Movie Analysis

There are 3 main characters in the film “Hidden Figures”. The story is about three African-American women, all of them were intelligent in their own fields. They contributed greatly in making the launch of the astronaut John Glenn into orbit and also to ensure that he safely comes back home. These intelligent women are Mary Jackson, Dorothy Vaughan and Katherine Goble. Katherine Goble was a widow and a mother of 3 children who in the latter part of the movie gets married to James Johnson. She has been an intelligent child since she was young and has always loved mathematics. She was advanced in her studies in math even as a young girl and grew up to be one of the most intelligent mathematicians who specializes in geometry. She was a loving mother and an inspiration to her kids. She did not let her situation as a widow hinder her from working and excelling in NASA. She is a talented and fearless woman. She knew that she was skilled in mathematics and was brave to let her bosses know that even if she was colored and also a woman, that she is more than capable of making big contributions to NASA. She faced struggles in fitting in due to being discriminated as a woman and as a person of color. She has experienced having to walk and run for miles just to relieve herself in the bathroom since there were no colored bathrooms in the building where she was tasked to work. She has also experienced being belittled by her colleague simply because she was a woman. She was not allowed to place her name as author on the report she worked hard for and she was also not allowed to attend any meetings for the simple reason that she was a woman and there was no protocol of women attending meetings at NASA. Dorothy Vaughan is a strong-willed, smart and fearless woman as well. She is a born leader and has shown her capabilities of being a good leader in the film when she proactively took on the role of a supervisor even if she was not yet promoted as one. She took the initiative of managing the group of African-American women who work as “computers”. Even with her friends Katherine and Mary, she has the strongest personality and was acknowledged as a leader by her friends too. She is a determined and resilient woman and did not let any type of gender or color discrimination hinder her from being successful, let alone technology. She took the initiative to learn programming as she said that she had a knack for mechanics. She also did not allow for a machine to replace the workers and was brave to stand up and fight for their right to work in the programming section of NASA, specifically on IBM. Like Katherine, she has also experienced struggles and challenges in this film. She initially worked and did the role of a supervisor without getting any clear signs of getting promoted. She went through the fear of being replaced by a machine along with the rest of the colored women she considered as her team. Mary Jackson is a vocal and straightforward person. She is also as capable and as smart as the rest of her friends, Katherine and Dorothy. Compared to her friends, she was more vocal in expressing her beliefs and opinions and was not afraid to fight for what she thinks is her right as an individual. She wanted to be an engineer and did what she can to make that happen. She even petitioned to be allowed to enroll for required courses at an all-white school. Just like her friends she has also experienced struggles and one of those is not being allowed to apply for the position she wants because the management added extra qualifications. Even when it came to obtaining the needed qualifications, it was still a struggle for her because back then a colored person cannot attend a school that is considered as an all-white school.

Looking back at the struggles encountered by these African-American women, there are several factors that may have affected or influenced these struggles such as I. Gender Discrimination – back then, it was difficult for a woman to fit in the society if they go out of what was considered the norm back then. The stereotype for women back then was to just stay at home and care for the family. It was uncommon for women to further their education nor apply for certain jobs that were considered for male only. II. Color Discrimination – it was difficult enough for these ladies that they were women and were being discriminated against at the workplace for being so; what made it more challenging for them was the fact that they were also “colored”. The discrimination between black and white back then was so blatant that it extended not only to places they were allowed to enter or stay but also to the use of toilets and other facilities such as coffee, drinking fountain, etc. All of these were labeled as white and colored. III. Unprecedented policies or actions – since it was already a stereotype that women cannot do jobs men can do and that colored people should be segregated from white people, it was extremely difficult to succeed and excel given that they were both colored and women. It was the mentality of people back then that held back people’s potential. It was simply because of the reasoning that there was no existing policy or rule and that it has never happened in the past. I think that these factors are still present until today, it may not be as blatant and obvious as it was back during the time of these African-American women, but you can still notice that it is still ever present in society. Some white people still discriminate or judge people of color. Some companies still prefer to hire men versus women. You can see all the signs when you watch social media.

I think that these women handled their struggles with their heads help up high. They were fearless and they were not afraid of speaking their minds. They were brave in attempting to do what no one else has attempted to do. They were not afraid to fight for what they think is right. They remained strong-willed and pushed forward to conquer any challenges that came their way. If I were in their shoes, I probably would do the same and also seek strength from my family and people who are also experiencing the same unjust treatment. I have always been vocal with my thoughts and never afraid to speak up my mind. At the same time, I respect other people’s opinions too. I think that change begins within ourselves. If there is something that we wish to change for the better then we should always start with ourselves.

Let’s say that gender inequality still exists in the workplace, there are 3 measures that I would take in order to fight it. First is to educate myself about gender equality rights. I will take it upon myself to equip myself with the necessary knowledge to understand gender equality or the lack thereof. I think a person needs to see the big picture, understand the situation and policies before they can even start speaking about their rights. Today, we already have a lot of policies against discrimination and by educating myself, I will be in the position to understand, recognize and provide recommendations. I would always take the diplomatic approach first. Second, if diplomatic approach of feedback does not work against gender inequality in the workplace, I will then collect facts and encourage those who are experiencing the same to raise the issue and struggles so that it can be addressed accordingly by the management. Third, is to walk the talk. You cannot ask for equality when you, yourself does not even follow the basic rule of respect for differences. If you are an advocate of equality, it should also show in your actions and not just your words.

Before watching the film, I used to think that discrimination was not as bad as to how it was depicted in the film. I used to think that it was present but was only because of small-minded bigots who believe that they are better than everyone else. I did not think that it was as blatant and as bad as that back then. After watching the film, I now think that the struggles, challenges and abuse that women and people of color experienced back then was such a miserable one. It was not and will never be an easy experience for anyone at all. The trauma and suffering they experienced is something that should never have happened in the first place. I think that similar to them, people who are oppressed and discriminated should be fearless in fighting for their rights. People should speak up and point out their facts. No one is above anyone. They have been brave in proving people that they are as good as any race, gender or color. I think that this should be the way for everyone. Everyone should have confidence in what they can achieve.