Hidden Figures, directed by Theodore Melfi, was a very empowering film that outlined the story of three female NASA Langley Research Center mathematicians who were African American. The plot of this film is a true story and is based on the story of Katherine Goble. The film is set in the year 1961 which was a prime time in the space race. I believe that this is a very good film and that it gave a very good summary of the events that took place, while also keeping viewers entertained. Hidden Figures does a very good job at showing the American passion towards beating the Russians in the space race.
Hidden Figures shows the factual story of how NASA found strength through a trio of underdogs. The three women work in the segregated division at NASA Langley Research Center called the West Area Computing division. This movie is based on how three women, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Johnson, broke down gender and race barriers in their pursuit for greatness. After supervisors discovered the genius these women possessed, they rose through the ranks of NASA at a nearly unbelievable rate. Their story, told in Hidden Figures, shows how these three women were tasked with calculating the launch of John Glenn, American astronaut, into orbit and how they later guaranteed his safe return. These three women served a very important role in NASA during the early development of the U.S. space program. These women developed and did computational work that the men at NASA couldn’t solve all the while working and living under the darkest days of racial prejudice.
An early scene that featured the three women and a police officer illustrated how there was a gap of trust between people of color and the police which was due to the ongoing Civil Rights Movement and growing hostilities between races. This scene really set the tone for the events later in the movie because the movie has very strong scenes that illustrate the inequalities between women, men, colored, and whites.
One scene in Hidden Figures that gave me a new perspective was a scene in which Katherine steps away from her desk to go to the bathroom, but the closest bathroom is ½ mile away in the West Area Computing division. She is forced to run there, use the bathroom, and run back all in a timely manner, and she must do this every single time she needs to use the bathroom. When her boss, Al Harrison, finds out that this is the reason that she is gone from her desk for extended periods of time, he goes as far as tearing down the “Colored Women” and “White Women” signs above the bathroom. He informs her that she could use whatever bathroom she wanted from now on because, "Here at NASA, we all pee the same color."
This scene really struck a nerve with me because it is something so simple. I cannot imagine not being able to go into a bathroom because of the color of my skin. This scene makes even more of an impact on me because it is based upon real events. Back then, it was nearly unheard of to see a male authority figure advocating for a colored woman.
I think that this is one of few films about the space race that actually depicts the role that many colored women and men played. In many historical films, you often find writers down playing the role of colored men and women but I believe that this film is the exact opposite. In fact, this film truly highlights the role that colored Americans played in the development of the US Space Program. The women of West Computing struggled with both racism and sexism, but they were very admirable and their handling of the situation was fantastic. When they finally recognized that intellect and excellence can be found in all people, the space program was finally allowed to develop to its full potential.
Although this film does not directly tie in with what we are learning in class, I do believe it shows the relationship of the US with other countries. This movie shows how the US was affected by World War II, the post-war years and the rising tension with the Soviet Union, and the growth of the space program and the space race. It is a great story line of the space race between The United States and Russia occurring against the background issues of Civil Rights during the 50's & 60's. Primarily, it shows the relationship of the United States and Russia. We have always been in some sort of competition with Russia, whether it be world wars, Democracy vs Communism, or the space race. This movie was very insightful and showed me the importance of the history of the timeline of space development, and how some of this information that is so little known has had a tremendous effect on our history. It is uncommon yet admirable that it is a movie that celebrates women in science and engineering.
This movie would be better if the screenwriter had dug up the early story of how these driven pioneering women went through grade school and high school subjects to settle on mathematics as their future. I also wish that the movie had showed more of the ongoing Civil Rights movement. I think that they expected everyone to already have a grasp on what it was like for colored people back then and that they didn’t need to address it. It is crazy to think that not so long ago most of our country believed this kind of extreme racism was acceptable!
Overall, would I recommend this movie? Absolutely. It is not just a great film, but also an important film. The events are portrayed in a believable manner without things being over exaggerated for impact, and the things that should have impact do. It acknowledges that there were hidden figures throughout history even though we often give credit to only the historically visible participants. I think that Hidden Figures is a movie that could be shown in a class setting. It has such strong themes and really does give an insightful look into one of the most controversial times in the history of the United States