The Importance Of Hypatia For The Development Of Western Civilization

Hidden Figures is a film based on a remarkable true story about three colored women in the 1960s. The movie follows the lives of Dorothy Vaughn, Mary Jackson, and Kathrine Johnson. These women used their intellect at NASA to contribute to the launch of the first American into space. Hidden Figures also represents the contribution of these women to society. They helped put a man in space, yet they didn’t receive the proper appreciation during their time. Hidden Figures helps give those women gratitude for all that they did for NASA and the United States. Even though this film acknowledges their achievements, it recognizes the hardships the women faced while working for NASA as well as the hardships of all other African American women in the workplace. A few of the hardships they faced were sexism, discrimination, and ageism.

According to the ancient Greeks, men were superior to women and held more power. This can be illustrated in “The Odyssey of Homer” when Athene gives Telemachos

The film Hidden Figures is based on a true story and adapted from the book ‘Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race’ by Margot Lee Shetterly. The movie is centered around a trio of African-American women who worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and played an essential role in sending John Glenn to space amidst a burgeoning Space Race between the United States of America and Russia. Based in Hampton, Virginia in the 1960’s, film depicts the deep racism and sexism prevalent in the United States at that time. The film provides a glimpse of the stark realities that black women faced at the time. From the segregated bathrooms and

Adapted from the book by Margot Lee Shetterly and directed by Theodore Melfi, Hidden Figures is a film based on the true stories of three black women (Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, & Katherine Johnson) working for NASA in 1960’s. Dorothy Vaughan, played by Octavia Spencer in the film, was a programmer and Mary Jackson, played by Janelle Monae in the film, was an engineer. Dorothy passed away in 2008 and Mary in 2005. Katherine Johnson, a mathematician played by Taraji P. Henson, is now 98 years old and still resides with her husband Corporal Jim Johnson in Hampton, Virginia where the film is set. These women collectively played a pivotal role in sending the first American into space and eventually to the moon. A critical analysis of the film reveals the history and dynamics of racial domination institutionally and interpersonally as well as prejudices and challenges faced by women in particular.

Women have been belittled by men since the beginning of time. This is demonstrated in the novels Oresteia by Aeschylus and Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud. Men have always held the upper hand in society, politics, and technological advancements. Women have been purely sentimental sexual objects. Freud is keen to state that a man’s wish to fulfill his sexual desires is crucial. Women are cast as purely sexual objects, and, furthermore, as entirely unreasonable and illogical. In the novel Oresteia, we learn how women are sensitive, emotional, and exceptionally incoherent to men in the play. However, throughout the play the women, such as Clytemnestra, the king’s wife, prove that women are not pieces of meat. She is a great leader who is a remarkably strong mentally, and who can easily outsmart a man. However, women like Clytemnestra are a minority in these works of literature. Most women are perceived in literature as domesticated creatures who are irrational and emotional. Freud maintains a condescending attitude toward women, seeing them as mere objects, while Aeschylus helps reinforce Freud’s attitudes. By enforcing the gender roles in Greek society it is easy to reflect powerful female character who carry the mentality of a man, portrayals of "wrong womanhood" and solely displaying women’s sexual and family interests.

For instance, one of the cast members is Condoleezza Rice, Ph.D, the Former US Secretary of the State, Senior Fellow of Hoover Institution, and Professor of Political Economy at Stanford University. As the first African women who served as the Secretary of the House, she gained her experiences in the politics and raised her voice to protect the rights of American women. In other words, Condoleezza Rice implies that the women’s rights will be only listened and protected through the presence of women in leadership positions. The background knowledge of Condoleezza Rice has made her statement become credible and believable; hence, the audience are easily persuaded when they watch the

In 2007, Laurel Ulrich, wrote Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History, from which there is an essay that speaks on history, and how women have been left out. She wrote this as a result of her newfound fame due to a phrase in her 1976 journal article; this phrase would ultimately give her 2007 article it’s name. In her essay, her goal is to write about the lack of women in history as a whole; she then illustrates the type of women who by a turn of fate make it into history. Her point being that on few occasions women are written in history books, and even when they are, they are not the women who lead ordinary lives; most of the history that include women is tied to some groundbreaking or exotic

People hate women. Women hate people. It is seen how throughout the years, the strong dislike towards the feminine group of society has been portrayed through the arts such as literature. This can definitely be seen in ancient writings seeing that men, who were on top of the “food chain” stripped women of their value in society as fast as they stripped them from their garments for sexual pleasure. As generations passed, empires fell, and nations collapsed, women continued to be looked down upon and they remained hidden under the shadow of men. Unlike recent years, no one, not even women themselves, dared to stand up for a chance to be seen as an equal and not a property. But Euripides did. Or so they say.

Hidden Figures is a 2016 film that recounts the story of three incredible black women in NASA history: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. The film largely sheds light on the experiences of these three women working as computers for NASA during 1960s segregated America. Public restrooms are separated between the whites and coloreds, the white male patriarchy dominates the field, and as always, racism is alive and well. During the film, the political unrest of the country is present and very much of conversation, and as these three women navigate their way throughout society with positions no one expects them to hold, they quite literally make history through their groundbreaking work, history

Another fact is that if a man’s wife or daughter questioned his authority he could kill them. The men thought that women are fickle, weak hearted and lacking stamina. Men also say (in those days) that a woman is a violent and uncontrolled animal.

As Mary Wollstonecraft once said, “I do not wish them to have power over men, but over themselves.” In this quote, “themselves” is referred to as women of course. It is somewhat customary to pick up a paper in today’s light and perhaps see read about Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, or First Lady, Michelle Obama, even media specialist, Oprah Winfrey. The list could go on and on, but the point remains the same. If King Hammurabi of Babylon were living in today’s world and saw how dramatic the power of women has transformed over the years, he would perhaps declare himself Queen of Babylon. Kevin Reilly accurately depicts the struggling role of women from this early period of civilization through Assyrian

Sojourner Truth’s words in her speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?” served as an anthem for women everywhere during her time. Truth struggled with not only racial injustice but also gender inequality that made her less than a person, and second to men in society. In her speech, she warned men of “the upside down” world against the power of women where “together, [women] ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again!” Today, America proudly stands thinking that Truth’s uneasiness of gender inequality was put to rest. Oppression for women, however, continues to exist American literature has successfully captured and exposed shifts in attitude towards women and their roles throughout American history.

During the time period of the early Roman Empire, and through the early times of Octavian, it is important to note the roles that each sex played. Unlike current western culture, men and women were not equal. Each sex was thought of differently, with women being less than men. According to Severy, the Romans thought of the Roman women as “weakness, instability, and irrationality” (Severy 23). These viewpoints of women lead to women being treated in way that was subservient to men. According to Severy, in contrast, the Romans thought of men as “strength, integrity, and self-control” (Severy 23). This thought process lead to men being in positions of power and control and ultimately the decision makers. This was so much the case that women had to have a male guardian to go out with them during major purchases to verify that was what was supposed to be bought at points (Severy 23). This thought process bled into the

Quentin Tarantino’s film Jackie Brown, released in 1997, challenges the pervasive stereotyping of not only blacks but specifically black women. Nowhere is the cinematic devaluation of African Americans more evident than in images of black women which, in the history of cinematography, the white ideal for female beauty has overlooked. The portrayal of black women as the racial Extra has been fabricated through many semblances in the history of American film. Film scholars and feminists alike have long been plagued with lament for the negativity and stereotyping that sticks with black women in American cinema. In this paper, I will argue that Jackie Brown highlights and stresses the racial variance of the female African American protagonist,

In the Middle Age literature, women are often presented or meant to come off as an unimportant character; which can also reflect on how the author wants the women character represent. Women are usually shunned, have no say or control in what they do; due to what men desire; like Ophelia and Gertrude did in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. But these female characters that I will discuss are women with power, control, and a voice. Majority of the female character’s appearances are made to represent wickedness, evil, or a seducer who challenges a man belief; and does not symbolize perfect women.