I greatly enjoyed last week’s screening of Hidden Figures. I think few movies can really stir up real emotion within us, and I noticed that several other students in the theater were also moved to tears.

After reading through some of peers’ responses, I was drawn to that by Ilse in particular. I think she made several good points about how the film adopted some elements of white saviorism, by incorporating fictional white characters who assist the main three Black heroines on their way. That said, I think there are good reasons to disagree with this interpretation too.

From what I saw, a number of hostilities were clearly directed by characters such as Harrison, Mitchell, and Stafford towards Goble, Vaughan, and Jackson, ranging from passive aggression, condescension, and insensitivity. This is not even to mention the outright racism inflicted by some of the supporting or minor white characters on them. The film’s message is one of reconciliation, one that ends with the “hidden figures” largely at peace with these white leads, who eventually come to admire and respect them for their hard work. I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad signal to send, especially in times of racial strife. I think it would have been worse for the film to portray every white character as a one-dimensional racist.

That said, I do think the film might unwillingly promote the idea that “hard work” can get anyone ahead, and that outside intervention might not be necessary at all. It promotes the American ideal of individualism, yes, but it relegates the civil rights movement and its social organization to the background. But then again, you can’t fit everything in one film.