Hidden Figures is a movie that came out in 2016 that was inspiring for women and minority communities across the country. Hidden Figures is about a true story of three black women who were engineers for NASA that helped out with the space race during the cold war. The ladies women were called the computers because they would use spread sheets to do calculations, and throughout the movie they moved up their work status and broke the glass ceiling. This movie showed the true power of these women that was hidden for so long. In the cold war, women in stem received lower wages and had lower status. Black women also were treated poorly which was showed in the movie as the women had to walk to a different building to use the bathroom. This movie is inspiring because it shows that women are more then just their looks and are their minds are extremely valuable and capable for coming up with advances in science and technology. This is similar to Persepolis when Marj’s body was sexualized and not taken seriously for being a women, which Ortiz Cofer experienced in school as a minority and as a woman in Story of my Body. The theme of minority women not being taken seriously is common theme in this course, and this movie does a good job challenging this idea. Hidden Figures shows these women in a positive light doing complicated work that no one else was able to do at the time. There has not been a lot of representation of strong black women in the media, and this movie depicted a narrative that anyone is capable of being smart, regardless of what ethnicity or gender you are. One thing that was a bit trouble some in the film was the white savior syndrome. There was a white male in the film that helped the women move up in the work place that never existed in real life. This is a problem because white people are not needed to help or save minorities, and that they are strong enough to make power moves of their own. The biggest take away from Hidden Figures is showing a story that wasn’t shared because of norms at the time that brings representation to a community that experiences lots of discrimination.
Author: sienko.4
Context Presentation- Black Panther
Black Panther is more then just a movie to many people. Black Panther is a Marvel Film directed by Ryan Coogler, a black director, that is about a country in Africa that has advanced technology though a special metal that is hidden from the rest of society. There is trouble because an outsider wants to overthrow the controllers of the metal to use it for their own use. The cast of Black Panther is majority black, including the super hero. This is a major deal for American culture because there are not many movies with a majority black cast that are seen as positive. A lot of movies only show a certain part of American life, and don’t represent many other minority groups. Black Panther not only represented the black community on screen, but it brought African culture to be able to relate back to its black community watching at home. The actors and actresses in the movie also were able to show their culture to the world too. To the movie premier, the guests were asked to wear royal attire. In an article from Time magazine, it stated that people including the main character Chadwick Boseman and director Coogler wore a kanzu, which is a formal attire from Uganda. There were also a wide display of crowns and head scarfs from a wide variety of African Decedents. Being able to show off African culture and represent it was ground breaking for the large black community in America. The sense of pride was shown throughout the country, and some black people went to see the movie in their native dress attire. Watching a movie where African tribes have the power and technology to control the world is significant, yet just a small step to fixing systematic racism and the injustices faced in America. There needs to be a continuation of more minority casts seen in positive lights to help inspire the next generation and to properly represent all the different culture and ethnicities of America.
Diary of Systematic Injustice- A difference in police response
In the beginning of February of 2021, a bunch of Ohio State students all went sledding in the snow. There were over 100 students in the oval sledding and having snow fights, and the police were called to check out the scene. These students were in a large group setting and were out past the state wide curfew. Instead of the Police telling everyone to go home, they just threatened students with tickets if they used the moving carts and even went sledding themselves. http:/www.thelantern.com/2021/02/students-take-to-south-oval-for-sledding-despite-covid-guidelines/Reading this story, it seems like it would bring a smile to your face, but it there is more behind it. When Ohio State students marched in Columbus for the Black Lives Matter movement, they were not treated with the police being as friendly. Instead, the police tear gassed students, even if they were peacefully protesting. An Ohio State grad student died from the tear gas. The difference in the police response says a lot on the systematic injustices here in Columbus, Ohio. The police were so easy to react and hurt the crowd for BLM protests, but when students who were doing more questionable activities were given a pass. If the students who were sledding were majority black, there would have been more consequences. This may seem like a small comparison and injustice, but what starts out as small can lead to something much larger. White supremist stormed the capitol during the election, and were treated with lots of privileges’ then the protesters who were peaceful in the BLM marches. These cases may be at different levels of extremeness, but the concept is still the same. Police treat white people differently then they do black people. There are still lots cases in Columbus on how black people are still being killed by the police. http://https://twitter.com/tayrhodes19/status/1346921505926631430A twitter user compares the differences of the police treatment to white people at the capitol compared to black people in Columbus. In Columbus, black people are seen as an other group by the police because they are treated differently then white people. How can the city of Columbus react to this serious injustice? For starters, Ohio State University has separated themselves from the Columbus police department. This can allow Ohio State police to have their own training to always out the safety of students first. Columbus can also train and educate their police department on black history and learning more about different cultures. Now, these are just minor solutions to major problems, and there is a lot more to be done then just educate people on what is happening, but it is somewhere to start.
Trial Post
Hey, my name is Jaime and my favorite artist is The Weeknd.