By: Kaleia Martin, Staff Writer
http://www.foxmovies.com/movies/hidden-figures
In light of everything that happened in 2016, it was very necessary to have something, anything to lift the spirits of black people and remind us of our brilliance and resilience, so what better time to tell America the story of how Black women worked their magic during the Space Race? The Christmas film set out to portray the story of how Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn, Mary Jackson and other black women helped the U.S. win the race to space in the 1960s. It highlighted many of the complexities these women faced and showed how Black women were (and still are) able to withstand racism, sexism and persecution and excel in their respective fields to contribute to the betterment of society. The movie also made a conscious effort to show the main characters as powerful, charismatic women who were still capable of having loving relationships with equally strong Black men.
Hidden Figures was an uplifting and affirming story. However, there was a major issue that cannot be overlooked. This issue comes in the form of the character Al Harrison, head of the Space Task Group and Johnson’s boss (Kevin Costner). Harrison’s abandonment of societal conventions regarding the treatment of Black women steals attention away from the actual stars of the movie: Johnson, Vaughn and Jackson. In an ironic twist, Harrison subtly becomes the star of the movie.
At the beginning we see Harrison initially ignore Johnson (Taraji P. Henson) and then finally acknowledge her presence only to reprimand her for being away from her desk for too long. Once Johnson confronts Harrison about this, the film shifts and Harrison appears to have a “Come to Jesus” moment and begins his crusade to breakdown the racial barriers at NASA. He transforms into the typical “white savior,” removes the “colored” sign from the coffee pot and tears down the “colored” bathroom sign in the most romantic, passionate and white-guilt releasing fashion. At this point, a critical viewer realizes that the underlying point of the movie was to show that “not all” white people were inhumane and racist, allowing the many whites who went to the film to leave feeling that they too would have been like Al Harrison rather than all of the other racist white people in the movie. Vice interviewed the director, Theodore Melfi. When Melfi was asked about the scenes in question, his response was: “There needs to be white people who do the right thing.”
To make matters worse, the sign scene was an “alternative fact.” Katherine Johnson actually remarked that she always used the white restroom anyways. Additionally, she told Vice that she was not able to watch the launch in the mission control room but instead viewed it from a television in the office. Though this movie set out to shed light on the largely unknown figures behind a major historical event, it was manipulated to the point that diluted the ugly truth: Black women were degraded and disrespected because of the same racism and bigotry that still exists, all while trying to accomplish what was deemed an impossible feat.
Despite its subtle attempt to stroke the white ego, Hidden Figures as a whole reminds us how important it is to tell our stories.
