Hidden Figures

During the discussion with Ms. Kobus about the film, "Hidden Figures", Ms. Kobus asked us varying questions that allowed us to deepen our understanding of the movie. A question that stood out to me was if we had ever felt limited in our ability to do something. We had all never felt limited and were told that we could grow up to be and do anything we wanted. The purpose of this question was to show that the women in "Hidden Figures" did not grow up thinking this way because of their race, they were in fact told the opposite through adulthood. When Mary, one of the three main female characters, wanted to become an engineer, she did not feel she could even dream of it. "I'm a negro woman. I'm not going to entertain the impossible." The movie showed not only the immense difficulties black women faced, but also depicted how to get through those difficulties with grace and strength. Each character fought back on the segregation and racism they faced in their specific jobs at NASA, in their own way. Before watching this movie, I had no knowledge of African American women's influence on the mission to the moon. When I think about the first landing on the moon, I think about Neil Armstrong and no one else who may have helped him. Neil Armstrong is the prominent figure in this event because he is a white man. The black women who helped him achieve reaching the moon got no recognition, until this film. This leaves me wondering, as we pondered in the discussion, why some stories are told, and why some are not. Some stories may be more dramatic or entertaining, but that does not make them more important or valuable in education than others. It is important to hear many views of a story or event to understand it deeper. "Hidden Figures" allowed viewers to see a new view on the famous mission to the moon.