Reception and star Effect
Hollywood Shoots for the Stars
Hidden Figures was widely and positively received, so much so that theaters provided free screening across the country for school children, emphasizing the story’s historical and cultural importance (McNary). Image/Reflection theory contributes to the positive public discourse that makes this film appear significant in terms of diverse representation, but this surface-level analysis fails to address a greater need for radical, rather than feel-good, stories about discrimination. As bell hooks argues, “radical black female subjects are constantly labeled crazy by those who hope to undermine our personal power and our ability to influence others. Fear of being seen as insane may be a major factor keeping black women from expressing their most radical selves” (54). Indeed, this film works to make Black women’s struggles palatable for audiences rather than serve justice to their stories of subversion.
Theodore Melfi, Hidden Figures, ©2016, Fox 2000 Pictures.
(IMDb)
As casting choices represent influential aspects of film, recognizing star effect with regards to this film helps to underscore how Hollywood conservatively and weakly contributes to social and cultural needs for visibility. Well-known actresses Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe depict the three heroes of the film; the audience’s familiarity with these actresses sets up the film for widespread likeability and positive reception because these actresses are accepted in the mainstream to be strong, worthy Black women. Even the racist or complacent white characters, played by Kevin Costner, Jim Parsons, and Kirsten Dunst, are cast with so much recognition by mainstream audiences that their positive receivability downplays their characters’ bigotry and adherence to a racist status quo. Jim Parsons’ character is arguably the most hateful in the film, yet Jim Parsons’ credibility with white audiences penetrates his stardom so pervasively that it lessens the blow of his character's bigotry.
Paul McDonald argues that “the importance given to the actor’s identity carries distinctive meanings between films, and personification has tended to be integral to film stars. It is because star acting is usually based on personification rather than impersonation that stars are so often criticized for not ‘really’ acting but for always ‘playing themselves’” (30). This is not to say that the actors in Hidden Figures do not perform well—Octavia Spencer was nominated for an Academy Award for her work—but their audience recognition plays into the film’s reception, allowing the story of three influential Black women to be more culturally accepted.
The film’s casting choices, for both White and Black actors, are star-studded to be sure, contributing to the film’s box office sales and critical acclaim. According to a study published in the Journal of Cultural Economics, “Hollywood has relied on various estimates of audience appeal in making design-related casting decisions” (Wallace et al. 2), and “certain movie stars do make a demonstrable difference to the market success of the films in which they appear” (Wallace et al. 23). As an industry, Hollywood capitalizes on every story, meaning that the cultural work of mainstream blockbusters is influenced by profitability rather than societal need. Manthia Diawara argues that “filmmakers’ independence from Hollywood enables them to put on the screen Black lives and concerns that derive from the complexity from Black communities” (239). Therefore, the nature of this film as a major motion picture fails to subvert cultural notions of struggles against race and gender discrimination. Furthermore, the audience recognition of the actors in Hidden Figures undermines the political contributions of the film because the actor is further removed from their character. Star effect, therefore, creates awareness among the audience that this is a film, a finite story, rather than a reflection of ongoing social discrimination. This is an instance where being well-received among audiences demonstrates complacency within existing progressivist culture rather than appropriately radicalizing the need for change with regards to social equity.
Theodore Melfi, Hidden Figures, ©2016, Fox 2000 Pictures.