The good white man coming to the rescue of the three women becomes predicable as a theme in the movie, perhaps providing comfort to white audiences. It is a white judge that rules in her favor that allows Mary Jackson to attend a whites only evening school. It’s a white female supervisor who finally understands that black women should be given the opportunity to work in the computer room that affords Dorothy Vaughan the position of supervisor. All of these events could have unfolded as they appear in the movie, but I suspect the role of white people who slowly but surely come to understand the humanity of these women, albeit belatedly, ultimately saves the day for these characters. In this regard, the movie becomes a form of cinematic salve for the souls of white folks.
What is missing however is the power of the resistance movement in the 1960’s, the invisible hand moving behind the benevolence.
This formula of black victims and white saviors forms the core of how Hollywood portrays the struggle of black people. This allows white parents to distort the treatment of Africans so that their children can be afforded the illusion of social relationships that are not rooted in power.
As Taraji Henson noted, these women were not rabble-rousers. They were not in the streets protesting the indignities of white supremacy. They played by the rules and at the end of the day the system worked for them and their families. Perhaps, this is what made me uncomfortable about the movie. For white people, it’s a feel good movie that demonstrates that even during one of the vilest and most racist periods of American history white saviors rose to the occasion.
As much as I personally admire these women, without the activism of people like Rosa Parks, Malcolm X or Martin King their personal achievements would have remained just that: personal. It was the collective struggles of the 60’s with its acts of defiance and refusal to play by the rules of white supremacy that moved the struggle of black people forward.
The women of Hidden Figures were clearly intellectually superior to their white male counterparts. However, the oppression would have continued, despite their brilliance, without the power of a social movement that forced white privilege to negotiate.
Dr. Marsha Adebayo is the author of the Pulitzer Prize nominated: No FEAR: A Whistleblowers Triumph over Corruption and Retaliation at the EPA. She worked at the EPA for 18 years and blew the whistle on a US multinational corporation that endangered South African vanadium mine workers. Marsha’s successful lawsuit led to the introduction and passage of the first civil rights and whistleblower law of the 21st century: the Notification of Federal Employees Anti-discrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (No FEAR Act). She is Director of Transparency and Accountability for the Green Shadow Cabinet and serves on the Advisory Board of ExposeFacts.com. Marsha will be inducted into the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame, March 2017.
Article Appeared @http://www.blackagendareport.com/whites_love_hidden_figures