Please go and see the film Hidden Figures. I saw it today, and, well, WOW. Such an inspirational film. If you are not familiar, Hidden Figures is the fact-based movie about three African-American woman – Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson – who directly worked on calculations at NASA in order to to get astronaut John Glenn to be the first American to orbit the earth. What makes this story phenomenal is that all this is taking place in the 1960s in segregated Virginia. As you can imagine, the women face many subtle and not-so-subtle racism and prejudice because of their skin color.
The way the story is told explores various topics, giving insight to just how these ladies lived. I loved the exploration of separate but not equal in laws, uniform at work, and opportunity for advancement. Not only did these women have to work hard to get to where they were, there were many obstacles surrounding them. Watching this with a live audience confirmed that my views were felt throughout. One story that sticks out is Mary Jackson not being able to apply for a job because she didn’t have the credentials all of a sudden needed to get the job. She couldn’t get the credentials because she would have to attend a school that was still segregated and did not have any African American students. So, she would never be able to advance, but that was ‘just the ways there are’ they said.
The constant reminder that no matter how smart they were, they were always thought of as second class citizens, from doors being shut in their face, to always having to look for the “Colored” section. In present day times, this was a touching reminder that although we still have ways to go, we have come a very long way. And that people like these three women have paved the way for all of us. It is a reminder that we shouldn’t just sit there and talk about doing things, but rather, we go out and fix them. If not for yourself, then for the future generation.
I hope you watch this movie. I hope you take a friend or parent. I hope you take a kid or teen. I hope you purchase it. This story needs to be told, but also, Hollywood needs to know that we demand more from movies then just smut or retold versions of the SAME film (please stop making any more Spiderman films, like seriously). The Black community needs to see more positive stories and hear more inspirational truths. The world needs to see that side of things. Black actors need more options than playing a basketball player, “thug,” or token Black person.
Awesome, Awesome film. Go watch!! And tell us what you think! Comment below.
(Great job by Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae for their portrayals. Also, Kevin Costner did an amazing job!)