let her work. Then onto Mary Jackson she was also good at mathematics but she also did aerospace engineering. Mary had to find a way to get a degree for it so she went to university and did school at night as it was not permitted to go while all the whites went to school in the daytime. Then there is Dorthy Vaughan; she was a computer programmer and had an important part of the U.S. space program.

This movie, even if not fully accurate, showed how back then people of color were treated and how they fought for their place to be equal and be respected. While I do agree that the movie should provide some accurate information, it’s a movie trying to show what it was like back in the day about segregation and racism. But adding in their experience at NASA would be important to the story line. But the movie made it out to bring out the emotion of the audience to give insight about these three amazing women and what they did, made an impact and made history. The movie brings out the segregation from the 60’s, the racism and the inclusivity. But also, it added to tackling those issues.