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  • Essay / Gender and racial discrimination on the example of “Hidden Figures” and “The Hate U Give”

    Table of contentsRepresentation of race and gender inequality in “Hidden Figures”ConclusionWorks CitedHidden Figures tells the story The story of 3 African American women working at NASA and how they worked as "human computers" to challenge racial and gender stereotypes and help America get back into the space race. Their work played an integral role in launching and inspiring generations of women as American heroes. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an Original EssayRepresentation of Race and Gender Inequality in “Hidden Figures”The Hate U Give, a 2017 YA novel by Angie Thomas , focuses on Starr Carter a 16-year-old African-American girl and how her life changes as she witnesses the fatal shooting of her innocent friend by a white police officer. The novel highlights African American communities that suffer from police brutality and how Starr stands up for what is right. In Hidden Figures, race is represented as one of the only things that makes a person who they are. It is the most important characteristic of a person, which defines the opportunities available to him. There is strong segregation in society due to race as well as many stereotypes. The Hate U Give, like Hidden Figures, shows that race is also an important part of a person's identity, defining how they speak and act. The Hate U Give shows how everyday life is affected by race and even though the novel is set in the present, race is still presented as the cause of many African Americans being victims of violence and police brutality. SWAT codes of audio and narrative conventions such as setting and characterization are all used to show a representation of race to viewers. First, through SWAT's use of audio, in Hidden Figures we are shown the representation of race. In Hidden Figures, there's a scene where it's raining and Katherine has to run from her room to the bathroom on the other side of campus. In the background, there is an upbeat song that can be heard singing "no more running", which contrasts with how Katherine has to run from one building to another. Then, when he returns, Mr. Harris asks Katherine why she was absent so often. There's a silence in the background that underscores Katherine's point as she says, "There's no bathroom." There are no colored bathrooms in this building or any building outside of West Campus, which is a half mile away. Did you know? I have to walk to Timbuktu just to relieve myself and I can't use one of the convenient bikes. Imagine that, Mr. Harrison. My uniform, my skirt below my knees, my heels and a simple pearl necklace. Well, I don't own any pearls. God knows you don't pay colored people enough to buy you pearls! And I work like a dog, day and night, living off coffee from a coffee maker that none of you want to touch! So excuse me if I have to go to the bathroom several times a day. » This shows us how race affected Katherine's life. Because she was black, she had to use a colored bathroom, except there was no colored bathroom, forcing her to use the only time available to her, which was 800 meters. Race is represented as the cause of segregation and not the same opportunities, or even the same pay, as Katherine mentions that people of color are not paid enough to afford pearls. Thanks toThrough the use of dialogue and direction, we are also shown how race affects Starr's daily life, which is one of the ways race was represented. Starr and his family live in Garden Heights, where the novel primarily takes place. The town is small and poor, and its citizens often witness violence, whether from the police or the "gang leaders" who "run" the town. In Starr's world, police brutality is such a reality that his parents must explain to him and his siblings how to behave around the police. “My parents didn't raise me to fear the police, just to be smart with them. They told me it's not smart to move while a cop's back is turned to you. …Dad's instructions echo in my head: look closely at the cop's face. If you remember his badge number, even better. In Starr's world, young African Americans are all seen as troublemakers and dangerous because of people's stereotypes. As Starr herself says, “A black person gets killed just because they’re black, and all hell breaks loose.” Because of Starr's race, she is constantly threatened with being killed by the police. Race also affects Starr because of how his friend Khalil was killed because he was black. Starr's entire world changes after this, which again shows how race was represented as being an important element in someone's life. To summarize, in Hidden Figures, race is represented as the cause of stereotypes and hatred, as Katherine explains to us. In The Hate U Give, race is also shown to be the cause of many stereotypes and although in Hidden Figures the stereotypes were not fatal, however, in The Hate U Give they were, killing Khalil and being the the reason Starr's parents had taught. asking her what to do when the police suspected her. Viewers respond to this by using the narrative conventions of staging the representation of race in the film Hidden Figures. Near the beginning of the film, we are shown how much segregation there was in the NASA buildings. First, there was the West Computing group made up of all black women, having to work separately from other white women. And although sometimes the segregation isn't as noticeable, when all the men at a board meeting are white and in the night classes Mary takes. Through the use of narrative conventions of characterization, particularly dialogue, we further see the representation of race. As stated previously, race is depicted as being the primary characteristic that defines a person's actions and dialogue. This can be seen as Starr Carter must have almost 2 different identities. Starr attends a predominantly white private school in Williamson and often struggles because she feels she must keep her identity as Williamson different from that of Garden Heights. “That’s when I realized Williamson was one world and Garden Heights was another, and I had to keep them separate.” Starr has to act a certain way, because if she doesn't, she will be known as "the angry black girl" and a "ghetto girl." Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. .Get a Custom EssayConclusionTo summarize, the way race has been represented in these two texts is similar, because in both texts, race is one of the most defining characters of people. Race can define a person's opportunities, as Hidden shows, 4(3), 8-16.