Movie And Book Reflection

Movie And Book Reflection

Introduction

Hidden Figures, a film that was directed by Theodore Melfi and one that was written by Melfi and Allison Schroeder, is a story of racism and stereotyping. It focusses on three African American women who were mathematicians and who played a critical role in NASA.  This was during the early years of space program development. The film reflects the 1960s when the blacks were discriminated against and segregated by the whites. The film is an excellent example of how racism was propagated during that time. Moreover, it is s story of success where three black American girls concurred the impossibilities and performed exemplary well (Cruz, 2017). From history, the contribution of women in society has been downplayed and have always been looked at as being inferior. The main characters in the film are Katherine Goble Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, who exhibited excellence while in NASA. They were crucial in making the calculations that allowed the Apollo II mission to the moon and back. However, the three women faced several challenges as they worked at NASA, such as conflict due to racism and segregation. Furthermore, there were issues of accountability and negotiation shown in the film.

Conflict

At the time NASA was preparing for a space mission, there was huge discrimination that was taking place between the whites the blacks. The black Americans were seen as being less qualified, and before they were hired, they were required to resit for the engineering degree again. This was the case with Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae). Although she is seen as a hidden figure in this film, she stood out during the launch.  Just like other African women who were segregated and confined to the west campus, which was set apart just for the African Americans. It was after graduating with a dual degree in math and physical science that she was hired at Langley. She worked for several years as a human-computer. She later got a promotion to the position of an assistant senior aeronautical engineer. It was during her stay in this position that Kazimierz Czarnecki encouraged her to take an engineering course after work. However, she was to take the course at a segregated Hampton high school. This was when her conflict erupted with the city of Hampton. She petitioned the city of Hampton so that she could learn next to her white peers. She felt it was unfair for her to be segregated by the city because she was a black American. Jackson was frustrated by the system that treated her as a lesser human being, and yet she performed the work that the whites were doing. The conflict was resolved in court, and she won the case and thus was able to learn together with the whites. She completed the course and was promoted to the position of an engineer at NASA..

The situation that Jackson finds herself resembles that of sales manager John in “Have A Nice Conflict”. John is denied a promotion that he thought was well deserved.  However, because he could not be promoted, he contacted his mentor Dr Mac who enlightens him on how to avoid being the victim in the conflict. One of the things that Dr Mac believes in solving a conflict is that before dealing with the dispute, understand your own motive and tailor the response to meet the situation (Scudder, Patterson & Mitchell, 2011). This was what Jackson did; she understood herself and the need to be at par with her white colleagues, and that is why she wanted to get the same education as they were getting. It is through her petition that she was able to be promoted. “Have A Nice Conflict” firmly advocates for being able to manage oneself, so that one can be able to handle the conflict. People who are able to manage themselves well, they are able to manage the dispute within a shorter period. If Jackson had no managed herself and her conflict, she would have probably quitted when confronted by the conflict.

Accountability Conversation

In the film racism and segregation are deeply entrenched in the fabrics of the NASA community. In one of the scenes mathematician, Katherine Johnson which is played by Henson is seen running back and forth in the rain from one building that houses only white bathrooms to another apartment in the compound that is 30 minutes away that has colored only bathrooms. Because of the racism that exists, she could not be allowed to use the white bathrooms and thus had to walk the distance to use the bathrooms. After the supervisor, Al Harrison, which is played by Kelvin Costner, dollar from your salaryhat this was happening, he takes a crowbar and rips off the sign off the door.  He later holds an accountability conversation with his team, announcing that the washrooms at NASA would be desegregated (Fox, 2020). He holds the whites accountable for perpetuating the suffering for one of their colleagues who had to walk for 30 minutes to use the restrooms. It was unfair for one of their best mathematicians to be distressed due to racism and segregation that existed in NASA. The people who were in the conversation were the manager and the team members. The manager delivered a speech that cautioned them against discrimination in the bathrooms (MCDONALD, 2017). The manager was angered by seeing one of his employees suffering because of racism. He resolved the issue by removing the sign of discrimination and passing a warning against discrimination in NASA.

According to the book, “Crucial Accountability”, accountability is vital in an organization to ensure that protocols are followed. One of the things that are clear from the book is that when the infractions are not clear or ambiguous, discussing such a matter would be disastrous for a manger. One of the critical issues that the manager is supposed to reflect upon when they are speaking out is whether they are speaking at the right time (Patterson et al., 2013). Managers must decide when to hold others accountable and weigh down between speaking out and opting for the easier option of silence. Al Harrison speaks out at the prime time when the issue was still happening. I think that if he had delayed passing the information, he would have been termed as being a hypocrite since he knew what was happening and not acting.

Negotiation

One of the key negotiations that take place in the film is being in the room where critical decisions are made that will require the impute of Katherine Johnson. Her immediate supervisor is racist and feels threatened by her skills and smart talents. However, in order for NASA to send a man to the moon, it was a must that Katherine be in the room. It was not about her getting recognition or promotion, but it was necessary for the success of the mission at hand. The negotiation takes place between senior manager Al Harrison and Katherine, where she insists that she must attend the meeting which her immediate manager was opposed to. Katherine is angry that she is not allowed to participate in the meeting, and yet she does all the calculations, while her manager sees it as undermining his authority. The issue was resolved by the Al Harrison by Allowing Katherine to attend the meeting.

One of the recommendations that are made by the book “Negotiating Agreement Without Giving in “is that a person should not bargain over positions (Fisher, Ury & Patton, 2011). I think this was something that was applied by Katherine. She was not concerned about the position, but she was more apprehensive with the ability to perform her work excellently. She notes that it was becoming hard for her to perform the calculations without having all the information that was discussed in the meeting. Furthermore, she was more focused on the interest but not the position or the promotion that she would get by being able to perform her work excellently.

Conclusion

In conclusion, racism and segregation were a barrier that three ambitious women had to overcome in NASA. As a result, of these vices, there was various conflict that arose such as that of Kathrine and the city of Hampton over schooling in a white college. The issue was solved through a petition. There are accountability conversations in the film where people were held accountable for their actions, such as the senior manager Al Harrison demanding that bathrooms should not be segregated. He notes that all workers in NASA were equal, and therefore, there was no point of making someone to travel for thirty minutes to use a lavatory. The issue was solved by removing the sign of white only bathrooms and giving a speech to the team. Various negotiations took place, such as those of Kathrine and Al Harrison, concerning attending a NASA meeting that would give her the data she needed for calculations.

References

Cruz, L. (2017, January 9). What Sets the Smart Heroines of ‘Hidden Figures’ Apart. Retrieved March 31, 2020, from https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/01/hidden-figures-review/512252/

Fisher, R., Ury, W. L., & Patton, B. (2011). Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without giving in. Penguin.

Fox, M. (2020, February 24). Katherine Johnson Dies at 101; Mathematician Broke Barriers at NASA. Retrieved March 31, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/24/science/katherine-johnson-dead.html

MCDONALD, S., N. (2017, January 20). ‘Hidden  Figures’ and the power of pragmatism. Retrieved March 31, 2020, from https://theundefeated.com/features/hidden-figures-and-the-power-of-pragmatism/

Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R., Switzler, A., & Maxfield, D. (2013). CruciAl Accountability: Tools for resolving violated expectations, broken commitments, and bad behavior. McGraw-Hill ProfessionAl.

Scudder, T., Patterson, M., & Mitchell, K. (2011). Have a nice conflict: How to find success and satisfaction in the most unlikely places. John Wiley & Sons.