The Storytelling Science of “Hidden Figures”
Isn’t it great when historical fact just makes a damn fine story? Not just the dramatic ins and outs and who-what-wheres, but the juxtaposition of certain elements, the happenstance of how actual events illuminated the bigger struggles of society. Like, for instance, a true story about how three African American women, in 1960s segregationist Virginia, united the entire nation in a common goal to win the Space Race.
Like a lot of people when Hidden Figures first came out, I wondered how it could be possible that I’d never sat in a classroom where I was taught about Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan. And my school prided itself on its science and math tracks!
Hidden Figures begins by introducing the audience not just to a young Katherine Johnson, but to her mind, the way she sees the world: in mathematics. We’re shown what she sees: shapes that seem to reach out to her, as real and as close as the community and family who come together to help pay for her education. Katherine’s is a singular mind, one that is recognized early on; and for all the obstacles and obstinance people will throw at her through life for no other reason but her gender and the color of her skin, she is, at the start, given a chance to use and grow her brilliance by those in a position of power: her teachers.
It’s my hope that with more information coming out every day about all the different people who made contributions to our nation’s successes, teachers are able to find ways around strict curricula that teach to a test and administrative mandates that crush creativity. I wonder, how many little girls have been out there who loved science and math, but were only taught about the men who have succeeded and so figured, “Well, I guess this isn’t for me”? How many teachers were told that if a student showed a different style of learning, shut it down or risk losing your job? How many great thinkers have we lost because they were penalized for straying from some narrow view?
Beyond its importance in teaching us all one of many shamefully overlooked pieces of our history, what makes Hidden Figures such a great flick? It’s highly entertaining, features a star-studded cast, with leads Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monáe, and Octavia Spencer purely addictive to watch, and is paired with one hell of a soundtrack. The dramatized story is well told, and all the overarching societal points are made deftly. Clearly, this is a story about how, in our recent past, a past many like to pretend looked differently or happened much longer ago, women and especially women of color were treated with insolence and disregard. Clearly, this is a story, really, about how not a whole lot has changed even from that past. It’s only thanks to this 2016 film and the non-fiction account Hidden Figures, written by Margot Lee Shetterly, upon which it is based, that Johnson, Jackson, and Vaughan have been given at least some of the credit and acclaim they so richly deserve.
I found myself inspired, though, not just by the minds of these women and their fortitude to be integral to NASA while also having to run across campus to use the “Colored Only” bathroom, but by their feminine strength and self-respect. Never once do they compromise who they are or their high standards. Their self-respect and respect for each other is evident in everything from how they dress to how they teach their children to how they relate to one another. Their strength is not synonymous with brash, snarky comebacks, but with intelligence, wit, and savvy. Never do they shy away from a fight. They simply show that quiet muscle can often land a punch more effectively than a brawl.
As one moment in the film masterfully portrays, there have been times in our past when we’ve all looked together as one, our eyes to the sky, to see disaster . . . or hope. With more role models like Johnson, Jackson, and Vaughan taught in a standard curriculum, with more teachers who might encourage a child’s creativity rather than quash it, with more emphasis put on intelligence and respect for ourselves and others rather than anger, hatred, and division, what wonder might we see next on the horizon?
Hidden Figures is currently streaming on Disney+ and Spectrum, and is available to rent from Prime, Redbox, Apple TV, and Vudu.
Did Hidden Figures inspire you too? Share your favorite characters and moments in the comments!
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Clarissa J. Markiewicz is the author of Christmas In Whimsy — a heartwarming, fun novel readers compare to Hallmark Christmas movies, and recipient of Readers’ Favorite 5-star Seal — and the genre-bending new-age mystery The Paramour Pawn.
