A Crowbar and a Sign

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To me, the absolute most powerful scene in the movie was when Katherine finally blows up at Harrison about having to walk a half-mile to the bathroom. For one, it was really incredible to me when he just tore down the sign, abolishing bathroom segregation, with a crowbar. As I sat down to write this, though, I found myself reevaluating the surface level of positive emotion aimed at the scene. This is because if anyone deserves to tear down the sign, if anyone deserves to be crowbar levels of angry, it is the people who the sign segregated in the first place. They deserve to be absolutely furious with everything and everyone who perpetuates inequality. Harrison primarily did it because of his deadline, even if he’s incredibly liberal, incredibly non discriminatory. His goal was efficiency. He achieved his goal with flare and he did a great thing in the process, but it is very telling that the white man in charge got to do the tearing down all because Katherine, the person who actually has every right to be angry, had to defend herself for using the restroom.

2 thoughts on “A Crowbar and a Sign”

  1. I also LOVED that scene, and was really interested to hear your perspective on it. I didn’t think of it as an act of power, when Harrison pries off the sign, but now that I think of it, it was. He was the white man in charge of the operations in NASA, and he decided whether or not segregation was permitted in that building. As much as it would be more satisfying to see Katherine pry that “whites only” sign off, I think that this was a small step in the right direction.

  2. I agree! The scene where Katherine defending herself at the top her of lungs was so poignant. I think it also shows that Harrison was one of the few people who finally saw the injustice and discrimination and decided to do something about it. He’s the one that allows Katherine to be included in the meetings. He’s the one that Near the end of the movie, he’s the one that tells Kathrine to come into the room where everyone is monitoring the launch of Apollo 11, thanking her and acknowledging her work. Even at the end, Stafford shows a change of heart and brings her a cup of coffee.