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  • Essay / The Film Hidden Figures and Its Relevance Today

    Hidden Figures, a film set in Virginia in the 1960s, features three African-American women facing insurmountable barriers. The underlying premise is that without Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson and Katherine Johnson, who were "human computers" at NASA, would not have sent a man into space and ultimately to the Moon. Despite setbacks such as the political and social climate during the height of Jim Crow, laying bare the discriminatory laws and harmful practices in place at the time, these women rose up to be an integral part of sending a man in space. When I saw the film I assumed, like many others, that as a society we were extremely far from racist ideas, but upon closer inspection it shows that we have not advanced at all and that we still treat people differently, solely based on the color of their skin. As a society in the modern world, we can undeniably say that racial discrimination is still as prevalent today as it was in the 1960s. Although perhaps not to the same extent, the ideas still flourish today. today. The Flashback to Pioneering Women highlights the racial discrimination and disparities that still exist. Even though more explicit racism does not take full effect today, as in the film, many struggle with these issues. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The film depicts practices of white supremacy and the repugnant attitudes that accompany them. Viewers are encouraged to take the perspective of African American women and feel truly baffled that this story hasn't been told sooner. Where the audience sees Katherine, a mathematical prodigy delivered in a room made up entirely of white men where brains and racism collide. We see that segregation and this shock in the film is expressed more with visuals than dialogue. An example of this is when, throughout the film, Katherine has to run 40 minutes to get to the only "colored" restroom on the other side of the NASA campus. At the same time, she has to deal with men who refuse to share the same kettle as her. The theme of “contamination” that white people foolishly believed African Americans posed to them is appalling. We remember how these women were treated as foreigners in their own country even as they helped the nation achieve global success. The multiple scenes use a variety of bird's eye views showing the distance Katherine must travel, including close-ups to show her struggle while doing so. Mr. Harrison finally notices that she leaves for 40 minutes a day, asks her why, and she responds, "There's no bathroom." There are no colored toilets in this building, or in any building outside of West Campus which is a half mile away… And I work like a dog, day and night! Living on coffee in a coffee maker that neither of you wants to touch. Here, close-ups are used to convey Katherine's emotions and frustration and how she is soaked from running in the rain and show her frustrations with the daily humiliations that her other white colleagues do not notice. These photos allow us to experience his pain alongside him. It shows how certain values, attitudes, and beliefs of the time such as segregation and white supremacy need to be questioned even though it is not the popular position of the time. Another example of these visuals is Dorothy's trip to the library, with.