Despite its empowering message Hidden Figures lacked the depth to enable its win at the 89th Academy Awards
A year after the #OscarsSoWhite controversy shamed the Academy into addressing the deep-rooted issues of structural inequality in the film industry, the Oscars came back bigger and blacker than ever in 2017. Among the nominations were Fences, Moonlight and Hidden Figures, all films with black leads and majority black casts.
It would of course be naive to assume that this year’s success stories have eradicated structural disadvantage in film. White mediocrity will again run against black and brown excellence, and Denzel will keep getting shafted by the Academy no matter how many poignant, historical and downright incredible films he partakes in. But it has to be said that the diversity of blackness depicted in film, demonstrated by this year’s nominees, was simply outstanding. In the three films with majority black casts there were no mindless thugs, no subordinates, no fruitless brutalising of black bodies. Instead there were tales of black men who love black men, of black families in turmoil and of black women scientists easily forgotten by history.
A black film won best picture and no slavery or maids were involved in the making of the film. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/VtziiGZS1q
— Kevin Simmons (@TheSkorpion) February 27, 2017
One such film, Hidden Figures (Theodore Melfi), offers a heart-warming tale of three black women who, through brilliance and determination, become indispensable to the operation that put astronaut John Glenn into space. They become so senior and so essential that NASA has to desegregate, despite the realities outside of the company where “coloured” people were still not allowed into white schools and were forced to sit at the back of the bus.
Much like The Imitation Game before it, Hidden Figures challenges our understanding of stories we might think we know, inviting a new narrative by centring the voices of characters whose very existence caused despair. As these incredible women go on to gain their just dues, our urge, as viewers, is to bring every little black girl we know to the cinema to watch them shine. Indeed, the promotional tour of the film has seen it reach out specifically to young women talented in Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, a move that can only be celebrated, as the impact of the film is so demonstrably positive.
Yet, although I am a long-time advocate for cinematic depictions of black joy, I couldn’t ignore the sense that the feel-good nature of the film seemed to prevail at the expense of a more layered story – perhaps one which explored more thoroughly the relationship between black women who work for NASA and their communities, or the roots of segregation in the workplace. Hollywood happy endings with American flags dangling from every other shot aren’t for everybody. Sadly, I left the screening with the impression that there was no real emotional journey, little attachment developed towards the characters and, while the appearance of Mahershala Ali is always to be celebrated, a love story which was kinda cute at best.
The importance of actively writing back into history those who’ve been erased cannot be understated – nor can the powerful impact this has on young women of colour. The obvious reaction to hearing of the role these women took on at NASA is shock or surprise, because we are not taught that black women are integral to the successes of “great” nations. Many of us do, however, learn much later in life that black women’s labour has been indispensable to the development of society in the US and the UK. Furthermore, Hidden Figures is a unique portrayal of sisterhood and solidarity, powerfully demonstrated by three phenomenal African-American actresses (Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe). It adds a new layer to the diversity of depictions of the black female experience and celebrates black women in a way that is rarely seen.
Nonetheless, a self-congratulatory undertone is undeniable in the film, as liberal America presents itself to be full of good, decent (white) people, and hence, desegregation is achieved. This is specifically demonstrated in an entirely invented scene where Kevin Costner physically wrenches off the “colored ladies” bathroom sign, declaring that black women can pee where they like. In reality, Katherine Johnson simply defied the rules and went into whichever toilet she wanted to; no man aided her in overcoming that hurdle.
Writer and director Theodore Melfi, who is white, claims that this fictional scene is metaphorically “representative of reality: NASA was desegregated by a white male.” For Melfi it is logical, therefore, that change in the film centres on a white male. But for many, this will be a point of contention, if not something of an insult. Is the hero the black woman who appeals the courts in order to sit night classes in a white school, or the judge who grants it to her? Is it the brilliant mathematicians, engineers and programmers who worked their way into previously unreachable departments of NASA and defied its racist house rules who are to be thanked for desegregation, or the white man who signed off on it?
At the Oscars, the three-time nominated Hidden Figures went home empty-handed, losing to Moonlight and Fences – honourable losses indeed. Perhaps the question of whether or not this film leans too heavily on the “white saviour” to tell the story worked against it, but more likely, it simply did not present as textured an approach as the other nominees. As the name would suggest, Hidden Figures is about firmly placing in the spotlight the historical figures who were hidden, ignored and inconvenient to the narrative. That, it does well. What’s more, Henson, Spencer and Monáe shine all the way through the film, ensuring that this family-friendly feature is inspirational and educational.
Image from: 20th Century Fox