To celebrate World Human Rights Day, I would like to recommend “Hidden Figures,” a movie about human rights that we can look back on and reflect. This film deals with the true story of the three African-American women who worked at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the early 1960s. Katherine Johnson was an amazing mathematician, Dorothy Vaughan was the lead programmer, and Mary Jackson was the first woman of color to become an engineer at NASA. These three women were selected for NASA's first space orbit project. This movie adds elements of race and women to the core theme of discrimination; main characters have inherited intelligence and talent, but they are discriminated against because they are women of color. Whites and colored races cannot eat together and even use a common port for coffee. To make matters worse, they must use separate toilets, so they must use toilets exclusively for people of color 800 meters away from the main office. In addition, female protagonists work hard but can only get temporary jobs which give low salaries and cannot attend important meetings. However, despite these discriminations, the main character, Katherine Johnson, is recognized for her ability to solve problems that no one is able to solve when the space orbit flight project is in trouble. This film directly shows the issue of racism and gender discrimination in the society at the time. These scenes make us think about how many people will experience an unfair situation of discrimination in the society where everyone is not considered equal. To state a quote from this movie, "There is no race in genius, there are no men and women in strength, and there is no limit in courage." well represents The Declaration of Human Rights. Over time, the importance and interest in human rights have increased, and discrimination has decreased significantly compared to the past. Though, human rights violations have clearly existed, such as gender discrimination, racism, discrimination against the disabled. Plus, many other discriminations still exist throughout the world. We should be sensitive to inequality hidden in our daily lives. If we look at social phenomena from various perspectives, acknowledging each other's differences and respecting diversity, there will be a world where all human rights are protected.
