Does The Film Hidden Figures Explore The Concept Of Racial Segregation?

To what extent does the film Hidden Figures explore the concept of racial segregation? Evaluate how these concepts are challenged throughout the film.

Throughout the duration of the film Hidden Figures, the concept of racial segregation is frequently addressed and explored in a confronting manner. The film is based in 1961 Hampton, Virginia and is centred around three African American women employed by NASA, the American space agency. These women face constant challenges in their everyday lives and repeatedly fight racial oppression to achieve success in their careers.

The film Hidden Figures explores the different ways racial segregation is evident throughout the American space agency NASA during the 1960s. This film closely follows the

disadvantages created for the African American women in the space program. Mary Jackson was an African American mathematician at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and a key character in the film. Mary had a strong passion for engineering and desired the opportunity to become an aerospace engineer. Due to Mary being both a female and an African American member of society she was legally unable to achieve her goals. Mary wanting to be a female engineer was considered amusing and she was on most occasions, not taken seriously due to her gender. A second hurdle that Mary had to face in order to achieve her goal was gaining the education required to become an engineer. Throughout the 1960’s, wide scale racism towards the African American community was largely event and as a result contributed to Mary being unable to achieve her goals. Due to the colour of their skin, African American members of society were considered of lesser importance than white people and did not receive equal rights and access to employment, education, jobs and community services.

As a result of Mary's determination to achieve her goals, she petitioned to have a law passed so that she would be able to attend classes at the segregated Hampton High School.

Due to Mary facing so many obstacles in achieving success she had to be clever about how she proceeded in gaining acceptance into the Hampton High School night classes. Mary went to court where she had to petition the judge, using a speech that focused on Mary relating her goals to the judge’s past achievements through connecting the idea of them both being the first to achieve their goals. Mary was successful in persuading the judge to believe that she had the same rights as everyone else and the same rights to the education she

needed.

A second character explored throughout the film was Katherine Johnson, who was also an African American mathematician at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and a largely influential character in the film .

During the movie Katherine receives an advantageous opportunity to move up through the ranks of NASA. As a result her valuable set of skills, she is recruited by the space task force group to help ensure the accuracy of the mathematics surrounding John Glenn's space mission. Whist being apart of the task force, it soon becomes evident that there are no ‘coloured’ bathrooms for Kathrine to use in the vicinity of the task force. This soon results in Kathrine constantly having to take long breaks from her work to cross the campus in order to access a bathroom. Due to the racial segregation present through the separate bathrooms for coloured and white people Katherine must make the choice between either not being able to relieve herself or not being able to complete her work as effectively as possible, potentially endangering her

job.

Katherine was also a character who fought to change people's minds and ideas about her to stop the oppression she was facing. When asked why Katherine spent so much time away from her desk each day by her boss Al Harrison, she delivered a powerful speech that outlined just how much harder it was for her to succeed at her job because she did not have access to simple human needs like a close bathroom. Only because of the colour of her skin. This then resulted in a display in which Mr Harrison beat down the “coloured” sign on the women's bathroom with a sledgehammer, acting as symbolism for ending segregated bathrooms at NASA.

As a result of the passion for their causes and the persistence they had for achieving their goals both Mary Jackson and Katherine Johnson challenged racial segregation and truly made a difference in their community. These women fought to end segregation and make everyone equal, which influenced the audience to believe that they are both heros not only in the eyes of the African American community, but most importantly hero’s to themselves.