Morgan Lowe April 20,2021 Ms. Kathryn Bruton Movie Project The structure of society in the 1960s severely limited the ability of African Americans and women during a decade marked by rampant racism and sexism. Access to provisions, amenities, programs, and opportunities was segregated by race across the country. Women and African Americans were held in “inferior” academic, social, and political positions. Racism was freely practiced and maintained in law, and there was a lot of abuse directed at African Americans. In the 1960s, African Americans worked towards outlawing racial discrimination during the civil rights movement and the Black Power movement. Virginia, a territory in the southeast of the United States, was in the national spotlight due to opposition and landmark civil rights cases. At the same time, the competition to be the first human in space was heating up, and talented mathematicians were in high demand. This was the hazy social atmosphere in which the film Hidden Figures was set. Hidden Figures, a biographical film written by Melfi and Allison Schroeder, tells the story of three intellectually talented African American women who work to change history. The film is set in Hampton, Virginia, in the 1960s, when African American women around the country faced severe racial and sexist discrimination. During the twentieth-century Space Race, the three genius mathematicians work for NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Space Race depicts the competitive competition between Cold War adversaries the Soviet Union and the United States as they compete for supremacy in space achievements. The Space Race depicts the competitive competition between Cold War adversaries the Soviet Union and the United States as they compete for supremacy in space achievements. Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae), and Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) are mathematicians at the Langley Research Center. They are the project's arithmetical "brains" and are trying to bring an American astronaut into space. The film opens with African American women employed in a racially and gender-segregated building, fighting to be recognized for their true potential. Katherine's experience in analytic geometry becomes increasingly valuable as the story progresses. Mary, an aspiring engineer, is given an engineer assignment at the same time as Dorothy battles for her promotion to team supervisor. These three characters struggle to navigate radicalized and gendered experiences in their academic, work, and home environments throughout the film. Hidden Figures illustrates the concept of intersectionality by telling the story of a group of African American women who are subjected to several forms of oppression. Intersectionality is a feminist philosophy that was first developed to display the oppression of non-white women. It was coined by Kimberly Crenshaw, a professor and civil rights advocate. Crenshaw's essay "The Gender and Media Reader," which was inspired by violence against African American women, explores the intersections of gender and race. Oppression has several dimensions, and people who are oppressed are confronted with this dynamic aspect at the same time. The three African American female characters in the film Hidden Figures identify with various subordinate categories, demonstrating the intersectionality principle perfectly. The film starts with an act of police violence that seems to be resolved due to the three characters' socioeconomic status and intellect. A police officer confronts Katherine, Mary, and Dorothy after their car breaks down on the way to work, causing them to have a terrified conversation. Dorothy asserts that " no crime in a broken-down car," and Katherine argues that "there's no crime in being a Negro either" (Melfi). The scene continues with Katherine describing their situation to the officer, who asks, “Are you being disrespectful?” while holding a wooden knife in his hand. “Do you have any identification?” When the police officer realizes they work for NASA, he instantly changes his tone and says, "NASA, now that's something...the lease I can do is give y'all an escort" (Melfi). The police officer acknowledges their socioeconomic status and academic level after discriminating against them based on their race or gender (it is unknown). After learning that the three African American women worked for NASA as mathematicians, the police officer changes his mind about them and eventually worships them. This event demonstrates how racial and/or gender discrimination occurred, but the social contact was influenced by socioeconomic status. Racial discrimination starts occurring after the police officer escorts the women to work. In Hidden Figures, racial discrimination was openly practiced against all the African American characters, but particularly against Katherine Goble. She is wanted by a different community for her mathematic skills after working at the racially and gender segregated Langley Research Center for a while. As the first African American allowed in the engineer Space Task Group, Katherine is stereotyped and faced with racial prejudice the moment she walks into her new office. When she walks in a white male hands her a garbage bin and explains “this wasn't emptied last night,” thinking Katherine was the custodian (Melfi). Because of his underlying image of what an African American woman should be, this white male stereotyped Katherine as a custodian. Katherine's white, coworkers become speechless and perplexed as she explains she works as an engineer rather than a custodian. Hidden Figures, which is based on a true story, weaves the idea of intersectionality across the entire plot. The three main characters had identical subordinate personalities that overlapped, allowing their oppression to take on several dimensions. These 3 African American women were oppressed and denied opportunities and rights, especially in the workplace. Katherine, Mary, and Dorothy were not treated similarly to the other marginalized female characters, illustrating the intersections of race and gender. These 3 personalities are so entangled that they can't be examined separately. The movie also depicts the layers of other social identities, such as class and gender roles, and how they influenced other layers of minority social stratifications.
