Hidden Figures tells the hitherto little known story of African American female mathematicians who worked at NASA in the 1960s during the Cold War space race between the U.S. and Russia(U.S.S.R). The film was generally well received from the public, critics, and educators in the U.S., who focused on how it addresses the erasure of the accomplishments of women and POC from mainstream U.S. history. Critical responses examined how the film failed to break out of the usual Hollywood dependence upon white male savior figures even when claiming to tell the stories of women and POC. This essay takes a different approach to the film, and argues that rather than differentiate the main characters according to race or gender that Hidden Figures presents them as exceptional figures, embodying American exceptionalism. Further, this essay interrogates how this framing of the central characters as exceptional individuals invites viewers to approach issues of systemic and structural discrimination as individual situations, and as a consequence, contributes to continuing the legacy of Jim Crow.
I. Introduction
II. Framing the Film to Hide Jim Crow
III. The Talented Tenth in Black and White
IV. Leadership and Collective Action
V. Conclusion