Many emotions were flowing around America during the 1960s including fear and anxiety from the Cuban missile crisis, excitement and wonder with the first single released from The Beatles, and zip codes were introduced, all while the space race was in full fledge.Times were hard and were changing for everyone, but for three women working at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), their times and troubles were slowly becoming more difficult. Katherine Johnson, Dorthy Vaughn, and Mary Jackson, were three brilliant women whose troublesome yet inspiring lives helped unite Americans across the country. They faced the hardships of gender and racial inquiry but due to their unwavering perseverance led to their acclaimed recognition. Hidden Figures is a book written by Margot Lee Shetterly that tells the story of Johnson, Vaughn, and Jackson. The book was released in September of 2016 and quickly turned into a movie, premiering in December of that year. The production of the movie follows closely to the plot of the book, highlighting key points such as the women's daily jobs as “computers.” Cinematically, racial inequality as well as the journey to space that divided America in the early 1960s is effectively shown throughout the movie Hidden Figures. Socially and culturally, this movie influenced the ideology of having more scientific occupational positions and lead roles in movies held by those of color.
Grab a blanket, some popcorn, a favorite drink and settle in for this two hour and seven minute engrossing film that rocked the box office and changed many mindsets about what life was life for women of color back in the 1960s. The true story follows three women, Katherine Johnson, Dorthy Vaughn and Mary Jackson, played by Taraji Henson, Janelle Monáe, and Octavian Spencer respectively, who served as “computers” at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. From family matters to occupational dilemmas, they faced many failed attempts at climbing the chain of command. It was perseverance that pushed the women further towards their dreams until finally, change happened and many doors were open to the women.
The United States of America was on the brink of falling into another World War, which resulted in several job vacancies that were filled by women. A writer for the Journal of Film, Mary Slaughter, emphasized that during this time period many men were sent overseas or participated in training in case emergency measures needed to be taken for the country. Although it was not looked high upon for women to hold such jobs, the country was at a crisis point and employers knew this was the only way their business could stay afloat (55). According to Melinda Baldwin, a writer for the recognized and acclaimed science magazine, Physics Today before the days of basic calculators, mathematical calculations were performed by hand. Those who executed this task were known as “computers.” While the men were away protecting our country, nine out of ten computers were women. Baldwin continued her article by stating the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory based in Hampton, Virginia was very segregated during these times. NASA and its predecessor, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, knew they could employ women of color in vast numbers for low wages (para. 2). In an interview performed by Sarah Ramsey, an employee from NASA, Bill Barry, the NASA Historian, stated that “The locals in Hampton thought the [Nasa] guys were weird and eccentric so they were able to do ‘weird’ things like hire African-American women.” With this in mind, one can only assume that back in that time period, it was very segregated and the hiring of African Americans, whether male or female was looked down upon. In the same interview as Bill Barry, Julie Williams-byrd, the Senior Systems Analyst for NASA, stated that although these women had a job, and a very difficult one at that, praise for hand-calculated spaceship trajectory and landing positions was seldom (“Real People”). Midway through the movie, lead engineer Paul Stafford received a NASA report with Katherine Johnson’s name on the cover sheet to signify her coauthor-ship of the calculations. Stafford hastily ripped the cover sheet off and bellowed to Johnson, “Computers don’t sign reports.” (Baldwin para. 1). Here, Johnson’s skin color prohibited her from being recognized for her impeccable work that helped push the space program forward. This instance quickly and effectively shows that skin color was a dominant factor of approval in the workplace at NASA, rather than the work being produced by an individual.
Haunting realities of shattered dreams continued to seep into these women’s lives with the overwhelming presence of inequality in the workforce. Mary Jackson, an ambitious engineer, had one college level class preventing her from earning an engineers degree. When she applied at the local college she was denied which resulted in her gaining the strength and determination to fight for herself. After petitioning the state of Virginia in court, Jackson was granted permission to take her class (“Hidden Figures’ Stars”). Carol Miles, writer for the Journal of Religion and Film based at the University of Omaha wrote in an article that Vivian Mitchell, the supervisor to the East Group computers (the Caucasians), pointed out that these [colored] women should be "thankful to have jobs at all” after she heard Mary’s application was turned down (1). Paul Stafford and Vivian Mitchell serve as foils to this group of women. Continuing to use the “protocol” excuse of why Johnson, Vaughn, and Jackson cannot move upwards in their occupations, Jackson observes [that] “Every time we have a chance to get ahead, they move the goal line” (2). Stafford and Mitchell are not the only ones who discriminate and make things unfair for the colored women working at NASA, but they do it so repetitively and harshly that as a caucasian watching this movie, one can only start to feel uncomfortable because this direct reflection of racial inequality falls right in society’s lap.
From absurd questioning by the police due to a flat tire, to resentment and hostility in the workplace, racial discrimination is evidently shown throughout the movie, however the “bathroom scene” has notoriously been noted as the prominent area of discrimination for the film. Johnson was elected to work along side with the charismatic Al Harrison, head of the Space Task Group (Miles, 1). While this was a giant leap for her and the colored people working with her, it was still a loss of community On her first day she faced several troubles: she is thought to be “the help,” she receives many un-friendly looks and even a separate coffee pot that was to be set up for her has no coffee in it, let alone even plugged in to work (Shetterly 122-123). When Harrison was in need of calculations, he looked to Johnson. She was not at her desk but was seen hastily running down the hallway back to the office. The door flew open and there Katherine Johnson was, heavily breathing but eager to continue working. Al Harrison marched down from his stairs and demanded to know where Johnson had been for the past thirty minutes. “The bathroom, sir” she replied. Confused and quite annoyed, Harrison asks “The bathroom?” With a look of dismay on her face, Johnson began her famous monologue about describing the terrible segregational conditions she and people like her faced on a daily basis on the NASA campus. Since America was in a steady period of segregation, the white’s had their own bathroom located on the East part and on the West part of campus were the restrooms for the colored This bathroom scene was a turning point for Al Harrison, because a few scenes later he was beating the “colored” sign down above a bathroom. His famous “we all get to the peak together or we don't get there at all” speech unleashed the turning point of the movie and became the predecessor for several endings to segregation at NASA (qtd. in Miles)
It was not just Al Harrison and the colored folks working who thought it was time for a civil change, Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King Jr. and his band of activists were fighting a “new freedoms” battle with President Kennedy. Excerpts from speeches given by Dr. King and President Kennedy show the philosophical and social divide of America in the 1960s. Carol Miles points out that on one hand President Kennedy was hoping for “new freedoms” to be found after John Glen successfully orbited the earth and pushed USA ahead of the Soviets in the space race. On the other hand, Dr. King wanted “new freedoms” for those of color. From the public signs of discrimination such as bathroom signs to the civil uproar broadcasted across television and radio, there was no escape of inequality in the divided country (2). Would it really be the orbital of John Glenn that solved the division of the country or would it be up to Johnson, Vaughn, and Jackson, the perfect examples from Dr. Kings speech of those “who were neither free nor living in peace” to defy odds stacked against them and create something for themselves that would have a strong enough impact to dismantle the divided country.
Katherine Johnson, Dorthy Vaughn, and Mary Jackson, did not intend to make their lives a history, yet this uncovered story has brought light into our culture and society when it came to positions or roles being held by those of color. Bob Granath, a a professional communications and public relations member of NASA, wrote about the diverse history experienced at NASA. Granath explained that NASA was entangled in both ideas of the “New Freedoms” from Dr. King and President Kennedy. For Kennedy, it would be NASA that used accurate and precise calculations to send a man into space to ensure new freedoms and for Dr. King, NASA would be the first place segregation could come to and end since both white and blacks were working there (para. 3). John Glen successfully orbited the earth and this electrified the want to have a man land on the moon for President Kennedy. Knowing that the Civil Rights movement was bound to land on the front steps of the White House, he gave a speech that asked Congress to propose legislation “giving all Americans the right to be served in facilities which are open to the public…” As NASA was prepared to hire over 200,000 people, President Kennedy and Vice-President Johnson were persuading African American scientist and engineers to join the space program. Several became employed at the Launch Operations Center (Kennedy Space Center) in Florida, the Marshall Space Flight Center located in Alabama, and the Mississippi Test Facility, now the Stennis Space Center (para. 22, 25). The “new freedoms” ideas from both Kennedy and King were successfully able to achieve remarkable results, although their work was not finished then.
Hidden Figures did more than broadcast the life events of three brilliant women, it created a new form of role adaption and a more welcoming Hollywood scene to those of color.
Dating back to the 1940s, the President of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Walter White, went to speak with producers in Hollywood about the demeaning portrayals of African Americas in films (Reed 4) Although his voice was not heard then, it certainly was now after Ted Melfi, the producer for Hidden Figures had such outstanding success with this production. Nominated for eighty-five awards including those from the BET Awards, Academy Awards, and The Oscars, the movie took home over over thirty-five trophies in categories such as Best Actress, Best Film, and Best Breakout Performance. This movie triggered a sense of acceptance for lead roles being played by African Americans. Several movies that have been released since Hidden Figures, have a strong, if not full cast of African Americans. Some of the movies include Black Panther, Get Out, Burning Sands, Girls Trip, The Dark Tower, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, and Marshall. Hidden Figures, along with these other productions have broken through prior boundaries and have landed in an era where commonality and repetition are put down and defying the norm is looked upon.
Although this film fits within the Drama genre of movies, there is subsequent evidence that this movie might have been over dramatic and too focused on Johnson, Vaughn, and Jackson instead of the Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) outbreak throughout the movie. Back to Melinda Baldwin’s published article in the scientific magazine, Physics Today, Melfi and his co-writers over emphasized the “bathroom scene” because according to Margot Shetterly (the author of Hidden Figures) Katherine Johnson would use any bathroom close to her and dared to challenge anyone who stood in her way. The scene was thrown into the movie to emphasize just how bad the discrimination was back in those times, but by changing part of the plot line, a part of Johnson’s character changes as well (para. 8) Charles Bolden, the NASA Administrator, reflected on how the movie showed several significant parts of the STEM program, yet it did not receive much discussion outside of the movie (“Real People”). In accordance with Bolden, Melissa Baldwin also agreed that there was not much analysis about how well the STEM program was depicted in the movie. She argued that discussions for encouraging younger generations to join programs in the STEM subject areas are crucial to a model representation of how those people could see themselves as potential scientists and engineers (Baldwin para. 11). Although much discussion about the STEM program itself was brief, there was plenty of dialogue about the women having jobs in those subject areas which was an idea that previous movies had not entirely focused on, giving viewers the chance to open more in depth conversations about the jobs, ultimately relating conversations back to the acclaimed STEM project.
Battling mathematical formulas that have more letters than actual numbers, three brilliant and extremely talented women began to change the course of history not just by getting a man to orbit the Earth, but by overcoming numerous instances of inequality, racism, and a divided America. “New Freedoms” from President Kennedy and Dr. King floated around America, eventually having both ideas expressed which placed America on the road to unity with itself. This movie did more than highlight key historical moments, particularly in the science department, it also opened many doors for actors of color in Hollywood by slamming the door shut on past norms and opening new doors full of curiosity and opportunity. While flight trajectory paths might not be a strong suit of many, this movie will provide insights into the lives of three genuinely talented mathematicians who successfully solved trajectory patterns that allowed a man to orbit the Earth, all while battling social inequalities.