The nature of discovery entails a journey that is transformative and concerns an individual’s relationship with them selves or their world. Discoveries can be either pursued or unexpected through the motivation of need, curiosity and wonder and can lead to good or bad consequences, but ultimately they are all concerned with the gaining of greater knowledge and a new perspective. In William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Prospero comes to realise not only the limitations of his power, but also the importance of love and redemption in redefining one’s place in the world, as well as one’s view of it. Theodore Melfi’s film Hidden Figures represents the importance of new perspectives on the familiar in order to realise the self, in the face of conflicting and controlling views towards casual racism and sexism.
The Tempest, as its title suggests, is partly concerned with the forces of nature, but mostly it is about the need for the liberating and redemptive power of forgiveness in the face of man’s inhumanity towards man. Prospero conjures a storm, with Ariel’s forced assistance, that is brought to the island to those who have wronged him. The scene seems set for a revenge plot to unfold. However, we soon discover that Prospero has changed in the 12 years that he has been exiled on the island. He realises that he is as much to blame for his exile as his brother Antonio to whom he demoted his kingly responsibilities in order to pursue his selfish interests: ‘And to my state grew stranger, being transported/And rapt in secret studies.’ Just as Miranda discovers her true identity, her history and her future husband, Prospero has discovered his error and will return to Milan a wiser, more forgiving and less selfish ruler: ‘I’ll break my staff, / Bury it certain fathoms in the earth, / And deeper than did ever plummet sound/ I’ll drown my book.’ Through the dramatic device of the masque and Ariel he comes to see that even on the island his powers are unable to change those unwilling to change, just as he has realised his powers did not prevent his exile from Milan, and comes to accept the need for himself to change his perspective on human nature; one that sees it as a combination of both Caliban and Ariel, evil and good, chaos and harmony. Ultimately he comes to realise that his powers are based on illusions.
By contrast Hidden Figures, the title acting as an obvious double entendre where inquisition and human legacy interweave, is set in Virginia, in the time of the 1950-60s at the time of the Cold War and the space race. The United Sates were engaged in frantic operation with the Soviet Union to launch the first Earth-orbiting satellite, place a human in space and ultimately set foot on the moon. Labouring behind the scenes in this monumental technological effort were what NASA labelled “coloured computers” – the African-American female mathematicians responsible for critical calculations and other technical works. During the time, there was a very real fear of espionage, people were looking for Soviets around every corner. This was evident when Katherine, one of the negro women, were questioned about being a Russian spy after being able to crack a programme name which had been blacked out. Life for a coloured woman in the society was rigorous and tough. At this point, the African-Americans were segregated from the rest of society evident in the scene where a white woman and her daughter are drinking at a water fountain clearly labelled as ‘white’ and a black man is drinking from the separated fountain labelled as ‘black’. Being an educated coloured woman in this era was even more difficult. Katherine the local protagonist in the film works as a mathematician for NASA in a room filled with white men. The use of a wide-angle shot further portrays the idea that black women are deemed lesser in this society. Mr Harrison, Katherine’s boss, is shocked to discover that Katherine travels a mile just to get to her “designated” bathroom. This scene acts as a catalyst for major discoveries to be made. “I don’t own pennies; Lord knows you don’t pay colours enough to afford pennies!” Katherine yells this in a fit of anger to convey how black women are treated. The use of a low angle shot portrays to the viewer the short term discovery of Mr Harrison’s realisation of how poorly black women are treated. The scene where Mr Harrison knocks down the sign of “coloured women’s bathroom” is another key scene. He yells “At NASA we all pee the same colour!” The double meaning behind his words is a double entendre expressing that “all men are treated equal”. This is showing how the motivation of needing equality is transforming the thoughts of individuals.
Similarly, with the arrival of the ‘survivors’ on the island, Miranda discovers a ‘brave new world’ populated by creatures other than the few she has known. Most importantly, however, as a fifteen-year-old girl on the verge of womanhood, she discovers a new kind of love: ‘I might call him / A thing divine; for nothing natural/I ever saw so noble.’ Ferdinand, the son of the King of Naples, the enemy and proposer of Prospero’s exile, is the man Prospero has chosen for Miranda and as the vehicle for his return. Miranda is on the verge of a new life and Prospero is about to return to his old one transformed. Despite her sheltered existence and without her father’s powers and books, Miranda already realises what Prospero has for so long refused to accept: ‘Good wombs have borne bad sons.’ ready to return and discover more of her world.
The nature and legacy of any discovery can be complex, diverse and transformative, confirming the inter-relatedness of inner and outer worlds. The Tempest moves from the discovery of an unchartered island and the creatures that inhabit it to the equally important discovery of the power of love and forgiveness in a world made imperfect by man. Whilst essentially different in their endings, both texts represent the liberating nature of the transformative discovery. In short, discovery is an unending journey that transcends time and place because it reflects our need to find personal meaning in our world.