[33][34], The Space Task Group was led by Robert Gilruth, not the fictional character Al Harrison, who was created to simplify a more complex management structure. This led to Black women working at Langley. His behaviour towards Katherine coupled with the values of society at the time, show his workers that it is acceptable to not respect Katherine and engage in discriminatory actions. He offers, Thomas Byrdsong is a black engineer who joins Langley in 1952 and becomes friends with. The untold story of the three African-American, female mathematicians who helped win the Space Race even as they dealt with sexism and racism from their colleagues. [39], The fictional characters Vivian Mitchell and Paul Stafford are composites of several team members, and reflect common social views and attitudes of the time. The movietakes place in the year 1961 in North Hampton, Virginia which is during the Civil Rights Movement in America. You'll also receive an email with the link. She, Margerey Hannah is West Area computings white section chief. Leadership In The Movie Hidden Figures By Theodore Melfi They were resilient and tenacious in convincing those in power to be courageous to lead when others would not. $18.74/subscription + tax, Save 25% You lead from where you are. Jim Parsons, best known for the TV series The Big Bang Theory, plays the role. Watching the courageous brilliance of the story of the women featured in the movie, I learned 8 power lessons about leadership. Allowing your team to operate fully in their gifts, talents, and genius, allows their genius to work to your advantage. The women behind the story depicted in Hidden Figures showed us all the power of One. Why the Fatal Attraction Series Wants You to Forget How the Movie Ended, Oscars: The Shape of Water Wins Best Original Score, Oscars: Keala Settle Performs This Is Me From The Greatest Showman, Oscars: Common and Andra Day Perform Stand Up for Something From Marshall, Making of 'Hidden Figures': Re-creating the '60s to Tell an Untold Story of Space, Sexism and Civil Rights, Chris Pratt and James Gunn Talk Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. It's a small group of people, and my hat is off to them. Hidden Figures is a 2016 film that recounts the story of three incredible black women in NASA history: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. It only takes one to remind yourself to step up and lead from where you are! This is a very powerful scene that perfectly exemplifies Als power in the workplace. From early scenes in the movie, Al's character is shown to be heavily involved in his work and is highly respected in his office. [9] Kevin Costner was cast in the film to play the fictional head of the space program. SparkNotes PLUS Harrison's character, meanwhile, is an unfortunate meta-commentary on Hollywood's continued reliance on racist and sexist storytelling tropes that weakens the film and its message. It only takes one to see the genius in those you lead and give them the freedom to create greater opportunity for all It only takes one to stand up and advocate for others when it is unpopular or seemingly unwise to do so. "[24], Mary Jackson did not have to get a court order to attend night classes at the whites-only high school. Lavishly engaging from start to finish, Hidden Figures may be able to catch the most inopportune movie-goer off guard and cause them to fall for its undeniable and classic storytelling. Between 1941 and 1945, she publishes nine reports on high-speed aeronautical research, five as sole author and four coauthored with. An aeronautical engineer at Langley. Harrison confronts Katherine about her "breaks," unaware that she is forced to walk half a mile (800 meters) to use the nearest bathroom assigned to "Colored" people. [70] In its second weekend, the film grossed $20.5 million (for a four-day MLK Weekend total of $27.5 million), again topping the box office. Mary Jackson: Sshh. The movie may have been about mathematical geniuses, but it really was about Bosses! Is the movie character Al Harrison based on an actual NASA employee? She was willing to be the first so that others could be in the number. For better or for worse, there is history, there is the book and then there's the movie. [68] Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $95.55 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film, making it one of the top twenty most profitable release of 2016. Al Harrison One of Katherines daughters. Pull us all up. : Even though this was post-Brown v. Board of Education, Virginia had yet to desegregate its schools. He pulls her from Dorothy Vaughan's computing group, but he has to be persuaded to hire her on officially and give her the raise she deserves, in part because he doesn't believe women should work. A critical point in the film is when Al Harrison turns to the fictional character, Paul Stafford, and tells him that his job is to find the one genius who can help them find the answers they seek. "[77], Other reviews criticized the film for its fictional embellishments and conventional, feel-good style. [61][62][63], The Miracles' 1961 chart hit, "Mighty Good Lovin'", written by lead singer Smokey Robinson, is played in the film during the house party dance scene, and was also heard in the closing credits. Part of HuffPost Business. [20], It was Mary Jackson, not Katherine Johnson, who had difficulty finding a colored bathroom in a 1953 incident she experienced while on temporary assignment in the East Area, a region of Langley unfamiliar to her and where few Blacks worked. Christine Darden (maiden name Mann) is an American mathematician and engineer with a PhD in mechanical engineering. Melfis attempt to present such a clear-cut narrative, in which the white man creates a racist environment and then alleviates it, takes away from the complicated real-life experiences of Black women at NASA. [46] The phrase "go for at least seven orbits" that is in the mission transcript refers to the fact that the Atlas booster had placed Glenn's capsule into an orbit that would be stable for at least seven orbits, not that he had permission to stay up that long. In 1953, she was hired by NASA and struggled to receive equal recognition for her work. We're already there, sir. Research indicates that by 2020, there will be 2.4 million unfilled STEM jobs. Character List Dorothy Vaughan Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson Mary Jackson Literary Devices Here's where you'll find analysis of the main themes, motifs, and symbols in Hidden Figures . Being the one to buck authority takes courage of great testicular fortitude, but someone has to be the One to do it. The MA-6 mission was planned for three orbits and landed at the expected time. : : I always look for lessons in fiction and in reality. Hidden Figures is available on Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and Hulu. She comes to Langley around 20 years after the other featured women, and her research into sonic boom minimization is used in aerodynamics today. Motivation The motivation of Al Harrison is that he wants to beat the Russians to space and send a man to the moon. for a group? The Mercury 7 astronauts visit Langley, and astronaut John Glenn goes out of his way to greet the West Area women. And if she says they're good, I'm ready to go. Hodge prepared for his role by reading Margot Lee Shetterly's book, also titled Hidden Figures, from which the movie was adatped. : "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." Tagged: Tall Glass of Water, smiling, Flirting. "I didn't feel the segregation at NASA, because everybody there was doing research. These women were three of many of the women of colour who worked for NASA in the operation of sending John Glenn into orbit and guaranteeing his safe return. Teachers and parents! He is in charge of hiring the human computers. It feels like Melfi was so dedicated to the feel-good nature of the storyline that some important struggles the main characters faces are quickly introduced and then readily glossed over, which doesnt allow the audience to fully absorb the gravity of the racism and sexism that women like Johnson, Vaughan and Jackson experienced. We're sorry, SparkNotes Plus isn't available in your country. She stepped up to lead when the supervisor position was vacant, yet she had never been officially promoted nor given a pay raise to reflect the added responsibility. "As we celebrate Black History Month and look ahead to Women's History Month in March, this story of empowerment and perseverance is more relevant than ever," said Liba Rubenstein, 21st Century Fox's Senior Vice President of Social Impact, "We at 21CF were inspired by the grassroots movement to bring this film to audiences that wouldn't otherwise be able to see it - audiences that might include future innovators and barrier-breakers - and we wanted to support and extend that movement". to start your free trial of SparkNotes Plus. She's right behind you, Mr. Harrison. "I was on morphine and Vicodin. He asks Mary to join his team after she speaks her mind during a conversation with him. Mission Control decides to land Glenn after three orbits instead of seven, and Katherine supports Harrison's suggestion to leave the retro-rocket attached to help keep the heat shield in place. [10] Singer Janelle Mone signed on to play the third lead mathematician, Mary Jackson. | Movies have come a long way in history and Hidden Figures is a great example of that. While it often happens at a great risk, standing up for yourself often inspires others to do the same. Filming & Production A Leader Must Be the One Who Reminds the Boss to Act Like the Boss. "[37] The Atlantic's Megan Garber said that the film's "narrative trajectory" involved "thematic elements of the white savior". Leadership emanates from using your influence to affect change. For instance, when NASA was falling behind in their progress, Al demanded that the air task force, call their wives and tell them how it is going to be, implying that the men on the task force would be working later hours. Dorothy Vaughn was acting in a leadership position though not recognized by title or positionor pay. [73] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale,[74] one of fewer than 90 films in the history of the service to receive such a score. Katherine meets African-American National Guard Lt. Col. Jim Johnson, who voices skepticism about women's mathematical abilities. It only takes one! For the remainder of the movie, Al makes it clear that he will not tolerate discrimination in his workplace. Joylette attends Hampton Institute and befriends Christine Mann before she goes to work with Katherine. There were so many people required to make this happen. She was proud to be negro and was quiet, yet when provoked, she stood up for herself and expressed her thoughts. Katherine Johnson, who formerly worked as a computer for NASA, was given the chance to fill this role in the Space Task Force. While Hidden Figures makes meaningful strides by telling an important and historically overlooked story, adhering with increased diligence to the experiences of the women who lived them wouldve made for a better, more well-rounded film. The main characters of Katherine Goble, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan worked at NASA and saw many opportunities for their professional growth; however, their bosses and colleagues did not offer these women support nor did they respect their dignity since they were all African-American. [12] Pharrell Williams (a native of Virginia Beach, near Langley Research Center[17]) came on board as a producer on the film.