Title: Hidden Figures (2016; PG)
Director: Theodore Melfi
Major Themes: Space Race, NASA, Mathematicians
Synopsis: The inspiring story of three African-American women who played a major role in helping John Glenn get the US ahead in the space race.
It’s probably been a good two years since I watched Hidden Figures for the first time, but it’s the kind of movie that sticks with you long after you watch it. At one stage, I decided my siblings ought to see it, too. It’s not the best movie I’ve ever watched, but from a historical standpoint, this is one well worth seeing. The women whose story is told here were courageous, brilliant thinkers, and although I don’t agree with all their choices, I think their story ought to be known.
Three women’s stories feature in this movie—that of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. Each was brilliant at what they did; all worked as part of a computer group for NASA. These women knew mathematics, and although they dreamed of doing more, as African-American women, they weren’t allowed to rise above their place.
Dorothy had a gift for leading others, and wanted to do her best to help all the other “computers” (fellow women who ran many calculations for NASA) become, if possible, even better than their white counterparts.
Mary Jackson had the intelligence and brains required to become an engineer—her lifelong dream—but as long as the laws remained the way they were in their state, there was no way she could do more than run numbers all day.
And Katherine Johnson, who had a brilliant head for mathematics, dreamed of being on the elite team helping to do the final launch projection calculations for sending astronauts out into space. But with two things counting against her—first, being a woman, and secondarily being a Black woman—it was difficult to get others to accept her ideas as something worth considering.
Together, these three women played a major role in helping to launch astronaut John Glenn, despite the many hurdles they had to cross as they tried to prove their worth in their fields.
I found Hidden Figures both inspiring and intriguing—it encapsulates a piece of history I’ve read a little about (the most I remember hearing about this time was Alan Shepard’s story), and for that, I think this is worth watching. Apparently, not everything in this movie is accurate to the way it really was—some things were put in there to show the general attitudes of the time—but the basic facts of what these women did are true.
One thing that did bother me about this story is that it tends to be feminist, and shows a mother working long hours away from her children. I didn’t like that part of the story, and while one could argue that she was using her God-given skills to help her country, I also think a mother’s primary job should be taking care of her family and investing in her children.
If you’re interested in learning more about the space race, Hidden Figures would be an excellent resource. I’ve shared the movie with two of my brothers now, but hope to show it to more of my family as they get a bit older. It’s a story worth seeing at least once.
WARNING: See the second-last paragraph. “Damn” is used at least 5 times, “who the hell” is used at 8:23, “God knows what”, “Jesus Christ” at 9:40, “damn it”, and “my God” at 22:34; later on, there is “oh my word”, “heck”, “proud as the devil”, and “oh mercy”. A drunk woman is dancing from 46:15 – 47:03; at 47:57, a woman is kicked out of the library for being Black and looking in the wrong section (and later reveals she took a book without checking it out); from 49:32 – 51:24, people are dancing. At 52:37, “how the hell” is used; at 53:34, “bastards” is used; there are a few scenes of woman’s legs under the bathroom stall door; at 56:50, “holy Moses” is used; at 58:44, “where the hell” is used twice, and there are some raised voices; from 1:06:45 – 1:07:08, there are kisses between an unmarried couple; at 1:16:10, “what the hell” is used; at 1:20:00 “one hell of a” is used; there are a couple of kisses from 1:26:53 – 1:27:11; at 1:40:26, “what the devil” is used; and from 1:46:30 – 1:50:50, there is a tense scene as an astronaut renters earth’s atmosphere and almost burns up.
Appropriate ages:
Ages 12 – 15, 15 and Above, Adults
Links to buy this movie:
Amazon: Prime Video | DVD | Blu-Ray
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