The mass media and Hollywood coverage of “black heros” and “heroines” has become heavily propagandized.
I would not believe a word of it unless I carefully researched all of it from original sources.
The NASA “hidden figures” mythos is a pack of lies, exaggerations and pure fiction—and some folks around here have fallen for it.
“The NASA ‘hidden figures’ mythos is a pack of lies, exaggerations and pure fiction—and some folks around here have fallen for it.”
Totally. Total BS. DH was involved in some of NASA’s tangential companies, and that movie is a huge joke among the professional people. IT. NEVER. HAPPENED. Propaganda.
You say Hollywood “has become” propagandized with respect to black heros.
Are you saying that the former portrayal of the American army and the American west in the past as all-white wasn’t propaganda?
I myself think John Wayne’s western movies are among the best, esp. those directed by John Ford. There are touching scenes in these movies about the relations among Indians and Americans, and northern and southern veterans of the civil war. These movies show the human soul as well as the scenic beauty of the west. But, they don’t show any black troops or black cowboys.
Speaking of director John Ford, his 1960 movie “Sergeant Rutledge” about a black soldier court-martialed for rape marked a change in Hollywood.
The 1997 two-part miniseries “Rough Riders” brings in the 10th (Colored) Cavalry Regiment, as well as the 1st Volunteer Cavalry Regiment (TR’s Rough Riders). It has lots of historical inaccuracies (practically all historical movies do). But, the miniseries tells a compelling and mostly true story, including many interesting vignettes about the personalities in the Battle of San Juan Hill.
The movie “Glory,” about the 54th Massachusetts Infantry during the Civil War, could be said to have been misleading because the 54th was a select unit, recruited from free men of color. They were relatively well-educated and entirely capable of performing as front-line infantry. In contrast, most colored troops were recruited ex-slaves. They were mostly garrison troops, quartermaster troops, orderlies, and such. Not the kind of front line infantry that can be ordered to charge well-prepared enemy positions.
Concerning females who acted as computers, the British have a movie, “The Imitation Game”, that has a focus on the role of female computers during WWII, in breaking the enigma code. As race wasn’t a factor in this, you may find that movie more appealing than “Hidden Figures”.
Historical movies often compromise accuracy to make their story compelling and to edit something much more complex into the confines of a movie. I refer you to the following documentary “Top Secret Rosies.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlKo680PYDs
The documentary suffers from some moralizing. And, it appears that working full-time at an important and well-paying job was both liberating and scary for many of these women.