Assignment 17 Rebekah George

*Spoiler Alert*

History: it demonstrates who we were in the past, defines who we are in the present, and decides who we shall become in the future. Recently, and partially of my own accord, I had the opportunity to watch two films, both of which were mostly historically correct depictions of events of African American history. The first was The Great Debaters, which I was required to watch, rather fittingly, in debate class. The second was Hidden Figures (not Hidden Fences; the people at the Golden Garage seem to be confused about this), which I dragged my sister along to see this past Sunday. Both remarkably empowering, the films showcase the best and worst of the human condition; however, each leaves you hopeful that perhaps other people are capable of real change.

The Great Debaters followed the lives of four African American attendees of Wiley College in Marshall, Texas along with their coach and professor, Mr. Tolson, and a score of other individuals who helped and hampered the team. Hidden Figures gives an insightful look at three African American women who played a huge role in getting John Glenn, the first American to orbit earth, into space. Both movies reiterated the sickening racism that was, at one time, considered “normal” in the United States. Both movies casually depict “white only” sections of everyday life and the glaring racism of this time period. In fact, Hidden Figures takes place approximately twenty years after The Great Debaters and not a whole lot had changed as far as the Jim Crow south and segregation were concerned.

Empowerment reigned supreme minutes before the credits rolled. Each film also had the decency to explain what happened to everyone after the story ended. In The Great Debaters, little old Wiley College successfully defeated Harvard University’s debate team. The closing shots explained how James Farmer Jr. would go on to be an integral part of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. In Hidden Figures, John Glenn made it back from the outer reaches of planet earth all on account of Catherine Johnson’s calculations. The closing shots show that Catherine would continue her work at NASA, playing a key role in the Apollo project. Each movie left a glimmer of hope in the watcher. A hope that maybe things won’t be so bad tomorrow. Maybe we can do greater things still. Maybe the world will change because of us.