hidden figures film review essay

Hidden Figures Movie Review

The movie I selected to do my historical movie review on is “Hidden Figures”, directed by Theodore Melfi, and story was from Margot Lee Shetterly. The reason I chose this particular movie is because it is based on a team of women fighting for equal rights, while working for NASA, a U.S space program. This movie speaks on such critical causes, and I wanted to learn more about those causes. The group of women who fought for equality impacts us present day in many ways. One way is it shows how they fought in the earlier years, and them fighting allows us to have equality. This sets an example for us when we get the chance to stand up and fight for what we believe.

In the movie, I think I will see a team of intelligent women fighting for their rights because they are fed up with people treating them differently because their race is African American. I think I will see women prosper in their jobs because of their actions. Also, I think those who did not have respect for the women will finally at last have respect for them. I believe that by the actions of the women, it will change their employees hearts and outlook on African Americans. Lastly, I believe I will see a change in rules at the women’s jobs.

The type of movie is based on true events, and the genre is comedy, drama, and historical fiction. The main characters are Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. These events take place in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, 1926. In the exposition of the movie, Katherine is displayed as a child, and her parents were called in by the office of her school to speak about her transferring into a different school. This new school provided her a full scholarship and a higher education. Then Katherine, Dorothy, and Mary are shown as adults, and were on their way to work when their car broke down.

A police had stopped them and questioned them, then escorted them to their job. In the rising action, Katherine had been chosen to be the new mathematician at NASA. Katherine entered her new job, and was given an extreme amount of work that had to be done at the end of the day. The more work Katherine got done, the more she outstood to her co-workers.

In the climax, Al Harrison, Katherine’s boss questions her where does she go a couple times a day for forty minutes. Katherine replies that there is no colored bathroom for her to use in the building, so she has to walk more than a mile just to use the restroom. This causes Al Harrison to break down the racist signs from the bathrooms. In the falling action, Katherine gets married to a man that she met at a church barbecue. The following week, Al Harrison brought the news to Katherine that they did not need her anymore as the mathematician. Mary goes to court so she can receive permission to attend an all white school so she can receive another degree so she can become an engineer for NASA. Mary was granted the ability to attend night classes at the school. In the resolution, John Glenn was about to be launched off into orbit, but the landing calculations did not match up correctly. The NASA team had to get Katherine to do the calculations again. John Glenn was launched and orbited the Earth three times, and the landing numbers were exactly correctly calculated by Katherine.

The particular event that “Hidden Figures” depict is African Americans fighting for equality. They received inequalities because of the color of their skin. The society created conflicts towards them due to issues with gender, and race. The subject of the movie is negative because the African Americans did not receive equality, but the way that the movie deals with the subject is in a positive manner. The reason for this is the conflict that African Americans faced was solved at the resolution.

After viewing the movie, I learned that our culture has a habit of judging too quickly. Our culture has the instinct to judge someone based on their looks but not based on who they are. I learned that the American society can do amazing changes and make history if we unite and work together. Based on how Katherine, Mary, and Dorothy were treated I think that history might be repeating itself. I believe this because humans today in our society are being criticized for their race and religion.

The central message of the movie is do not judge someone based on their gender or race because you never know the potential they have. I believe this is the central message of the movie because Katherine was judged because she was “colored” and a woman. When Al Harrison, Katherine’s boss recognized her potential and intelligence, she was finally respected. Katherine was not just considered a colored woman, she was more than that to her boss now. The movie was very effective in conveying the central message because in the exposition Mary, Dorothy, and Katherine were criticized based on their looks, but as the film goes on, their intelligence stands out to the rest of the employees at NASA.

A few questions that were unanswered in the movie were “What was the support system that gave Dorothy, Katherine, and Mary the confidence to fight for equality that had been caused by the society?” and “Why did the American society have something against the one race: African Americans?”. I think that the movie not answering these questions was done on purpose because they wanted the audience to analyze and think about the questions. The information that I gained about American culture, history, and society that may not be conveyed by a written source is how much African Americans were discriminated. I would not be able to gain this information from a written source because it would be challenging for me to visualize it. Since it was conveyed through a movie, I was able to see discrimination occurring and I was able to visualize it occurring in history.

I do believe that the film encouraged me to know more about the subject of the movie because I was aware of how African Americans were treated, but I did not know as much in detail. The film provided examples of African Americans being treated unfairly and I was not aware of them. For instance, when Katherine was chosen to be the new mathematician, she asked an employee where the ladies room was, she replied that she did not know where their bathroom was. “Their” meaning the colored bathroom. This meant for Katherine to use the restroom, she had to walk more than a mile to the colored bathroom. Another example is when Dorothy went to the library with her two kids. While she was browsing, a librarian came up to her saying that she did not want any trouble. Dorothy then replied stating that she did not come there to cause any trouble. The librarian then asked why she was not in the colored section of the library. Dorothy was not in the colored section because they did not have what she needed. This caused the security guard kick them out the library.

I would recommend this film because it is based on true events that speak about an inequality that was a conflict and then was solved. These events are one of the reasons why African Americans do not have to use separate facilities. It makes who we are today. Watching this movie, will give a sense of appreciation to all of those who battled for equality. If this movie was viewed by someone with little or no knowledge of American history or culture, I believe that this movie will affect their view of American society and culture by them recognizing that because of the battle that was fought by African Americans we have gained equal rights. They will see what occurred years ago, and how that impacts our culture today. They will realize that if you have a goal and the society is creating conflicts because of your gender or race, you can fight for equality and accomplish your goal. Accomplishing your goal may create a change in the society and culture.

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Critique of “Hidden Figures” Movie Essay (Movie Review)

1. introduction.

Melfi stated in a 2017 interview that his purpose with the movie was to tell "the story of Katherine Johnson and the unsung heroes at NASA... what they did, in an environment where they couldn't drink from the same water fountain or use the same bathroom as everyone else, is the reason we put a man on the moon." Though this goal is admirable, it is important to remember that the film is just that, a film; an adaptation that has been created with specific audiences and agendas in mind. It is a gross misconception to believe that Melfi's romanticised version of "Hidden Figures" is a comprehensive depiction; there are limitations and flaws that need to be analysed critically. In critiquing "Hidden Figures", one is required to take into account the context in which the film was produced and released. This will assist in achieving the best understanding of the content and the artist's objective. The film was released in December 2016; a time when diversity and race within the United States was a dominant issue, due to the era of Barack Obama coming to a close and the buzz of a turbulent presidential election in the air. This is reflected in the agenda of the film, being that it is released as a major motion picture featuring an all black female cast, relating back to a historical topic which is directly important to the African American community concerning the struggles for civil rights. Given this context and objective, it is clear that the film's main aims are to entertain and to inspire pride and achievement in the African American community. This is not to say that there is anything wrong with entertaining a community and evoking a sense of pride, though it is important to note this when analysing the accuracies of the film and if these are fundamental in achieving its main aims.

1.1 Background of the movie

Hidden Figures is a biographical drama film which was directed by Theodore Melfi. It was first released on December 25, 2016. The film is based on true events and is actually an adaptation from a non-fiction book of the same name written by Margot Lee Shetterly. The film stars Taraji P. Henson as Katherine Johnson, Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughan, Janelle Monáe as Mary Jackson, Kevin Costner as Al Harrison, Kirsten Dunst as Vivian Mitchell, and Jim Parsons as Paul Stafford. Set in the early 1960s, the film basically talks about the daily lives of the three African-American women mathematicians who all work in the segregated West Area Computers division of NASA. The movie was quite a hit and received very positive reviews, praising especially the performances of Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer. Not only that, this movie was also nominated for various awards, including the award for Best Adapted Screenplay and the award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 23rd Screen Actors Guild Awards. This film was also pretty successful at the box office, grossing about $236 million worldwide. It also received several nominations at the Oscars and the Golden Globes under the categories of Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress.

1.2 Purpose of the critique

The purpose of this critique is to assess the effectiveness of the film Hidden Figures as a depiction of history. The film played an important role in shedding light on the history and accomplishments made by NASA's African-American employees. The critique will measure the film against the scholarly standards being able to learn from the past, it also will evaluate how the women and their accomplishments are being represented. This critique will attempt to sum up whether the movie provides a realistic and reliable representation of NASA's history. If not, then the critique will determine which aspects of the plot or character portrayal should be altered in order to provide a more historically accurate representation of NASA's past for future generations to learn from. The critique will also set out to assess how the involvement of African-American women at NASA was significant to the advancement of not only space research, but also to the culture. The film closely focuses on how the work of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson was an integral part of NASA's early space missions. This critique will compare the real-life scenarios to what was portrayed in the film to judge whether the women's accomplishments were appropriately emphasized. Lastly, the critique will be judging the overall impact of the film Hidden Figures on the audience's awareness of NASA's history with African-American employees. This movie has been widely publicized and has drawn attention to a long-ignored aspect in the history of space research. The critique will be able to sum up whether or not this movie is a resourceful tool to be used in educating the public and future generations about NASA's past.

2. Plot Analysis

"Hidden Figures" is a film about the small victories in the fight against segregation. It takes place in 1961 on the Langley's West Area where three black women work in the space task group. From beginning to end, it follows them in their fight for equality in the USA. The first key event is when Catherine Johnson is assigned to help calculate launch and landing equations for the spacecraft taking off with John Glenn. When she is assigned to assist, there are no colored restrooms in the building she is working in. It takes Kevin Costner's character tearing down the bathroom sign and saying that's no longer here for things to change. The second key event that occurs is when Dorothy Vaughan realizes that the installation of an IBM computer will replace most, if not all, of the human computers' jobs. This is a critical conflict in the movie because at this time there were still segregated bathrooms, and it would be hard for a woman, especially a black woman, to learn to use the IBM without it being physically shown to them. Then, when Mary Jackson petitions the courts to allow her to attend an all-white school to take classes to become an engineer, she faces many setbacks, with the biggest one being that the school that the court orders to allow her to enroll does not officially allow her to attend until the very end of the movie. The resolution to all of these events and conflicts is the success and breaking down of barriers for people of color and women in America. At the end of the film, John Glenn personally asks for Katherine to verify the IBM calculations before his orbit. She was the only one to accurately complete this task. Dorothy becomes the supervisor to the new programming team after teaching herself and other women FORTRAN programming. Mary successfully becomes the first black woman to take engineering courses at an all-white school, and the rest is history. All of these triumphs eventually led NASA to the successful launch and recovery of John Glenn and the USA entering the space race.

2.1 Summary of the movie

There were three black women whose names are Katherine (mathematician), Dorothy (engineer), and Mary (specialist). They work for NASA, an organization that researches sending astronauts to outer space. One day, all of them experienced racism. At that time, black and white people were being separated, which also applied to the toilets. Katherine had to walk around 30 minutes just to go to the toilet. Then, one of the NASA guardians saw Katherine's potential and appointed her to help the organization solve complex equations for sending astronauts to outer space. After that, Dorothy was placed in one of the groups that researches technology to send astronauts to outer space. There was an event where black women had to use a different coffee maker than the others, and this upset Dorothy. She tried to demolish that coffee maker, but at that time, the event was prohibited. However, her work was impressive and changed the prohibition, making the coffee maker available for everyone. Lastly, the card said that Mary became the first black woman to succeed in becoming a specialist in the NASA organization.

2.2 Key events and conflicts

Mary Jackson seeks to become an engineer but has to take night classes and go to court to fight for the right to do so. Dorothy Vaughan is the de facto supervisor of a group of African American women computers. When the Space Task Group, led by Al Harrison, is unable to figure out how to get their new IBM 7090 mainframe computer installed and running, Vaughan puts herself and her charges forward as an unofficial computing group to make it happen. Katherine Johnson is transferred to the STG to work on orbital calculations. All three women must deal with pervasive discrimination. Al Harrison is an amalgamation of three white, male heads of the STG. He gives the orders to bring the IBM machine to Langley and is expectant that it should improve their computation speed and efficiency despite it being known that there were issues with its installation and use. Harrison makes a lot of significant changes to procedures in the STG, with the demarcation of "whites only" bathrooms and the ending of "pool meetings" at work to assign work and information allocation. These have a significant impact upon Katherine Johnson as the bathroom issue leads to her forgoing nearly half a day to walk to the nearest colored bathroom, and Harrison requests her to check the calculations of John Glenn's upcoming mission. Dorothy Vaughan comes into conflict with Vivian Mitchell, the supervisor who denies her the deserved promotion and pay increase for her work with the computer of which Mitchell herself had no idea how to become a supervisor for. This series of events sees Vaughan attempting to change her career for the better with significant resistance.

2.3 Character development

Dorothy Vaughan is a mathematician and the first black woman to be promoted into a professional, supervisory role. She is initially employed as a computer, but her responsibilities rapidly expand. After the introduction of an IBM mainframe into NASA, Vaughan learns the Fortran programming language, despite being unable to use the machines in the segregated West Area Computing division. When she and her team are told that they are to be reassigned as human computers and that their lab is to be torn down, she takes a stand against her supervisor and demands that she and her team are made permanent and be reassigned as programmers. After her demands are met, she is promoted to supervisor of Programming Analysis, making her the first black supervisor in the history of NASA. Vaughan is a single mother of three who is determined her children will not have the same future as she has, working in a low-skilled job. She is always seen with drive and passion and inspires those around her. Mary Jackson is an aspiring engineer who has to seek special permission to take the night classes in graduate-level mathematics that she needs to qualify as an engineer. She has a fiery attitude and strives to break down the various barriers that exist between her and her goals, despite the constant setbacks she faces due to being black. After a white police officer refuses to help her when she asks for directions, she tells him that he was lucky she didn't have her sons with her; otherwise, she'd have suggested he apologize for wasting NASA's money teaching him to shoot. At NASA, she initially works as a computer alongside Dorothy Vaughan. Seeing a future as an engineer, Jackson has to battle against court orders deeming that she was not allowed to attend the night classes needed to qualify as an engineer. She eventually takes the issue to court and wins.

3. Evaluation of Themes and Messages

Discussions of Hidden Figures' main themes largely focus on its representation of race and gender, and the movie is a triumphant success in this respect. The audience is presented with a particularly intersectional view of the struggles faced by the film's protagonists, as despite all working in a similar professional field (mathematics and engineering), each character faces different issues that color their experiences. Irrespective of the differences in their personal lives (which will be elaborated on later), each woman faces the double discrimination of being both female and black. These range from Katherine Goble (later Johnson)'s constant having to return to a segregated colored-only coffee pot, to Mary Jackson battling for the right to better herself by becoming an engineer, a fight against gender preconceptions with Barbie dolls and race relations in its segregation of college education. In showing these differing double discriminations, the audience is given a unique insight into the issues faced by people of different status and gender within the same race, a rarely discussed topic. In prior works, Hidden Figures, in its real-life representation of NACA and NASA, has broken with the norm of NASA being represented only by astronauts or Mission Control staff. By bringing to life the work of black computers in the period from World War 2 to Apollo, Hidden Figures has gone against the stereotype of the space race being a solely white endeavor and has shown an efficient and valuable black contribution to the aerospace field.

3.1 Representation of race and gender

Hidden Figures represents much of what we study in the area of diversity. We examine the challenges and opportunities of diversity, the impact of diversity on culture and society, global diversity, and the future of diversity for time to come. In addition, the movie does an exceptional job of examining the complex relationships that are formed in diverse environments, the difficulties and ease of breaking social barriers, and the process of assimilation and the formation of new cultural elements. These elements are shown throughout the film in various examples. One of the most prevalent elements in the movie is the social barrier between race and gender. The early scene in the movie where the three main characters are broken down on the side of the road displays the pressures placed on African Americans to avoid using "white" accommodations for fear that it would lead to punishment and trouble. It also shows the tension that is caused by new policies enforcing racial diversity as Kevin Costner's character has to make sure that Katherine Johnson has accommodations equal to that of her peers. This tension is also displayed as Mary Jackson has to gain special permission to attend all-white classes in order to qualify for an opportunity to apply for an engineering degree. The tension and barrier are, however, most effectively shown as all three women must deal with a condescending Paul Stafford who is angered by their ability to fill positions better than he can. Stafford is threatened by having new competition in a work environment he racially deems as inferior and takes action to devise a plan to separate the colored computers from the rest of NASA.

3.2 Historical accuracy and significance

Historical accuracy is quite crucial in any film that is set up in a different time period than the present. Although it is never a must that a film is supposed to be accurate, there may be certain elements within the film that do not sit well with people. These elements can include the possibility of a character's existence being incorrectly portrayed or a completely different event that was never shown to happen. In Hidden Figures, the film is predominantly accurate to the 1960s era. This may include the segregation between 'colored' and 'white' individuals, telecommunication devices, and historical events, but slightly inaccurate on character portrayal and exact historical timelines. One of the more prominent historical inaccuracies in Hidden Figures is with the character Al Harrison played by Kevin Costner and in effect showing a significant difference between the real Katherine Johnson's experience at NASA Langley. Kevin Costner's character is actually representing three NASA directors in one. The swearing in, which is done by Costner in the film, actually relates to a meeting done at NASA Langley by Director Henry Pearson, and the crowbar and bathroom-related segregations are linked to Director Gilruth. This is not to belittle the necessary significance of this happening, but to solely highlight that the portrayal of a fictional character has had to be made to implement the immediacy of the situation to what was known as the audience. This does little to alter the truth of segregation at that time. Another event where the situational accuracy has been changed in the film is with John Glenn's friendship with Katherine Johnson. In the movie, Glenn seeks reassurance from Katherine about his calculations for a safe orbit and re-entry after seeing the electronic computer's prediction, which is shown to be an IBM 7090. In real life, this incident had actually occurred months before the Friendship 7 mission in February 1962, and asking computers to "get the girl" to confirm these calculations was a general event for the tasks set out by NASA astronauts at the time. The IBM 7090 was also a real event during Katherine's temporary assignment to the Space Task Group to run calculations for John Glenn's orbit. On the whole, the above scenes are very mild changes to facts in considering what really had happened at that time and in comparison to other films of similar background, Hidden Figures does hold a strong accuracy to the events in the 1960s. The only real change to history is based on situational placement and a mild character change is still in representation of the real issue in effect or the person depicted. This may be portrayed partially on account of Margot Lee Shetterly's authorship of the written Hidden Figures over thorough researching of the actual course of events but still does not deviate to a strong difference in truth.

3.3 Impact on the audience

The purpose of the movie, Hidden Figures, is to empower people to believe that they can make a difference to achieve what they want no matter what the circumstances, or what people are saying. Katherine, Dorothy, and Mary had a plan to change their lives for the better, as well as changing the company in which they worked for. Even with encountering obstacle after obstacle, they still prevailed and changed the way of life for them and many others to come. In the end, this movie will have an effect on anyone who watches it. It is so powerful that it could change a person's perspective on racism and discrimination. During their moments of success, the three main women that this movie focuses on displayed class, and if I might add, "grace under pressure" when it came to delivering results or simply trying to make a point. They fought back against an unjust system with the utmost respect. It shows that even when the world around us is cruel, we can still stand our ground and fight against it without negativity in our hearts.

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Critique of “Hidden Figures” Movie Essay (Movie Review)

The focus of this paper is a drama film Hidden Figures . Released in 2016, the movie was directed by Theodore Melfi. The script was provided by Melfi himself in cooperation with Allison Schroeder. The main character of Hidden Figures is mathematician Katherine Goble Johnson played by Taraji P. Henson. She works with Dorothy Vaughan played by Octavia Spencer and Mary Kackson played by Janelle Monáe. Paul Stafford played by Lim Parsons is the closest the movie has to an antagonist. Kevin Costner plays Al Harrison who is the head of the Space Task Group where Katherine is transferred. Glen Powell portrays John Glenn whose space flight provides the context to the movie. The main theme of the movie is that the motivation to achieve results can overcome discrimination and benefit society.

Hidden Figures is both a biographical movie and a drama film. The movie revolves around three African American women who directly participate and are responsible for the successful launch of NASA astronaut John Glenn into orbit. The film is set in 1961, when segregation of women and African Americans in particular was still prevalent. Most characters in the movie are based on real people. Subsequently, Hidden Figures intertwines two genres – biography and drama, with a heavier emphasis on the drama element. Although history underscores the setting, the movie is about discrimination (Ikawati, 2018). It is evident in that the scenes the drive the plot showcase women managing their tasks despite segregation. Although the film revolves around historic representation of discrimination, some researchers believe that it also promoted feminist agenda (Ikhsano & Jakarudi, 2020). Even if this was not Melfi’s intention, the movie definitely showcases women in a positive light.

The film opens up with Katherine Goble Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson driving for work. The women work as mathematicians at the Langley Research Center, which is segregated on the racial and gender basis. Katherine is assigned to the Space Task Group – an all-white engineer team that requires a mathematician to assist the group with developing the flight paths for rockets. However, the head engineer Paul Stafford expresses animosity towards Katherine in large part due to the instruction given to her by the director of the Space Task Group to check Stafford’s calculations. Despite having been transferred to another building, Katherine faces numerous expressions of segregation, one which is the prohibition to use local restrooms.

Despite the obstacles, Katherine succeeds in her work and impresses Harrison. At one point, Harrison criticizes Katherine for long absences during work. However, once he found out that the reason for them is her inability to use local restrooms, he makes toilets available for all employees indiscriminately. In the meantime, work pressure increases due to concerns that the US is losing the space race. Katherine manages to impress austronaut John Glenn, who begins to trust her calculations exclusively.

After Katherine uses the numerical Eulerian method to calculate the coordinates for re-entry into the atmosphere, it becomes known that IBM computer is installed that renders Katherine’s position obsolete. However, during the preparation of the flight, the computer delivers contradictory numbers. It forces Glenn to request that Katherine check the calculations. Katherine proceeds to assist Harrison with calculating Glenn’s trajectory, thus making the flight successful. The epilogue reveals that computers did replace human mathematician, but the women managed to progress further in their careers.

Ikhsano, A., & Jakarudi, J. (2020). Representation of Black Feminism in Hidden Figures. Nyimak: Journal of Communication , 4 (2), 169-180.

Ikawati, L. (2018). Afro-American women discrimination on Hidden Figures : A critical discourse analysis. Indonesian Journal of English Language Studies (IJELS) , 4 (1), 19-30. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2023, March 17). Critique of "Hidden Figures" Movie. https://ivypanda.com/essays/critique-of-hidden-figures-movie/

"Critique of "Hidden Figures" Movie." IvyPanda , 17 Mar. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/critique-of-hidden-figures-movie/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Critique of "Hidden Figures" Movie'. 17 March.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Critique of "Hidden Figures" Movie." March 17, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/critique-of-hidden-figures-movie/.

1. IvyPanda . "Critique of "Hidden Figures" Movie." March 17, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/critique-of-hidden-figures-movie/.

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The “Hidden Figures” Film Analysis

The film Hidden Figures is the story of overcoming gendered and racial stereotypes and prejudice on the way to success. However, it can be regarded as a demonstration of various aspects of leadership that is neglected on the business arena. It is possible to focus on such terms as emotional intelligence, upward management, and aspirational challenges. Detailed analysis of various plot lines demonstrates that it is necessary to distinguish separate exhibitions of these aspects to achieve success and meet the company’s and employees’ goals. Furthermore, the film depicts main approaches to conflict resolution in the scene of segregation of the ladies’ room

In recent years, it has become evident that it is crucial for subordinates to manage their relationships with bosses. There are various interpretations of what can go wrong with the company if clear boundaries and cooperation are not established. For example, in the book Managing Your Boss , Gabarro and Kotter (2015) focus on the case of Gibbons and Bonnevie. The two shared a sour relationship due to continuous misunderstanding that eventually transpired into a loss in millions of dollars for the company as the newly built plant was not able to keep up with the company’s demands and standards (Gabarro and Kotter, 2015). In this case, low trust and miscommunication can be indicated as the forecasters of the losses.

In the film, the prejudice against African American workers and women in general could have led to drastic consequences for the launch of Friendship 7. The film demonstrates how biased thinking can lead to destruction and that it is necessary to understand that within the company, employees and management share the same goal (Gabarro and Kotter, 2015). The upward management here could be defined in the relationship between Katherine and Harrison. The relationship with managers should be defined by the working styles of both and include mutual expectations, trust, and honesty (Gabarro and Kotter, 2015). It is necessary to keep the boss informed, which was done by Katherine eventually and led to the abolishment of segregated bathrooms.

This part of the film is a representation of the conflict unfolding with Personal variables on work environment. It was resolved via reciprocity principle ­– give what one wants to receive (Cialdini, 2001). However, before using it Katherine was willing to oblige the social rooms until it was the time to compete as the compromise was no longer fruitful. Then she finally revealed the difficulty to her boss who considered the feelings of Katherine and resolved himself do the decision mentioned above.

The character of Harrison in the film demonstrates the qualities of high emotional intelligence. Harrison demonstrates most of the five components of emotional intelligence at work highlighted by Daniel Goleman (2017). He understands personal emotions, strengths, limitations, desires, values, and goals—as well as how they affect others. He has unwavering motivation to bring the project to successful completion. He takes into account the sentiments of others, especially while making decisions. These characteristics demonstrate self-awareness, motivation, and empathy, respectively, that raise him to his leadership position.

Leaders also need to be aware of their aspirations and operations. In detail, the aspirations of CEO should be large, their image should be deliberately chosen, and decisions made should be held accountable and followed until the end (Dewar et al., 2021). These processes could be seen in Dorothy, who managed to set the goal of retaining fellow African American workers’ jobs by making their skills applicable to the changing era. Namely, she transformed her entire team of computers to programmers that are able to perform better by operating the machines. The goal set was insurmountable but during this process, her image was unwavering and strong, which helped her to stand up against discrimination with her ability and reveal her leadership skills.

In conclusion, the film hidden figures is a novel piece with a large exhibition of successful leadership and management decision-making and characteristics. The film demonstrates how the conflict with the boss should sometimes be confronted and managed via reciprocity in the scene about the ladies’ room. It shows the importance of Harrison’s emotional intelligence in the leadership characteristics. The necessity of courage was emphasized during the whole movie that it is possible to overcome unequal behavior and digitalization by transforming the available workforce via professional development. The protagonists of the story demonstrated the courage to lead their generation to change which can be seen in numerous scenes including the court petition of Mary Jackson which demonstrates that leaders lead by example. Therefore, the piece has not only inspirational value as the story of overcoming gender and racial discrimination but also as a leadership guide for future entrepreneurs and CEOs that aim to change the industry.

Cialdini, R. B.(2001). Harnessing the science of persuasion. Harvard Business Review, 72-79.

Dewar, C., Keller, S., Sneader, K., & Strovink, K. (2021). The CEO moment: Leadership for a new era . McKinsey & Company. Web.

Gabarro, J. J., & Kotter, J. P. (2015). Managing your boss . Harvard Business School Press.

Goleman, D. (2017). What Makes a Leader? Harvard Business Press.

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Home — Essay Samples — Entertainment — Hidden Figures — Movie Review: Hidden Figures (2016)

Movie Review: Hidden Figures (2016)

• Categories: Hidden Figures

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Words: 626 |

Published: Jan 25, 2024

Words: 626 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Works Cited

• Edwards, Frances L., and Grayson Bennett Thomson. "The Legal Creation of Raced Space: The Subtle and Ongoing Discrimination Created through Jim Crow Laws." Berkeley Journal of African-American Law & Policy 12.1 (2010): 145-167.
• Hidden Figures, Movie. (2016).

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