The Poetic Science: An Analysis Of America's Hidden Figure

American Romanticism is a journey away from the corruption of civilization and the limits of rational thoughts, and toward the integrity of nature and the freedom of imagination. In other words, it is a journey away from industrialism or rationalism, which is working hard and earning money. This movement, originally started in Europe and later reached in America. It can be best defined as a thought that values feeling and intuition over reason. Some of the characteristics include the importance of feeling and intuition over reason, placing faith in inner experience and the power of imagination, preferring youthful innocence over educated sophistication, finding beauty and reality in exotic locales. It encouraged people to enjoy the integrity of nature and freedom of imagination. It also encouraged one to have faith in imagination and inner experience. In addition, romanticists found inspiration in myth, legend, and folk culture and found poetry as the highest expression of imagination. Romanticists believed that the landscape was regarded as an extension of the human personality, capable of sympathy with man 's emotional state, whereas nature was regarded as a vehicle for spirit just as man; the breath of God fills both man and the earth. However, romantics would create chaos when the issues were connected with human rights, individualism, and freedom from oppression (Arpin 138-150).

Born in Senegal around 1753, Phillis Wheatley became an important American poetic figure. At the age of 8, she was kidnapped and brought to Boston on a slave ship and upon her arrival to Boston, she was quickly sold to John Wheatley (Bio). Under her new family, Phillis adopted the master’s last name, taken under the wife’s wing, and showed her deep intelligence. Even though suffering from poor health, Phillis’s intelligence did not go unnoticed; she received lessons in theology, English, Latin and Greek. Being a slave did not stop Phillis from learning and experiencing her life, she participated in the master’s family events and eventually became a family member. The irony in this situation is

Katherine Globe, one of these three women, was a mathematician that calculated many of the important equations that allowed the Friendship 7 capsule to orbit the Earth and return safely. Katherine demonstrates many leadership qualities throughout the film. She is a well-rounded leader that did not lead using one specific leadership style rather, she uses the behavioral approach to leadership to adapt to different situations and handle relationships. (Northouse 71). This is first evident when she is assigned to the Space Task Group, where she became the only color women in the room. Her first day, she grabbed coffee from the only pot in the room, which cause the white males in the room to immediately started and act uncomfortable. The next day, they were two pot of coffee one which was labeled “colored people”. Katherine understood what this meant and used the right pot. She also realized that the only colored people bathroom was on the other side of the NASA building which

Hidden Figures follows the story of three very talented African-American women. Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine G. Johnson represent a group of women that weren’t accurately represented in history. Many people believed that a woman couldn’t be part of such an important part of history. Margot Lee Shetterly describes a discovery she happened upon. There she describes how in 1990 Virginia Biggins who worked at Langley beat for the Daily Press newspaper stated that “‘Everyone said, ‘this is a scientist, this is an engineer’ and it was always a man’” (xvi). Virginia Biggins according to Margot Lee Shetterly then continues to say, “‘I just assumed they were all secretaries’”, when talking about the women during the Space Race (xvi). Furthermore, the idea that women can’t be mathematicians, engineers, or scientist seems to still exist today. According to David W. Stinson, “Nonetheless, in the United States, and

Americans had high expectations of the space programs which intended to provide the United States a great sense of achievement. The significance of the space program lies in essence in which symbolized American glory in science and technology. (Lambright)

Due to the fact that the space race took place between the years of 1957-1975, the height of the civil rights movement was in effect. Considering the fact that much more was happening in the 1950s-60s, the year that this movie is taking place, these people are not incorrect when they say that there was more racial conflict present than just the segregation of colored and white bathrooms. Nevertheless, the purpose of Melfi’s film was not to depict all of the racial injustices towards African-Americans in the 1950s and 1960s, but an emphasis on how inequality directly affected the work that they did inside NASA. As seen in the film, the primary focus is on the work they do that is imperative to their work at NASA. For example, Melfi shows Vaughan being questioned in the library for looking at a book in the white section of the library. Although she is outside of NASA, Melfi portrays that Vaughan needs the book to learn about how to program the IBM machine at NASA. Melfi’s exclusion of other prevalent racial injustices was for the purpose of focusing all of the attention on what they faced as African-American mathematicians at NASA. John A. Murray writes in agreement, as he writes about the purpose of Hidden Figures, states that “African-American women working for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (later known

Americans had high expectations of the space programs which intended to provide the United States a great sense of achievement. The significance of the space program lies in essence in which symbolized American glory in science and technology. (Lambright)

Soon after the ending of World War II, the United States had another battle to win: -- the Space Race. The Space Race was a competition of firsts against the Soviet Union. Which nation would be the first to have a man in space? Which nationality would take the first space walk? Who would be the first to have a man on the moon? These were the questions that swirled through the minds of Americans and Russians alike. After Russia took the lead, it was time for the U.S. to set out to do what seemed impossible— -- land a man on the moon. But before this began, Americans had some preparing to do. Gemini 9A was one of these preparations.

The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,

During this era, segregation was still a major theme in society. In this scene, we see Katherine coming inside soaked from the rain. Harrison, Katherine’s boss, then proceeds to ask why she’s gone for hours every day. Katherine, soaking from the rain, finally has enough. She releases all the pain and anger she had that was building up inside of her. Katherine furiously yells at Harrison explaining how she must run a mile every day to use the bathroom because she’s not allowed to use the “white women’s bathroom”, how she must drink/make her own coffee in her own pot and finally how she’s only allowed to wear pearl jewelry -which she can’t afford- because NASA doesn’t pay colored people enough money to own one. After the rant, Katherine furiously walks off. The scene then shifts to Harrison hitting the “COLORED WOMEN” bathroom sign inside the West campus. The scene ends with Harrison saying, “At NASA, we all pee the same color”. We felt that this scene was the lowest point in the movie because how out-of-control and racist everything

Claude McKay uses his poem “America” to highlight key issues, such as racism and the limitation of a voice, African American’s experienced during the 1920s. He, like countless other African American poets, such as P. L. Dunbar, used his work to comment on the politics of the time, as well as a means of escape, to divulge the suffering many experienced. Poetry was one of the only ways African Americans could raise awareness and represent themselves in a truthful way, as rioting only seemed to further present them in a negative light. McKay utilizes his work to stress upon his readers the need for change and movement away from the institutionalised racism that had become the societal norm.

The movie Hidden Figures is about 3 exceptional women and the role they played at NASA. The main character, is katherine Johnson a math genius. The movie also includes her friends Mary Jackson who is an engineer, and Dorothy Vaugh who is acting as a supervisor for all the computers. The movie takes place in virginia in 1961, during the cold war; but also during the race for space. The goal in this film is to put an american in space, they have a lot of racism and sexism in this film.

Progression in technology comes with progression of education. The movie “Hidden Figures” highlights the opportunities involved when intelligent, courageous women take strides to create the math to send astronauts to the moon. This movie is about three historical African American women who worked as “human computers” at the NASA Research Center in Langley, VA in the early 1960’s. Katherine Johnson (fellow mathematician), Dorothy Vaughn (programmer) and Mary Jackson (engineer), contributed to NASA space program to successfully send John Glenn, the first man to orbit around the earth, Project Mercury and later Apollo II mission. The film is a powerful reminder of the destructive consequences of discrimination. It holds important career lessons about how to manage and excel at work even under challenging circumstances.

The movie Hidden Figures is about 3 African American women who work for NASA during the 1950’s.The three women are Katherine Johnson,Dorothy Vaughn,and Mary Jackson.Katherine Johnson had a hidden talent that most of the people that worked at NASA didn't know she had , she was a master with the numbers.Dorothy was the manager of NASA's segregated West Area Computing Unit and she was also good with the numbers,just not as good as Katherine.Mary Jackson was an American mathematician and aerospace engineer that worked at NASA,along with the other three girls.Many African American women worked for NASA they just don't receive much recognition but these three women seem to have changed the game for everyone.

At its beginning, American poetry was extremely influenced by its European roots. This is evidenced by the fact that the first colonists were English, who also brought along their poetic styles and patterns. These European traits set the standard for the genesis of American poetry, which will later we further developed and adapted by Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, who are now considered to be the first great American poets.