“Hidden Figures”; the movie (and the book, though I haven’t read
it) is the perfect representation of how any form of divide – gender, race and
social class – can be overcome by the pursuit of excellence.
It is the story of 3 Black Female mathematicians in NASA
whose accomplishments had a telling impact on some of NASA’s most glorified
accomplishments in the 1960’s. A story of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan,
and Mary Jackson, who were part of NASA's team of human "computers."
3 women who were black skinned in a white dominated world.
3 women mathematicians in a profession dominated by men.
That’s a pretty hostile environment to pursue an ambition
in.
They choose to fight – but not for equality. They chose to
fight for excellence. They chose to let their hard work and brilliance overcome
discrimination. As the movie's byline says "They chose to fight the good fight".
It does bring up a relevant point around the concept of
feminism – The “Merriam Webster” dictionary describes it as “the theory of the
political, economic, and social equality of the sexes”.
Given the patriarchal history and present of most cultures, feminists
are right in their argument that equality in itself is a lofty goal. The acts
of violation, rape, pay inequality, unequal work opportunities and archaic “Female
unfriendly” laws in some staunchly conservative countries provide enough
evidence to the need for feminism to be about equality.
But I espouse to the theory of what Hidden Figures preaches.
The theory of feminism as a pursuit of excellence in a still-male dominated world.
Coco Chanel, Barbara Walters, Yoko Ono, Hillary Clinton,
Oprah Winfrey, Madonna, Sheryl Sandberg, Malala Yousafzai, Angelina Jolie,
Beyonce, Emma Watson – all self-proclaimed feminists.
But their identity was first defined by being excellent at
the trade they ply. Being treated as an equal within their profession was their
non-negotiable.
They wouldn’t think of themselves as any lesser than any
man. But that in itself was not the goal.
Just like Katherine Johnson’s goal was not be seen as an
equal amongst the white male mathematicians. Her goal was to ensure “John Glenn”
got into space and back, safely.
One may argue that people should pursue excellence irrespective
of gender and so why should that be the guiding goal for feminists. And to
that, I say YES but my humble opinion is that between equality and excellence,
the latter is the more meaningful and valuable definition.
Like Aamir Khan’s character says in 3 Idiots “Kaabil bano
beta, kaabil. Kaamyabi saali jhak maarke
peeche aayegi”.
Comments