On Growth: Revisiting Hidden Figures

Growth… is a hell of a thing.

I watched this movie way back in 2016. My impressions back then were: “it was okay.” I mean, of course, I recognized its plot importance. However, there is a difference between recognizing and feeling. What I did not understand back then is that this movie sort of wasn’t made for me. This film was produced to inspire the Black community: to shed a light in an otherwise oppressed community in America, to demonstrate that dreams could be possible, and, in this case, some are.

Reflecting back on the undergraduate career I have taken, of which, with an ever-rising melancholy, is about to end, I believe the greatest lesson I have learnt is empathy. College is, indeed, a transforming experience. Yes, we get to study what we would like to work on. Nonetheless, the college experience is not just about the academics; the humanities are important too. Here, I am using the term humanities in the broadest sense, meaning, mainly, in how purely human communities can be. In college, I have met many diverse people; the horizon of possibilities regarding who a person can be and become do broaden. From students, teachers, and staff, all with their backgrounds and struggles: an uncountable number of stories.

So, what has changed now that I have revisited this film? It still has great quality. But more than that, I feel way more empathy, a greater understanding, and a greater desire to change the world with what I can from my trenches. I cannot change the world, nor do I desire, and even believe, that authority is a means capable of changing attitudes. Maybe partially, but not entirely. Change begins with the self, with individuals. And, in a common understanding, change begins to be feasible. Change must begin somewhere; I can at least begin it by changing attitudes.

This isn’t to say that I am the one to bring, once and for all, change. Although I am in no way white, that sure is a white-savior mindset. Change is coming, without regard of what I single-heartedly believe or do. But, at least, maybe I can help this change in making it possible to arrive a little bit sooner, or with less suffering. That, in itself, is a great achievement, because what changes the world is not perfection or grandiosity, but generosity: accepting our inner faults, and having empathy for our brothers’ and sisters’ struggles.

This movie may not have been filmed for me, or for everyone in the world. Understandable, since that intention is even impossible to achieve. The only way for that to be achievable, is for us to listen. If we truly believe that nothing human should be indifferent to us, then this film does have something: a common humanity.