You can watch the trailer here and stream it on FXNOW or Amazon.
“Hidden Figures” is full of resilience, cunning and a boppy soundtrack by musical artist Pharrell. was in a space race against Russia, both trying to put a man into orbit. Watch as the trio take on the roles of “human computers” at the space agency in the 1960s, a time when the U.S. Johnson, alongside Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae as Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, respectively. First of all, the cast itself is incredible: Taraji P. “Hidden Figures” (2017) is the inspiring story of three African American women and their careers at NASA. We’re taking that phrase and running with it for a curated list of some of our favorite movies that defy stereotypes and break ceilings - from one of the top sing-along Disney flicks to laugh-out-loud classics and a tear-inducing new film that powerfully captures complicated family dynamics. The institute’s slogan reads, “if she can see it, she can be it.” “I can’t think of any title that has prompted more talk about what it means to be an African-American young man, about opening up more possibilities, than that movie,” Common Sense Media’s executive editor for ratings and reviews, Betsy Bozdech, told the paper.Īctress Geena Davis’s Institute on Gender in Media is also working to balance the scales for onscreen portrayals in order to reduce harmful stereotypes and create an abundance of unique and intersectional female characters in entertainment.
In 2017, Common Sense Media instituted a rating system that helped constitute what it meant for a film or TV show to have “positive gender representations.” Films on our list like “Moonlight ” were given the stamp of approval for 17-year-olds and up, despite “depictions of violence, drugs and sex,” reports the New York Times. Third culture kids, or those who grew up in places that are not their parents’ homeland, are the perfect example of such an identity crisis, as are children who identify as LGBTQ growing up in conservative households who may not feel comfortable being themselves. For those currently growing up in a rapidly changing world of increased globalization and instantaneous sharing by means of social media, young people are battling not only with the search to find their place in a larger society, but also within the dynamics of their family if they choose to shirk tradition in one way or another.
Many also have yet another fight to contend with - the norms and traditions placed upon them by their family and given culture. One study even showed that “agreeable” men who were seen as warm, caring, supportive or sympathetic made an average of 18 percent less income and were evaluated as less likely to have management potential than their more traditionally masculine counterparts. The societal limitations placed on men can have a negative effect on their lives as well, prohibiting them from feeling like they are able to show any true emotion or empathy. Women who behave in ways that don’t fit the gender norm, for example being assertive in their career, have been found to be perceived as less likeable and less likely to be hired. Once we grow up, we’re pushed into a new set of gendered expectations - those created in the workplace.
The researchers found that the effects gendered media has on children include a tendency for girls to focus on their appearance, an increase in tolerant views of sexual harassment and the establishment of gendered behaviors in romantic and sexual relationships, as well as riskier behavior in boys and career choices limited by gender norms.
Rules are made to be broken, right? But what are these rules anyways - these stereotypes? A study by Common Sense Media found that children who are fed gender stereotypes may internalize those roles, shaping their behavior for years to come.