Gender and Racial Discrimination In ‘Hidden Figures’ Movie

Gender and Racial Discrimination In ‘Hidden Figures’ Movie

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly is one of the most inspiring novels of all time; it depicts the hurdles people of color have overcome in the workplace for generations. The book was adapted into a movie and is based on three black women who worked at Langley Aeronautical Laboratory in Virginia. The movie is based in the 1940s and showcases the struggles that these four black women underwent as they strived to fit in despite their gender and race bias. The story focuses on the three women who were offered work as human computers, doing calculations for the aerospace engineers during world war II. After the mandate ordering desegregation in the workplace, black people were allowed to work in the same industries as white people. Hidden figures show the most important social problem for gender and racial discrimination for generations.

World war II led to black people being allowed to participate in the federal workforce, which led to more opportunities for Black people. Women were excluded from the war, and so, because many black and white men were at war, women were allowed to participate in the workforce. The movie shows the backstory to help the audience understand how and why women were allowed to participate in such a workforce during this time. Dorothy Vaughan was the first African-American to be employed by Langley Aeronautical laboratory, the first female computer, and worked for the company for more than a decade. Mary Jackson and Katherine Coleman Johnson were the two other women featured in the film.

The three women were allowed to work for the esteemed firm but at a cost to their dignity, humanity, and all they held dear. As soon as they began working, they were degraded, demeaned, and treated as second-class citizens. Johnson, played by Taraji P. Henson, was assigned to a team of engineers to calculate coordinates for the Atlas rockets, Jackson played by Janelle Monae was assigned to NASA engineers, and Vaughn played by Octavia Spenser was the brightest mathematics and the force behind the operation. The three women fight through segregation enforced by Jim Crows laws which prevent them from sharing bathrooms with fellow scientists. The same laws prevent them from sharing the same dining areas as their colleagues.

The movie depicts the epic struggle these women go through when given a chance to break the race barrier. They are prevented from sharing spaces with fellow human beings despite their race, which lowers their morale. However, these women are not deterred, and within time, fellow computers and engineers begin to accept them within their circles. For instance, Miriam Mann, one of Vaughn’s fellow computers, keeps stealing the signs segregating the black computers from white computers at the cafeteria. This is done to break the line drawn between the races. Miriam does this until the institution stops using the signs at the cafeteria.

Objective conditions of racism

 The segregated signs in the Langley center led to a reduction in productivity as the three women felt unwanted and unappreciated simply because of the color of their skin. Additionally, segregating the three women from the white engineers and computers prevented them from sharing their thoughts and opinions of the work done at the institution, thus delaying the progress of work done. The segregation reduced morale as the three black women had to walk miles to go to the washroom and eat. Thus it took longer to get back to work. This affected the work done.

The racism depicted in the movie showed the trauma many African-American people underwent to gain recognition and acceptance from their white peers. These women had to work twice as hard to prove that they were worth the opportunity provided to them. Shetterly’s movie depicted the self-sabotaging the aeronautical company did by enforcing segregation; the three women were always late to work, thus reducing work productivity. The three black women were often the object of ridicule as they ran late to work because they had to go over long distances to go to the washroom, which reduced their workplace efficiency.

The racism depicted in the movie showed that society was separated and less effective and efficient; thus, no one benefitted from the segregation. Throughout the movies, white people began going against the set rules of segregation by destroying the barriers set against the people of color. For instance, Miriam destroyed the plaques and signs that separated black computers from white ones in the dining area. This allowed both groups to interact and harmonize over their calculations, which facilitated faster results and thus increased the efficiency of the workers.

Generally, society accepted segregation, and since the government had instituted it, many institutions used it to separate their black workers from their white workers. Additionally, white workers were paid more than black workers, which was done to ensure the economic dependency of black people on white people. This custom was accepted and maintained until world war II, when people of color could penetrate the hard-core workforce enforced and populated by white people. ‘Hidden figures’ depicted a society corrupted by racial and gender discrimination, with the latter being the most kind of discrimination in the workplace.

‘Hidden figures’ illustrates the disappointment many people of color went through in the workplace. But since the movie combined racial and gender discrimination, it depicted how people of color, especially women, have to work to be considered as important and as efficient as men and white men. The movie showcases the challenges people of color underwent during this period, with them feeling dehumanized and demeaned although they had the same qualifications as white men and women. Women are generally discriminated against, especially in science, where women are expected to be brainless and clueless in this field.

The movie showed how acceptance could change people’s perception of racial and gender discrimination. The white people who stood up against the racial discrimination in the movie helped destroy the narrative that women, especially women of color, cannot fit in science. The movies showed that an initiative could change societal values and perceptions by a single person determined to break the racial barriers set up to separate the races. ‘Hidden figures’ inspires women of color to break all barriers placed on them by society, barriers that prevent them from getting into fields that they are deemed unworthy.

In essence, ‘Hidden Figures is a movie based on a real story of three phenomenal women who worked for NASA and excelled in their roles. These women worked in a hostile, unmoving environment where they were discriminated against and looked down on. The movie shows the women’s resilience and how other people, especially white people, stepped in to remove the barriers between the races. The movie depicts the society in the 1900s and what people of color underwent before democracy; it inspires people of color, especially women, to continue striving to break the

References

Eliyana, R., Ariani, S., & Lubis, I. S. (2021). THE PORTRAYAL OF DISCRIMINATION TOWARDS FEMALE CHARACTERS IN THE HIDDEN FIGURES MOVIE. Ilmu Budaya: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni dan Budaya5(2), 238-250.

FARADILLA, A. (2020). THE EFFORTS OF FEMALE CHARACTERS TO FIGHT AGAINST GENDER DISCRIMINATION ARE REVEALED IN HIDDEN FIGURES MOVIE. Dinamika Bahasa dan Budaya15(2), 1-14.

Gustina, R. (2019). A SOCIOLINGUISTICS ANALYSIS OF LANGUAGE USED BY WOMEN IN “HIDDEN FIGURES” MOVIE (Doctoral dissertation, Universitas Peradaban).

Ikawati, A. A. W. (2018). Afro-American Women Discrimination on Hidden Figures movie: A Critical Discourse Analysis (Doctoral dissertation, Thesis. Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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