Hidden Figures Tickets

The 2016 film Hidden Figures tells the story of three African-American women who were instrumental in NASA's success during the Space Race. While the film is primarily a drama, it also has moments of humor that enhance its overall impact. The use of comedy in Hidden Figures serves several purposes, including providing relief from tense situations and highlighting the absurdity of the discrimination faced by the main characters.

One example of comedic relief in the film occurs when Katherine Johnson (played by Taraji P. Henson) is forced to run across the NASA campus to use a separate restroom designated for "colored" employees. Her white male colleagues express surprise at her absence, not realizing that she had to travel much farther than they did just to use the bathroom. The scene is played for laughs, but also underscores the absurdity and indignity of segregation.

Another use of humor in the film is to highlight the absurdity of the technological limitations of the time period. When Johnson first begins working on calculations for John Glenn's orbital flight, she is told that the computer used to generate the figures is not reliable enough. She explains that she can do the calculations by hand, prompting her boss Al Harrison (played by Kevin Costner) to remove the "Colored Only" sign from the nearest restroom and declare that everyone should be able to use the same facilities, regardless of race. The scene plays out as a moment of triumph, with Harrison smashing a sledgehammer through the restroom sign, but it also highlights how ridiculous it was that such a sign existed in the first place.

Overall, the use of comedy in Hidden Figures serves to enhance the film's impact by providing relief from the tension of the story and underscoring the absurdity of the discrimination faced by its characters. The humor in the film is carefully balanced with the serious subject matter, demonstrating that even in the darkest times there can still be moments of lightness and humanity. Hidden Figures is a powerful testament to the perseverance and ingenuity of its main characters, and the use of comedy only enhances its impact.