231171 Black Feminism in Hidden Figures - Beyond the Script (StGr) (SoSe 2025)

In this student-led study group we will explore the representation of Black women in American cinema, focusing on the film Hidden Figures (2016) and Kimberle Crenshaw’s article “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex” (1989) as foundations.

Together, we will examine how Hidden Figures portrays the lived experiences and struggles of three Black women working at NASA during the 1960’s and how their stories mirror broader themes of racial and gender-based discrimination. Using Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality, we will research what role race and gender play in systems of oppression and how it impacts the individual.

Throughout the seminar, we will engage with both theoretical and historical material and film analysis. Working individually, in pairs, in small groups and together in the whole group, we will engage with selected scenes from Hidden Figures, paying attention to the narrative structure, cinematography and character representation, while considering the historical contexts in which the story unfolds.