Application of Meritocracy Theory in Hidden Figures Movie
The meritocracy theory states that it is just for individuals with intelligence and who work hard to benefit in the future. The idea of the meritocracy theory continues to rise after the education system was introduced in various societies. The doctrine holds that those who work hard regardless of their origin succeed compared to those who do not. This study depicts hidden figures of movies as a tool of meritocracy. The hidden figures film gives the audience an overview of how the struggle for gender and race was critical during the second world war. The movie also provides a breakthrough with of recognition of black people, segregation, and discrimination in workplaces. It also exhibits the struggle for willpower during the second world war. It also pays attributes to its subjects as opposed to what biopics have done during the colonial era. Therefore, this study analyses the scenes from the hidden figures movie and applies sociological theories such as meritocracy in regards to stratification, gender, and race.
Using the meritocracy theory, the movie suggests that being a genius does not race. The race is a socially built category of people sharing biological traits that members of society consider imperative. For instance, most people categorize other races based on skin color, facial expression, and hair texture. Racial diversity occurs as a result of people living in different geographical areas hence the reason there are white and black people. The white people are from moderate climates, while the blacks are from the regions with intense heat.
Consequently, using race profiles, societies rank people in a hierarchy, thus giving people more power and wealth than others. Therefore, the race has given more power and wealth to feel better than other races. To show this, the movie narrates an incredible story of the three black mathematicians female who fought for segregation, sexism, and racism at work. The three women worked hard, thus leading to their success besides their race and gender. The meritocracy idea supports that the smartest children should go to the best schools, and high earned positions should be given to the skilled workers. This attribute can be seen in the hidden figures movies as Mary Jackson, an excellent black American student in mathematics, is taken to the best school for gifted students in Virginia. Even though her parents are worried about her skipping school, they still believe that the decisions made are best for their child. The meritocracy theory has made people believe that rewards, money, and jobs should be given to people based on their skills and effort and not based on their race. It also considers that skilled workers and hardworking people can rise to their position that fits their merits. For instance, a team of three African mathematicians plays a crucial role during the early years of the United States NASA program. Through their hard work, the three black American women are considered as human computers as they rose along many historical minds aiming at calculating the momentous speed of astronaut.
Some prejudices and stereotypes generalized an entire category of people. For instance, black people are regarded as lazy, less intelligent, and often do manual jobs. On the other hand, the white race is considered superior and given topmost opportunities. Some people have authoritarian personalities as they conform to such stereotypes about the difference between the white and black races. For instance, the three females working as human computers for NASA did not have ideal working conditions. They were segregated from white networks.
Moreover, the employed hired to be in charge of the black computers was not recognized as a supervisor but an employee. Jackson is also denied to attend evening classes at a white school to pursue her engineering program. She convinces the judge using the meritocracy theory that they are all working to achieve the same goals, and racism does not matter. Therefore, the three women join hands to fight against racism in the workplace, thus leading to black recognition. NASA used the meritocracy approach and sent the women into their space based on their abilities. Moreover, the women do not allow the cruelties encountered as a result of living in a racist country to prevent them from working hard,
Gender is socially constructed as some people who share gender transmitted traits are considered a valuable member of society. From this theory, girls and boys are always involved in building their own identities. Meritocracy theory holds that everyone, regardless of their gender, has the same opportunities given that they work hard and are intelligent. From the movie, strength and intelligence do not have a gender. The film presents the impression that the struggle for gender at workplaces was done many years ago. It plays a vital role in portraying women with a compelling character of development and representation of the historical wrongs committed by various women. A stereotype has it that women are inferior in mathematics and other technical subjects, and men do well in these subjects.
Moreover, culture has it that men are more superior to women and excel in most job industries. It is with this reason that patriarchy leads to a form of organization where the male dominates the females. However, the three women prove the portrayed theories wrong as their stretch beyond their limit to beat the odds. The women are portrayed as graceful, passionate, hardworking, and intelligent.
The contributions that the three women did to NASA were enormous and showed the significant effort it took to put a man to get to the orbit. Men mostly portray most of the attributes shown in these women. The cinematic convention of the movie made men, women, and children watch the strong and powerful character of the three women as portrayed in hidden figures. Watching the film encourages the dominance of women in male-dominated fields such as engineering. Basing on the gender and sociology perspectives, girls are birth handled with care while boys are treated aggressively. Societies have also considered the women as feeble and given them the responsibility of taking care of their young ones. More so, most women are kept away from these jobs as they are considered incompetent and emotional creatures. The women are also considered to work in admirative support work and service jobs while the male dominates other technical occupations. However, the movie beats all these stereotypes held by society by using women to close the gap of using men to dominate professional jobs. For instance, NASA ‘s mathematicians, scientists, and engineers were mostly men wearing white T-shirts, mainly focusing on doing their work. For example, Paul Stafford, an imaginary character, was created to showcase the attitudes of men working at NASA.
Social stratification in which a society ranks some groups of people in a hierarchy, thus making some groups have power and wealth over the other group. This can be seen in the 50s when the marginalized groups such as the women and children were considered unequal to men. However, as years passed by the American society embraces the hard work ethics and gives the marginalized groups equal opportunities. American society encourages a culture of educating everyone as it brings an upwards mobility despite the background. Hard work and talents determine the social rank of a person. Research shows that the aspect of meritocracy governs the united states. This form of system is unlike Aristotle, whereby people advance based on family background, social status, and ethnicity. The society is built on the belief that determination and dedication open the door of success. The theory is often referred to as the bootstrap ideology, which has a notion of pulling oneself from poverty through hard work and gifts. Using the meritocracy theory, the hidden figures movie describes social segregation, empowerment, and bravery. For instance, the three women grab the opportunities presented to them at an incredible social cost. However, they are faced with facing social segregation. The economist states that prejudice has significant impacts on the people who discriminate. The movie depicts the struggle of the three women serving as human computers despite the segregation and discrimination that existed within their working environment. There lived aspects of cultural and political bias in Virginia in 1962, which made it difficult for the African American communities to progress in a white-dominated community.
For this reason, their ability to advance their skills was manipulated by the law. However, since the film was produced in the same period, it shows the aspects of meritocracy where black women are compelled to work hard and prove to the society that they are equal to white men. For instance, Dorothy, as an information technology expert, recognizes the need to study computer learning programs to enhance her skills. She goes to the colored wing to find the book, but she does not find it. When she visits the white library, she finds the books, but she is kicked out of the library because she is black. However, she steals the books as she is determined to read it and justifies her actions for stealing is that she pays taxes. Cultural segregation and prejudice deprived her of enhancing her skills in what economists refer to as human capital.
The issue of social stratification can also be seen when Mary Jackson, a mathematician, has considered becoming an engineer. She has to petition for her evening classes to become an engineer in an all-white school. She even argues that if she were a white lady, she would have been an engineer. In this scenario, the advancement of black education was impossible without being granted permission from the government, unlike in white society. In the movie, the whites were more privileges than blacks, thus bringing forth the issue of segregation. The film depicts the injustice of racial prejudice and segregation laws that prevented intelligent people from becoming successful. For this reason, in modern times, there is the availability of resources that encourages all ethnicity to work hard and be successful. The social class gap that existed between the rich and the poor is slowly being filled as people know the importance of education.
Meritocracy has led to Structural Social Mobility in modern society. For instance, many western nations have adapted the meritocracy ideology to improve their economy. In western countries, structural mobility is based on attributes such as income, education, and occupation. Therefore, the degree of movement depends on what dimension does a person access to economic opportunity and education. The ascribed status to which the individual is born is not necessary but their effort. The individuals can move up and down of their social ranking depending on how much skill is acquired. Structural Social Mobility is depicted in hidden figures movies as the women all want to change the culture of NASA of employing white male workers. They do this by enhancing their skills, want black recognition. They also fight against discrimination, sexism, and racism.
In conclusion, meritocracy ideology is ideal for any social system as it recognizes that some cultural, social, and political conditions can make it challenging to achieve a dream.
On the other hand, the film plays a vital role in providing lessons about Stratification, Gender, and Race, which prevented black communities from achieving their dreams. The meritocracy ideology has been used by people across the globe that have experienced the harsh reality of globalization, confrontation, discrimination, and racism in modern society. For example, in the united states, everyone believes that they have an equal chance to achieve success, provided there are adequate resources. This self-made belief shows that people control their social standing. The movie was ideal for demonstrating how meritocracy works in modern society through the three hardworking African American women. How meritocracy belief seems to operate, it will be essential to fill the gap between the rich and the poor and also to eliminate the social inequalities in the future.
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