Theodore Melfi, Hidden Figures, © 2016, Fox 2000 Pictures.
by Margot Bond
Introduction
As a film about three pioneering Black women in 1960s Virginia, Hidden Figures tells a true and socially important story about forgotten minority contributions to the Space Race. Just the like the “new math” that Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn, and Mary Jackson discover for John Glen’s orbital space flight, these monumental women were concealed by the shortsightedness of their White colleagues. This Fox 2000 Studios film brings these minority experiences to life, but at the same time consciously makes the story palatable to mainstream audiences. Therefore, while the film was lauded by critics and viewers, it fails to develop cultural work that adequately acknowledges the connection that discrimination in the past has to the present; the conditions of production and the editing of the film contribute to the over progressivist narrative of the film, demonstrating Hollywood’s “white-washing” of marginalized identities and stories.
Manthia Diawara and bell hooks argue that mainstream styles and productions of cinema fail to tell the radical and culturally resistant stories that serve the political needs of historically-marginalized audiences. Indeed, the production choices of Hidden Figures demonstrate appeasement to culturally-dominant White audiences despite the film’s subject matter as a story about overcoming racism and sexism. Star effect substantially contributes to this film’s reception with mainstream audiences, solidifying its palatability, not its cultural significance. Furthermore, the composition of mise-en-scene serves as a barrier between the story and the audience, preventing the spectator from adequately empathizing with the characters and their struggles. Therefore, the cultural work of this film about three remarkable and overcoming women, while important to promoting the visibility of marginalized achievements, does not create a sense of responsibility for mainstream audiences to recognize and remedy present-day discrimination.
Medium and Methodology
The cultural work of film contributes to social and political understandings of race, gender, class, sexuality, and identity. These social contributions come not only from the narrative of the film, but also significantly from the production qualities and choices. Therefore, my analysis examines both the conditions of production and the construction of the film that leads to culturally-significant audience engagement. I support my analysis through the use of theoretical film studies concepts regarding the meaning of acting and star effect, shot editing and mise-en-scene, spectatorship, the political implications of Black cinema, and the historical erasure of marginalized voices in mainstream Hollywood. Considering the complexity of cultural work, I created a website containing different pages that address these concepts in depth as a way of bringing together a theoretical framework to address the significance of this film. Using photos, videos, and design elements, this website creates a visually interesting analysis while engaging in important film studies theories.
Research
Research into progressivist films, Black cinema, cinematic depictions of black women, and the contributions of film casting provided a theoretical foundation for my analysis of this film. I used approaches from Manthia Diawara, bell hooks, and Tiyi Morris to inform my project, as well as other theories about film studies’ intersection with race and identity. Additionally, research into the film’s public reception and historical accuracy provided a nuanced understanding of storytelling and cultural work with regards to this film.
Works Cited
Brody, Richard. “‘Hidden Figures’ Is a Subtle and Powerful Work of Counter-History.”The New Yorker, Dec. 2016. Accessed 1 April 2018.
Cruz, Lenika. “What Sets the Smart Heroines of ‘Hidden Figures’ Apart.” The Atlantic, 9 Jan. 2017. Accessed 1 April 2018.
Diawara, Manthia. “Black American Cinema: The New Realism.” Film and Theory: An Anthology, ed. Robert Stam and Toby Miller, Blackwell Publishers, 2000, p. 236-256.
Dyer, Richard. “Introduction to Film Studies.” Film Studies: Critical Approaches, ed. John Hill and Pamela Church Gibson, Oxford University Press, 2000, p. 1-8.
hooks, bell. “Revolutionary Black Women.” Black Looks: Race and Representation, South End Press, 1992, p. 41-60.
Lieway, Miriam, et al. “Hidden Figures: Calculated Responses to Sexism and Racism in 1960s America.” Journal of Family Theory and Review, vol. 9, no. 4, Dec. 2017, p. 607-613.
McDonald, Paul. “Film Acting.” Film Studies: Critical Approaches, ed. John Hill and Pamela Church Gibson, Oxford University Press, 2000, p. 28-33.
McNary, Dave. “‘Hidden Figures’ Set for Free Screenings in 14 Cities for Black History Month.” Variety, 14 Feb. 2017. Accessed 1 April 2018.
Morris, Tiyi. “(Un)Learning Hollywood’s Civil Rights Movement: A Scholar’s Critique.” Journal of African American Studies, vol. 22, no. 4, Dec. 2018, p. 407-419.
“Octavia Spencer.” IMDb, 2019.
“Taraji P. Henson.” IMDb, 2019.
Wallace, Timothy, et al. “The Role of Actors and Actresses in the Success of Films: How Much Is a Movie Star Worth?” Journal of Cultural Economics, vol. 17, no. 1, June 1993, pp. 1–27.
Weigman, Robin. “Race, ethnicity, and film.” Film Studies: Critical Approaches, ed. John Hill and Pamela Church Gibson, Oxford University Press, 2000, p. 28-33.
Gender and Diversity in Film 