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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 2017)
M artin L uther K ing J r . January 11, 2017 Page 35 2017 special edition Arts & ENTERTAINMENT A Hunger for Films about ‘Hidden Figures’ o Pinionated J udge by J udge d arleen o rTega I am often struck by the narrow range of stories that see the light of day in American films and pop- ular media. The films we have had up to now about the Ameri- can space program, for example, depict rooms full of white men and, in general, what few films we have depicting black women rarely center on their experience and certainly don’t involve their contributions to American history or scientific exploration. Contrary to the excuse offered by Kevin Costner in a recent MSNBC inter- view, the stories we are missing on screen are not necessarily found in history books, nor can their ab- sence from popular media be ex- plained by the view that, really, “how many stories can you tell?” The black women whose mathematical skills powered the American space program in the 1960s would still be unknown to most of us were it not for a recent book by Margot Lee Shetterly, which became the basis for the new film “Hidden Figures.” The film focuses on three of the many women whose lives are explored in Shetterly’s book, and provides a long-neglected window into their particular stories and the larger context for the women who worked as “computers” in the space program in the mid-20th century. It is about time we learned these stories, and I do mean to urge ev- eryone to see this film, which gives a flavor of the contributions of such women and the barriers they faced to build their careers. I hope, however, that we will avoid what appears to be a widespread temptation to minimize those barriers and to over-applaud Hol- lywood for giving us one film in which accomplished and intelli- gent women of color are the cen- tral focus. This is at best a start, and by no means a perfect one; our hunger for such stories should not divert us from pushing for a broader range of narratives and for those stories to be told with less pandering to the dominant culture. The three real-life women at the center of the film, engagingly played by Taraji P. Henson, Octa- PhoTo courTeSy h oPPer S Tone /20 Th c enTury f ox A scene from the film ‘Hidden Figures’ depicts black employees at NASA during the 1960s when the workforce was segregated by race. via Spencer, and Janelle Monáe, are among a large number of black women who were employed as hu- man “computers” before machines could do that work. Women with the right skills were thought to be more likely to approach the task of mathematical calculation with the necessary dogged attention to de- tail -- but in the segregated South, black women did the work in a separate section of NASA, with separate bathrooms and cafeterias. The film devotes some atten- tion to the realities of life under segregation. Henson’s character, Katherine Johnson, has to run half a mile in heels in all weather just to get to the nearest “colored” la- dies room to relieve herself; her male colleagues undermine her and take credit for her work, and install a separate “colored” coffee pot for her, the only person of col- or in her unit. Spencer’s charac- ter, Dorothy Vaughn, supervises a department for years without the benefit of the title or pay that goes along with it, and she and her sons are kicked out of the lo- cal public library for not confining themselves to the poorly-stocked colored section. Monáe’s charac- ter, Mary Jackson, has to petition the city to allow her to take the courses she needs to pursue an en- gineering degree because they are only taught in an all-white school. The level of specificity depicted here is more than we usually see. Avalon Flowers 520 SW 3rd Ave., Portland, OR 97204 • 503-796-9250 A full service flower experience Cori Stewart-- Owner, Operator • Birthdays • Anniversaries • Funerals • Weddings Open: Mon.-Fri. 7:30am til 5:30pm Saturday 9am til 2pm. Website: avalonflowerspdx.com email: avalonflowers@msn.com We Offer Wire Services Yet in many ways the struggles are smoothed over, suggesting the filmmakers’ likely unconscious de- sire to spare viewers too much dis- comfort. The women live in nice homes and have wardrobes, hair, and make-up that is too art-direct- ed to be realistic (a common Hol- lywood problem), suggesting that their lives, though separate from white folks, are basically otherwise equal. They vigorously call out racism with a clarity that was much more dangerous and unlikely in 1962, with consequences no worse than being ignored. And the im- pact of their words on white peo- ple is overplayed, as when Johnson blows up at her office colleagues about her long treks to the ladies room, and is met with stunned and chastened silence from her entire department. Her white male su- pervisor then marches down to the colored restroom and knocks down its signage. I’m confident that scenes like that just didn’t happen. Johnson’s white supervisor never tore down any Jim Crow signs. Her most ob- structionist male colleague did not suddenly experience a change of heart and begin bringing her cof- fee. Vaughn’s nemesis likewise did not suddenly begin treating her with respect. Somehow Johnson, Vaughn, and Jackson and women like them survived despite the im- pediments of racism and white su- premacy, but it cannot have been primarily because of changes of heart in their white counterparts. That is not how racism and white supremacy manifest, and as much as I appreciated the pieces of their story that were told in “Hidden Figures,” I left longing for a more insightful and honest rendition of how oppressed people manage to endure slights that don’t have an end date, how they manage to pull out their best work over and over again when no one supports them and no one applauds or even sees it. I’m still looking for the film that more honestly grapples with how it is that such figures remain hidden. This film brings important bits to light, but still leaves them partially obscured. Darleen Ortega is a judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals and the first woman of color to serve in that capacity. Her movie review column Opinionated Judge ap- pears regularly in The Portland Observer. Find her movie blog at opinionatedjudge.blogspot.com. Providing Insurance and Financial Services Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois 61710 Ernest J. Hill, Jr. Agent 4946 N. Vancouver Avenue, Portland, OR 97217 503 286 1103 Fax 503 286 1146 ernie.hill.h5mb@statefarm.com 24 Hour Good Neighbor Service R State Farm R
