Movie Review of “The Inventor”

by Kevin Gardner

The 2022 film “The Inventor” opens the audience's eyes and makes them question how the history of various inventions have really played out, and whether such processes can really be called history if there is so much of it still being observed today.

A Remarkable Mind Against Overwhelming Odds

The movie follows an inventor by the name of Garrett A. Morgan, a man who obtained the patent for the three-signal traffic light and invented what is known as a smoke hood, which was a prototype of the gas mask that is used today. He also is responsible for a large part of the 1916 Lake Erie Tunnel Rescue, where he and his brother used one of his inventions to rescue a group of miners that were trapped in a fire underground. However, Morgan was not really given credit for a very long time, and was almost erased from history due to the color of his skin. 

Unfortunately, such troubles did not end there for Morgan. Being further north did nothing to save him from adverse situations. He had to fight for his place in the world, and to do it, he had to fight widespread racism and dodge attacks from the KKK, all while only having a sixth grade education. However, he managed to not only face his adversaries, but through it all he found tutors to further his education, created his own business selling hair care products, helped start the Cleveland Association of Colored Men, and launched the National Safety Device Company. 

More Than Shadows Remain

The trouble that Morgan faced during the process of getting his patents and making his business a reality have not really gone away. Instead, for any Black entrepreneurs and inventors today, the trouble has donned new clothes and changed tactics a little bit. It has been discovered that a very small percentage of Black-owned businesses have gotten on the Fortune 500 lists, and it is often incredibly difficult for Black people to get funding for their business ventures, no matter where they might live. While it looks like what happened to Morgan is ancient history on paper, the current trend shows the exact opposite in practice. 

How Changes Can Be Made

To make sure that history can actually be taken as history for everyone in terms of being treated equally, there is a lot that must be done to ensure that the process of accepting entrepreneurs and funding new businesses. One of the most difficult things is going to be evening everything out without putting quotas in place. People need to want to make the change, not feel obligated to do it.

To start, if someone is seeking funding for their business, whoever is listening to their pitch should give it equal weight against every other pitch that comes through the door. As long as the entrepreneur meets all of the requirements for funding and has a solid structure, budget and plan, there is no reason why they should not be considered for funding, especially if they already have modern business operation ideas, such as the implementation of Insurtech.

Plenty of people are still going through what Morgan went through in the early 1900s. To make sure that progress does not reach a plateau, word of mouth, candid reviews and social media blasts should be encouraged. If there seem to be discrepancies or lack of transparency where financiers are concerned, the people seeking funding, as well as rights groups, should not hesitate to speak out and keep speaking out. Discrimination is often swept under the rug, and if need be, it should be dragged out into the spotlight and kept there until it is resolved.