I'm watching Hidden Figures and I can't shake the skin-crawly feeling on the back of my neck. There are some alarming parallels between the 1960s and the world we find ourselves in today. Many. One in particular, though, is needling me.
Of the three main characters, I'm struck by Dorothy Vaughan's storyline. I'm watching as she's told that her department—the one she supervises unofficially since her race and gender preclude her from getting the actual title—will be terminated after their current project. They're a team of computers, aka human mathematicians. Dorothy's just learned they've been deemed replaceable by NASA thanks to the advent of the International Business Machine (IBM) and its unprecedented computing power.
I blink incredulously, feeling my lips purse and eyebrows wrinkle. Dorothy's taking it upon herself to learn how to program the IBM. I lean my elbow into the armrest and settle my chin in my hand, between my thumb and index finger. She's got the mind for it. More than that, she's immersing herself into the programming language so she can teach her team. When they ask her why they need to do the extra work of learning this stuff, she simply asks them in turn if they want still want to have a job next week.
While I'm digesting the weight of the scene, the movie cuts off almost mid-sentence and starts playing commercials. Of course it does. I hate that so much. I know it's beyond my control and getting frustrated by it is a waste of my energy, but I still can't get over how streaming services undercut the cable companies with a promise of being different, only to then become them (and then some).
Whatever.
My mind is spinning. I let out a long breath I didn't realize I'd been holding, and let myself sink back into the cushions. Tomorrow, I'll return to job hunting—to searching for roles where I can help people learn to use the software and systems that made their previous roles obsolete. Maybe that's just how the world works... maybe adaptation means letting go of stuff as much as it means being open to more of it. Maybe inevitability is cyclical.
What's something you felt you had to let go of? Did you?
onward.
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