Film Review - Hidden Figures

Date: July 8, 2021

Description: In EDAD 524, students will present a film review discussion topics of diversity, access and inclusion. Our group chose to review the film Hidden Figures, to honor the great achievements of colored women in science.

Learning Domains Addressed (Labels):

• Social Justice & Advocacy

• Education

Learning Outcomes:

• SLO #1: Student will be able to (SWiBAT) compare issues presented in the film to contemporary issues in Student Affairs

• SLO #2: SWiBAT criticize the films underlying themes of white savior complex

Evidence:

Reflection:

SLO #1: SWiBAT compare issues presented in the film to contemporary issues in Student Affairs

Hidden Figures is a film set in 1961 following the story of Katherin Goble Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughn and their incredible accomplishments at NASA. Our group recognized many issues that women are still facing today in the workforce and higher education in the movie. In image 1, we see Mary Jackson being the only woman in her engineering class compared to Purdue University’s Mechanical engineering class. In the film, Mary helps pave the way for others to follow in her footsteps. However, in today’s STEM classroom, we are still seeing a disparity of female students. In Image 2, Katherine Goble Johnson mentioned her uniform attire of a skirt below the knees, heels, and a pearl necklace. Although today’s society does not demand that women wear skirts and heels, there is still an expectation of professional attire for women with dressing in conservative styles, “professional” hair, and makeup. These standards significantly affect Black women when it comes to natural hairstyles being deemed unprofessional. Lastly, in Image 3, Dorothy Vaughn, throughout the film, is doing supervisor work due to a vacancy without the pay or the title of supervisor. In our contemporary example, we used the gender wage gap and the many inequities of women in the workplace regarding salary.

Our group challenged our cohort to think about how diversity, access, and inclusion can assist women of color and women in STEM. Although 60 years have passed, many of the struggles women face are still happening but just in a modern way.

SLO #2: SWiBAT criticize the films underlying themes of White Savior Complex

Although the film is centered around the courageous Black women, an underlying White savior complex runs throughout the film. It makes me question whether this is a way to frame the movie as more than just a Black Film and encourage more viewers from all demographic backgrounds. Here are some examples of how the White Savior Complex is portrayed throughout the film:

• Al Harrison finds out Katherine Goble has been running across campus (half a mile) to use the restrooms because there are no Colored restrooms on the East side of the NASA campus. He uses a crowbar to take down the Colored bathroom signs and makes a statement that the women can use whatever bathroom they want. Did he do this to benefit women of color, or was it to prevent his team from “wasting time?” (Youtube Clip)

• Mary Jackson petitions a White Judge about why she should be allowed to attend a class at an all-White high school. She has to plead her case to benefit the judge, alluding to the judge’s tendencies to be the “first” at everything. He gives her permission to attend but stipulates that only the night classes. (Youtube Clip)

• Vivian Mitchell, throughout the film, is portrayed as not wanting to give Dorothy her well-deserved supervisor position, even though she is fully qualified and has submitted the proper applications. Dorothy takes it upon herself to teach the other Black Women “computers” about computer programming and becomes vital to the IBM computer project. Vivian finally agrees to make Dorothy Vaughn a supervisor. Did Vivian want to give Dorothy the promotion, or was she forced due to Dorothy’s much-needed skills at the time? (Youtube Clip)

Although the writers could not have told this story without the White characters, significant scenes throughout the film focus on making the White characters look “not as bad as they seem.” These examples continue to perpetuate the stereotypes that if you’re White in a movie, you are a good character, and if you are a person of color, you are most likely a bad character.

References or Sources:

Melfi, T., Williams, P., Gigliotti, D., Toppings, J., Chernin, P. (Producers), & Melfi, T. (Director). (2016). Hidden Figures [Motion Picture]. United States: Fox 2000 Pictures Chernin Entertainment Levantine Films.

Question: How can we be more inclusive of Black Women students on campus? Please let me hear your thoughts below