what can't you see?

Tank: Mossimo (c/o Target); Shirt (tied): Banana Republic; Jeans: American Eagle; Shoes: Cape Robbin (c/o Target); Sunglasses: Dolce & Gabbana; Bag: Coach

Quite like this fabulous weekend, I recently spent some time watching movies-three to be exact. All of which I enjoyed, two of which have yet to be released, and one of which I can’t stop talking about. I can’t stop talking about Hidden Figures. I can’t.

The San Francisco Film Society [along with Google, of course] sponsored a free screening of Hidden Figures at the Castro Theatre followed by a Q&A with Octavia Spencer [yas], the movie’s director Theodore Melfi, and Tracy Drain, a black female systems engineer at NASA today.

Without giving too much away, Hidden Figures is about 3 black women- Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson [I have to say their names]- who worked at NASA, were integral in the space race and, more specifically, the first launch of an American into orbit back in the 1960’s. This movie made me cry [nothing new there], made me laugh [the script rings so true to the banter my friends and I have], and, of course, reaffirmed my desire to best friends with Taraji. These ladies were quite literally reaching for the stars and did it, yet their stories were never told until now.  Melfi, the director, added that in response to the movie, [Queen] Michelle Obama said, “You simply cannot be what you cannot see.”

I’ll repeat that-  “You simply cannot be what you cannot see.”

You know how almost every single home decor section in a department store has those framed cheesy quotes in cursive fonts and glittery colors. [You know exactly which I mean. Some of you may even have them, in which case, do you.] I’ve chosen to avoid them up until now, because I truly hadn’t found one that resonated with me. But, after this movie, this first framed quote to be added to my [soon to be complete] gallery wall will read:

you simply cannot be what you cannot see

So perhaps, we need not think so much about what we do see, rather, ironically, what we can't. Ringing true not only for this movie but also, for me, at a place like Google and, of course, in this little corner of the Internet. 

Photos by: Dani Grant