"Hidden Characters" is a realistic film with a documentary style. It adopts a three-line narrative approach, depicting the legendary lives of Catherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan. They are in apartheid. Under the double oppression of discrimination and female discrimination, various people have achieved breakthroughs in life and become important and important figures of NASA (NASA). Catherine used her talent to become a person who cannot be replaced by computers. Jackson has a strong enterprising spirit and daring. Breaking the rules of society, Dorothy took precautions, kept learning, and turned around gorgeously.
When they encounter any unfair things, they don’t complain, don’t get frustrated, just keep acting and stick to their ideals, even if they don’t see hope at the time, they don’t give up their efforts, and finally use their personal achievements to open the walls of the apartheid system. The breakthrough has greatly promoted the development of the black civil rights movement. At the same time, as business women, they have effectively countered the prejudice of men against women with the results of high achievements, and achieved a leap in the workplace.
As a realistic film, "Hidden Characters" does not use the cruel, dark, and fierce methods to tell the topic of racial discrimination and female liberation like the same type of film. It only provides the audience with a text of female inspirational characters. It expresses the profound life theme of "how women are self-reliant", and through their eyes and personal experience, it runs through the major history of the United States from the 1950s to the 1970s, such as the New Frontier Movement led by Kennedy, the United States and the Soviet Union The space race, the birth of America’s first civil rights law, the men’s and women’s equal rights movement, etc., this history is also the history of Americans’ pursuit of the "American Dream."
At the level of character creation, these three women also reflect the spiritual connotation of the "American Dream": the pursuit of dignity, a sense of mission, advocating success, a strong personality, and the persistent pursuit of self-realization. The film was translated as "hidden figures" in China, and "unknown heroes" and "key few" in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Some of these titles reveal the profound meaning of "female achievements are obscured and underestimated".
In fact, their experience is also true. It was not until the appearance of the movie in 2016 that the public had the opportunity to learn about the story of "the black women who helped the United States win the space race." To some extent, they are more like that. The epitome of women of the time. Although their stories happened more than half a century ago, they still have reference significance for women in the workplace today. As Dorothy said: "Any (female) personal progress is the progress of all of us." Compared with that era, women now have more freedom in the workplace, but they are still panic and confused. , The balance of career and family, the anxiety of pursuing high self-achievement, etc. Therefore, this movie is suitable for all women who are hesitant and confused about their present and future. The real experiences of these three women provide survival strategies and spiritual sources, and will also bring hope and strength to women.
At the beginning of the film, the three of them drove to work together. The car broke down halfway. The white police reprimanded them for the broken car. Mary said, "It's not that we chose this place, but this place chose us." It seems to be a metaphor about their situation, implying that the time and environment in which they live does not reflect the free will and dignity of people. When the white policeman learned that they were working for NASA, their attitude improved and offered to call for a tow truck for them. Dorothy refused, and she repaired the car. This is like a silent confession of the independent spirit of women . When encountering difficulties , Do not use the so-called feminine charm to solve problems-for example, high emotional intelligence, understanding, do not rely on the salvation of men, or even emotional opposition to express yourself, but use your own ability to solve the problem is the first choice.
The strongest competitiveness of women is to "make things happen"
Catherine Johnson: "They let women work in the space agency, not because we wear skirts, but because we have brains."
Catherine is a single mother. Her husband died young. She raised three children alone. The space team is the core department of the space agency. They need a calculus who can analyze geometry. Catherine was temporarily borrowed. This "lucky" opportunity allowed her to walk on thin ice.
Among all white male researchers, she seemed out of place. At first, she was used as a cleaner. The NASA has some explicit regulations for women, such as: short skirts must be over the knees, sweaters, shirts, and jewelry (except for simple pearls) Necklace), don't take the initiative to find the person in charge Harrison (the head of the space project team, a white male), be low-key, etc. These admonitions reflect a common social concept at that time that makes women not free.
If the above disciplines are aimed at female groups and are not tolerated by lonely individuals, then the unwritten unspoken rules make Catherine feel depressed, such as setting up a small coffee pot for her alone, and the pot is marked with " The words "for people of color" dazzlingly reminded her of her identity as a person of color. If you want to drink water, you have to pick it up and bring it to a boil...
What embarrassed Catherine was that going to the toilet became unspeakable. The busy and fast-paced work made her rely on coffee support. The coffee pot was easy to separate and use, and the toilet would not be so easy for a while. In the film, Catherine was holding a half-foot-high document in her urinary urgency, rushed out of the office, stepped on high heels, walked through the parking lot, and ran past office buildings. Her wild rush attracted the attention of many passersby. , Thinking that there was an emergency situation, when she ran to a "washroom for colored people" in the west side half a mile away, she sat on the toilet to solve the internal emergency while seizing the time to complete the calculation work, whether it was an afternoon in the scorching sun, It was still bad weather suddenly caused by heavy rain. Catherine had to go back and forth several times every day. She once said to her sisters: "With this pass (referring to the work pass hanging on her neck), you can go to the moon. But you can't get in the toilet." These plots seem absurd and ironic, but in the United States at the time, it was commonplace for blacks.
More despair comes from the ruthless suppression of her direct boss, Paul, who resisted a black woman to account for the work they did. Catherine was unable to calculate half of the important data that was blacked out; she was not allowed to sign the report, although most of them Catherine’s calculation and verification work was done by Catherine; she deliberately prevented her from participating in high-level meetings. Because she was unable to get first-hand information about data changes, the data that Catherine worked so hard to calculate instantly became waste. Repeated calculations made Catherine useless. exhausted.
Catherine was not defeated by these. She put the obscured data under the light, and calculated the orbital flight data of the redstone rocket based on the fuzzy traces. This was the key data that failed to advance the project repeatedly. On May 5, 1961, The Mercury program's "Freedom 7" sent Alan Shepard, the first American astronaut, into space. The trajectory of this spacecraft was calculated by Catherine. In 1962, before the first space flight around the earth, John Glenn dared to go to the sky after specifying Catherine to help check the calculations. Her manual calculations were even more accurate than IBM. After that, Catherine continued to work for Apollo II. The moon landing plan and the space shuttle performed a lot of calculations.
Catherine used her own strength to gain a firm foothold in the space agency. She was called "Ms. Catherine" by her colleagues for the first time. Courage refuted on the spot, and got the convenience of going to the nearest toilet; knowing that her name was not allowed to be signed on the report, she still stubbornly printed her name on the report until she obtained the right to sign; at work, she chose the most difficult problem to overcome and confronted him directly. Challenges and difficulties; after being blocked from attending high-level meetings, she sought out the highest responsible manpower to compete for effective self-expression. Most importantly, she was able to solve problems that others could not solve time and time again, and let someone in a higher position. Know the results of her work.
The masters of each era are leveraging themselves by using the underlying logic of society and technology to achieve leapfrog growth. The same is true for Catherine. She can see the underlying logic behind the numbers and grasp the core of solving the problem. It is this ability that makes her an existence that even computers cannot replace. Before her, there were few operators who could survive the first few days in her position, and there were even a few waves of people in a few months, and she was 33 years from entering NASA to retiring in 1986. , Participated in almost every important space program and made great contributions to space exploration.
Catherine had a sentence in the movie that impressed me. She said: "They let women work in the space agency, not because we wear skirts, but because we have brains. "Women’s strongest competitiveness is not to do things." Make it "? Charlie Munger said: "If you want to get something, first make yourself worthy." Only when things are done can you be qualified to be lyrical. In 2016, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration built a computing building named after Catherine G. Johnson to commemorate her pioneering contribution to space navigation. Catherine was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the age of 97.
Power comes from "struggling", not from "waiting"
Mary Jackson: No one can stop me from realizing my dream. Apartheid is not good, and family is not good.
Mary Jackson is a beautiful modern girl with a lively and bold personality. She has a happy family and is a mother of two children. She works in the "Mach Wind Tunnel Test Group". Although she is full of talents as an engineer, she can't use it because of the label of colored people.
Once, Mr. Zelins, the head of Jewish origin, asked her: "If you were a white male, would you dream of becoming an engineer?" Mary said: "You don't have to dream at all, I have already done it." Encouraged by Mary, Mary plucked up the courage to submit an application for internal engineer training. As expected, the application form was returned.
Although Mary has a double degree in mathematics and physics, she must first obtain a graduate degree in order to obtain an engineer position. For this she must complete the course credits provided by the University of Virginia at Hampton High School, but Hampton High School is a white The school has never enrolled black people in history.
This rule is as incomprehensible as an endless loop. Seeing that the dream of being an engineer is in vain, she resentfully said: "Every time we have a chance to lead, they will move forward to the finish line. This is the case every time." Dorothy couldn't bear it. She complained all the time, and said bluntly: "Don't complain all the time, file a lawsuit to allow you to study at Hampton High School, act for what you want, don't just talk about it."
Mary decided to file a lawsuit in the local court. Her actions were opposed by her husband. He complained that she had neglected her family for work, and said angrily: "A black woman as a female engineer? There is no such kind of work! Freedom is not what you think. Yes, we are oppressed. We can only fight for freedom. The NASA has never given you the treatment you deserve. No amount of degrees can change this. Not all citizens have citizens. Right!" Mary's husband advised her to give up on the current affairs, or she would be hurt in the end. Mary’s husband’s mentality represented the mainstream values of most blacks’ perception of their own situation at that time. On the one hand, they turned their angry emotions into protests, marches, shouts, and even fierce violent conflicts; on the other hand, they thought they were “impossible”. Give up easily, instead of trying another strategy.
Mary did not compromise. She once said-all roads lead to Rome. She succeeded. Not only did she persuade the judge by wise deliberation, she obtained permission to go to Hampton High School for evening classes, but also made this move more obvious. The winning situation promoted the process of black liberation and became a model force. There is a wonderful section in the film that is impressive. Mary went to class excitedly after all the hardships. When she opened the door, the male professor looked at her in shock for a long time and said hesitantly: "This course does not seem to be for Designed by women, I still don’t know how to teach women..." Mary answered calmly: "I think it’s probably the same as teaching men."
Mary broke the internal shackles and external barriers, successfully challenged herself and changed the rules of society. She also won the admiration and understanding of her husband. He began to fully support her in realizing her dreams. From then on, Mary became The space agency and the first African-American engineer in the United States. In 1979, she was appointed as the head of the Women's Project of the Langley Research Center, dedicated to improving the professional status of women of all colors.
Women often suffer from failure due to fear of setbacks and self-esteem. It is easy to set limits, give up beforehand or refrain from trying. Mary’s successful experience once again shows us a simple truth. The true brave is not not fearless, but She is still moving forward with fear. When she realizes that she has fallen into a "secret" emotion after one failure, she quickly adjusts and invests in the next action. She uses her experience to tell everyone that power comes from "struggle". , Instead of "waiting", and these powers are the fulcrum for her to achieve a career leap.
Be prepared for danger in times of peace and create your unique resource system
Dorothy Vaughan: "I will not accept this appointment unless I bring my people."
Dorothy's department has a vacant position in charge and has not recruited suitable people. She has been temporarily in charge for a year and managed the department in an orderly manner, but she has been unable to get a formal appointment and promotion for a long time. She found her boss to fight for it head-on, but was prevaricated by the superior's understatement and said: "I think the current department is quite good, there is no problem... Besides, the spacecraft is like this, the spacecraft runs fast in the sky, and the people are stuck in the post."
Dorothy reluctantly said to Mary and Catherine: "I have never been late for ten years, have not taken sick leave, have no complaints, completed the work on time, and done it perfectly, taking the responsibility of the manager, but without the title. And there is no salary due."
Dorothy did not give up. One day, when she was passing by, she saw some large machines being moved in. After inquiring about it, she found out that they were IBM computers. These machines would provide a large amount of fast data calculations for the Aviation Administration. She smelled that the machines were about to Instead of the crisis of manual computing, I started to learn and research computer languages, and went to the library to find relevant materials during the weekend. However, Dorothy and her two sons were pushed out of the library by security guards... The interesting thing is She stole the book.
Now we look back at the long river of history and find that computers and later the Internet were originally one of the derivatives of the Apollo moon landing plan. When we now summarize the historical laws, we know that any industry chain, once a certain chain can significantly With new technologies that improve efficiency, the core competitiveness of this field will change. But Dorothy made accurate trend judgments when new things were just budding.
When some were still focusing on the things at hand, Dorothy started to do some important things that no one paid attention to. She went to the IBM computer room to learn the operation after work, and trained the girls in the department to teach everyone how to use new technologies. . Fortunately for those who are prepared, once the IBM computer was broken and everyone was at a loss. Dorothy stood up and made the machine run normally through debugging and manipulation, which solved a large number of computing problems of the space project team and won it for the astronauts to take off. precious time.
The people in the IBM computing team remembered Dorothy and chose her as the supervisor. When she was appointed, she learned that her team would be disbanded and the team members would face layoffs, Dorothy categorically told the white supervisor: "Unless my person is brought, I will not accept this appointment. It takes a lot of people to build that machine. I can't do it alone. My girls are ready and they can get the job done."
In this way, Dorothy turned gorgeously. She grasped the changes of the times and the dividends brought by new technologies, completed the evolution of herself as a scarce resource, and cultivated a team that can be managed by herself, avoiding more black people. Women were eliminated. These unique human resources helped her complete the transition to the workplace. Dorothy Vaughan became the first African-American director of the space agency. As an evangelization language expert, she was at the forefront of electronic computing technology and was considered One of the most outstanding talents of the space agency. There is a sharp contrast in the film. The tsundere white supervisor who prevaricates her before, asking her to teach the white girls in the eastern district to learn new techniques.
The understanding people who are ahead of the times are always a small part. They understand the trends of the world, understand the power of technology, have a more mature mental model, a more open mind and a faster iterative speed to face the changes of the times. In fact, this This kind of change is happening in every era , especially in the past 200 years, and the future will only be even faster. In the distant future, there are coachmen being eliminated due to cars, typists and calculators being eliminated due to computers, pagers being eliminated by mobile phones... Rosie's counterattack lies in her ability to prepare for danger in times of peace and successfully build a unique resource system. With the support of the system, she can go higher and farther.
As a female-themed film, this film also has characteristics that are different from other female-themed films. "Hidden Figures" focuses on the three women’s way of fighting monsters in the workplace. They are gentle and firm, relying on their own strength. Realizing the leap in life is different from the story of Marie Su. The role of men is weakened in this film. It is not that men talk about "respect for women" in a condescending manner. It is the explosion of women's own power that has made them . Children and other traditional restraints on women are used as an excuse, and they no longer use the difference in IQ between men and women as self-limitations. They dare to stand shoulder to shoulder with men in the male jungle, and jointly write history for the aerospace industry. When the power of women grows and matures, men in turn become admirers and staunch supporters of women. For example, Jim Johnson expressed apologies for Catherine’s “underestimation”, and he later became Catherine’s second husband; Mary Her husband confessed to her: "You will become a great engineer. No one can stop Mary's dream, including me."
And in the film, you will see that the truly outstanding people are not narrow-minded . The space project leader Harrison personally smashed the "special bathroom for people of color" and told everyone aloud: "In the space agency, everyone's urine It’s a color.” The handsome pilot John Glenn, despite the hint, ran over to shake hands with black women and praised them, and appointed Catherine to calculate before going to space; Zelins, who encouraged Mary, respected the talents of women. And hardworking warm men.
Men and women are never necessarily opposed. As Wang Xiaobo said: “I admit that men and women are very different, but this difference does not mean anything else: it does not mean that people of a certain gender are superior, nor does it mean that people of a certain gender are superior. People of one sex are better than people of another sex. A girl who comes to the world should be like a boy and has the right to seek everything she wants. If what she gets is exactly what she wants, then it is the best. Okay—if I were her father, I would ask for nothing."
Catherine became an expert talent; Mary became a compound talent, combined with her unique experience to become a female workplace consultant, helping more women with workplace troubles; Dorothy became a technical managerial talent, who had worked as a black and female Facing the same life predicament under the background of the great era, to some extent, it is they who are rewriting history for women and creating a better environment now. More importantly, they have found different directions in their lives and told us that a better self exists. It is in the front. You have to use actions to outline and walk your own way. They help each other, support each other, and achieve each other on the road to self-realization. Commenting on the movie "Hidden People", the New York Post said: "This is a successful and heart-warming movie. It does not include the elements of anger and reprimand. The producer used this sense of superiority and determination to dispel the doubters. Our doubts."
"Faust" said at the end: "The eternal women lead us to ascend." I hope that women, effectively manage your career, don't let fate, speak with strength, don't fall into emotions, act forever, live out Everyone’s unique and wonderful, warm each other, move towards a broader life, in ourselves, overcome this era.
Attached, bibliography:
"A Concise History of America" by Chen Qin
"Power: Why Is It Only Owned by Certain People" Author: [美] Jeffrey Pfeffer (Jeffrey Pfeffer)
"Because of Gender: Ten Cases That Changed the Workplace Environment of American Women" Author: [美] Gillian Thomas (Gillian Thomas)
"Leap Transition: Techniques to Become a Master" Author: Classical
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