The movie Hidden Figures directed by Theodore Melfi reveals the untold and true story of three brilliant African American women breaking unimaginable boundaries during the Cold War. During this time, America was in an arms race with Russia. Each country was trying to prove to each other they are more accomplished and innovative. In America, NASA had been working and struggling tirelessly to get the first man on the moon. Meanwhile, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson work in NASA’s segregated office as computers, people who calculated mathematics. As their time at NASA continued, however, they all proved their worthiness and brilliance in different fields of NASA. Eventually, each woman was able to make their way up the ranks of a very white male dominated field and become a huge contribution to helping NASA finally achieve having a man on the moon. While watching this absolutely inspiring movie, many themes and concepts which were discussed throughout the semester in (Re)Writing History were clearly visible in the movie. 
In this semester, we had read writings and watched movies that all handled concepts of social categorization, time and 20th century culture. As we analyzed each artistic rendition, a very common and explored theme is the reality of maintaining and transforming the American Identity. In the book The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, it dives into an African American’s struggles of finding their identity during a time of segregation and oppression. The novel starts out with the narrator claiming himself to be invisible to society as a result of people being unable to acknowledge him as a person because of his skin color. As the book continues, it reveals the narrator's life story of becoming invisible starting with university experiences to his departing from the civil rights advocating group known as the “Brotherhood”. All of these experiences in his life expose him to different values and expectations throughout society which all causes him to struggle and limit himself in finding his true identity. These struggles all were contributing factors to making him feel invisible. Similarly, in the movie Hidden Figures, it clearly shows how these three women were perceived as invisible and showed their struggles with creating their own American identity. While each woman was brilliant and more resourceful than most of the working men in NASA, they were unrecognized and discounted because of their gender and skin color. As an aspiring engineer, Mary Johnson was hesitant to apply to a top notch engineering programs because she is a, “negro women. I’m not gonna entertain the impossible” (15:34). As the movie showed, these women were defying America’s interpretation of a successful hero of the time, a white, educated and passionate man. However, with their resilience to rejection and bravery to show their talents these women were able to prove themselves in different ways of their valuableness to NASA. However, they had to struggle with feelings of invisibility and doubt in order to come to terms and find their identity within a very oppressive society. As a whole both works of art showed the struggles of African American influencers struggling to come to terms and create their own sense of American identity as they face injustice.
Movies and novels like Hidden Figures and Invisible Man show how society can create limited expectations and confine people to closed minds. A close look at these historical times shows what could happen if the world opened up to new possibilities and different people. If people allowed for identity to be fluid and worked together as a whole, progression and innovation will help a new and improved world.
By Ashley Shukman
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