Canadian History Question

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Conflict in the real world

Hidden Figures (2016)

In-Class notes & case study assignment

Due February 25th, 2021

HIDDEN FIGURES (2016) tells the inspirational story of three African-American mathematicians; Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. During the Cold War, the trio worked at NASA’s Langley Research Centre in Hampton as the US raced against the USSR to put a man into space. The intellectuals played a vital role in the launch of the now late astronaut John Glenn into orbit as well as in orchestrating his safe return. The film is based on the book by Margot Lee Shetterly. As we screen this film we will analyzing conflict, culture, race, gender, difficult conversations and negotiations. This film provides the backdrop in which you will work together in groups to conduct research and present your findings to your classmates.

During & after the movie – take notes using the following prompts to guide you. You will use these notes and ideas for your group project work so be sure to pay attention.

Each student will complete this case study assignment online (assignment worksheet posted in the moodle). You have two weeks to complete and submit it to the dropbox.

I will review your submission and return them to you with any comments necessary. This assignment will be useful as you work on your group project and will count as 5% towards your total grade for your group project (20%). Thoughtful responses and observations, questions and reflections will be used to grade your submission. Point form is acceptable but be sure to answer the questions as best you can.

IDENTIFY THE MAJOR EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE IN THIS FILM.

The major events in the film concerns Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Gobels Johnson, and Mary Jackson who crossed all gender, professional lines, and race to ensure that their brilliance and desire of dreaming big go beyond anything that ever accomplished before the human race. Their actions made them to be firmly cemented in the U.S history as the true American heroes. As the US was racing against Russia to put man in the space, NASA had managed to found untapped talent in the group of African-American female mathematicians who served as the brains behind of the greatest operations in the history of the United States.

ThE Larger Conflict of RACISM IN THE SOUTH:

Based on what you observed from the movie, identify and discuss the larger conflict that was taking place in the South of the United States at this time. Describe it. What was it about? Why was it important? (You may want to do further internet research to understand more about Civil Rights Movement in the United States)

The major conflict was the space race, which three Black American Women were part of. The conflict was brought by the management of NASA allowing three black women into the white man’s facility. The Hidden Figures film takes place in 1921, where African Americans women were allowed to work with NASA as they become part of the Space race. Again, during that time there was the conflict of race where blacks were seen to be inferior while whites were seen to be superior. Therefore, it was difficult for a black woman to compete for the position of a white man in the society.

Who were the 4-6 key people we see in this film and briefly describe their relationship to each and to the conflict in the movie.

The key people in the film include three female friends who were deployed in the female African American computing section of NASA at Langley. The contributions of the three women to the advancement of the American space program were dramatized. Their contributions in which they were able to achieve despite experience race and gender issues were still segregated. The three women include Mary Jackson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Katherine Gobels Johnson. Mary Jackson was assigned to the space capsule heat shield team and was encouraged by one of the engineers to apply for a more senior engineering positions because of her expertise. However, Mary did not have the necessary qualifications for promotion and it was not possible to access such qualifications in high schools that were accessible to African-Americans. Mary’s husband was also an important person to the film and Mary’s life as well. The husband’s name was Levi Jackson who was a civil rights activist.

Dorothy Vaughan was the acting supervisor of the section and unfortunately, she did have the title associated with the pay for the responsibilities allocated. Unfortunately, Dorothy believed that she was not promoted because of the Caucasian supervisor known as Vivian Mitchell.

The widowed mother Katherine Gobel was a mathematical genius whose expertise in analytical geometry made her assigned to the Space Task Group, where she was working under the lead of Al Harrison. The leadership of Al Harrison always ensure that every job was done at any cost.

iii. Discuss the ripple effect of this conflict at NASA and how this large conflict created other conflicts through the film and in the lives of the characters portrayed. How did racism against negroes (black people) affect the key people you met in this film? How did it affect black people in in the story? How did it affect the other white people in the South?

The main conflicts in the film is race and gender conflict. These conflicts brought about the ripple effect supporting the theme of do judge a book by its cover. The three women went against all odds to contribute to the success of NASA in the space race. The visionary trio managed to crossed all race and gender lines to inspire different generations to dream big. The three women were working at the West Area Computing division that was segregated from the rest of Langley Research Center. They were also working with many other black women who were also employed to work as computers. In that case, they were doing math by hand.

HIDDEN FIGURES: CONFLICT AT NASA

Using the template below and on the next page, outline 3 conflicts you observed from the film that the three women (Katherine, Mary, and Dorothy) went through and answer the questions in the template.

Conflict	Who was involved?	What Happened?	Feelings or emotions of people involved?	Was it resolved? Yes or No or Not Sure	Why or Why not was it resolved?
Example: Conflict with Katherine Johnson and her boss Al Harrison over her long breaks during her worktime	Katherine and Al (her boss)	She told him that there wasn’t a colored bathroom for her to use close by and she had to walk a half mile to use a bathroom. Al Harrison was unaware that this was happening.	Katherine was upset when confronted and let the whole room know how she felt discriminated against. Al Harrison, was speechless and shocked to learn of this. Her co-workers were also stunned.	Yes, her boss made sure that she and her other co-workers who were negroes could use any bathroom at NASA	Even though racism persisted in the minds of the characters, Al Harrison made it clear he would not tolerate it while he was in leadership at NASA and made it very clear by tearing the sign down himself.

Conflict	Who was involved?	What Happened?	Feelings or emotions of people involved?	Was it resolved? Yes or No or Not Sure	Why or Why not was it resolved?
Mary Jackson not having the necessary qualifications for promotion as a senior engineer.	Mary Jackson	Mary Jackson was not able get the necessary qualifications because extension causes were not taught in high schools accessible to African-Americans.	Feeling of Discrimination.	Yes. She was later promoted because of her contribution to the NASA team working for the success of the Space Race.	Even though racism and discrimination made it hard for Mary Jackson and her friends, they managed to prove that a book should not be judged by its cover.

Conflict	Who was involved?	What Happened?	Feelings or emotions of people involved?	Was it resolved? Yes or No or Not Sure	Why or Why not was it resolved?
Dorothy Vaughan acting as a supervisor and not receiving the associated pay.	Dorothy Vaughan	Dorothy Vaughan was having responsibilities and not the associated name or the necessary pay.	Discrimination based on gender.	Yes	The performance of Dorothy Vaughan as an acting supervisor proved otherwise.

Conflict	Who was involved?	What Happened?	Feelings or emotions of people involved?	Was it resolved? Yes or No or Not Sure	Why or Why not was it resolved?
The Conflict between Mary Jackson and her husband Levi Jackson.	Mary Jackson and Levi Jackson	The struggles of Mary were exacerbated by her husband who was a civil rights activities and believed that advancement of African Americans was narrow in the science world	The feeling of being underrated because of being black	Yes.	Mary Jackson managed to prove to her husbands that black people were also able to advance to the next level in life.

4. How did Katherine and her other two colleagues, Dorothy and Mary, respond to their treatment by their employers at Nasa?

The three women, Katherine, Dorothy, and Mary were challenged by discrimination because of their skin color and gender. They managed to succeed by proving their abilities and never given up even through the subjection of discrimination. They had confidence in their abilities that was reinforced by friendships and the pressure of deadline of the actual race to pace with the Soviets.

5. How did Al Harrison’s perspective change with his encounter with Katherine Johnson? Give at least two examples and reflect on what you observed about his behaviour throughout the film.

AL Harrison who was Katherine Johnson boss was a no nonsense man wants every job be done at any cost. However, to get to Harrison, Katherine Johnson had to go through the lead engineer Paul Stafford who always considered her as an irrelevant underling. Al Harrison always comes to the aid of Katherine Johnson while working with Stafford not because he is sympathetic or because of her specific plight of being a black worm in the engineering department, but because Al Harrison is always in a hurry to put a guy in the earth’s orbit before a replacement is made by the Soviets.

6. What did you observe about Dorothy’s conflict management skills when it came to her wanting to be a part of the new computer system? How did she handle it? Do you agree or disagree with her taking imitative to learn on her own without the permission of her boss? Why or why not?

When it comes to the conflict of management skills that Dorothy was subjected to, she believed in her abilities and was able to deliver the assigned tasks even without pay. With all the odds stacked against her, Dorothy tried to learn as much as she can on her own. She ensured that her workings made her and the entire African-American females working in the computing section relevant in such a changing time.

7. What three observations can you make about managing conflict from this film? Be specific with examples and what you’ve learned.

When it comes to the management of conflict from the Hidden Figures Film, I came to learn and observe the following:

· Mentors always make a difference.

· Grit always matters

· People should seek the power of advocating for personal growth.

· Women should support the power of women advocating for women.

· Legacy of possibility can be achieved,

· High School mathematics adds up in the NASA team.

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