“See what she becomes”: Black women’s resistance in Hidden Figures

Abstract

ABSTRACT On December 25 2016, the film Hidden Figures made its debut in select theaters across the country. In a political climate where white supremacy seems to have prevailed and patriarchy necessitates the subordination of women, viewing the film without considering the history that it attempts to dramatize contributes to a deafening silence about the limitations of democracy in the United States and the critical social justice work that remains undone. Comparing the representations of Black womanhood in the film and book reveal how the narratives sometimes diverge. I argue that analyzing the film in light of the book offers insights about Black women’s legacy of struggle, particularly the leadership styles they routinely utilized to challenge racism and disrupt the gender status quo, which would otherwise be obscured. Juxtaposing these representations underscores how Black women’s tradition of resistance is marked by the ability to lead from behind, navigate the politics of invisibility and hypervisiblity seamlessly, and make a way where there appears to be none.