Sometimes, it’s the true stories that are the most amazing ones. That is the case with Hidden Figures. Based upon the true story of some of NASA’s female African-American mathematicians, Hidden Figures is a heartwarming, inspirational must-see movie.
In the 1960s, NASA has a division of women computers—literally mathematician women who would compute numbers all day (as computers were not around yet to handle that work). Like the rest of the United States at the time, this division at NASA was racially segregated so there was a “Colored Computers” division. Hidden Figures focuses on three of these remarkable women: Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae), Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), and Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer). Mary was the first African American female engineer. Dorothy led the team of IBM programmers and was the first African American female to supervise a staff. Katherine was the first African American woman to join the Space Task Force and help with several space missions. Each woman persistently goes after what she wants. While there are a handful of white colleagues who support them, overall, they face their obstacles with a tenacious dedication to their skills and ability.
The three lead women are wonderful in their roles. They each portray determined workers, loving mothers and wives, and smart, independent women. The supporting cast is just as good. Kevin Costner as Al Harrison, Katherine’s boss, shows the push-and-pull of that era. He gets rid of segregated bathrooms at NASA and brings Katherine into exclusive meetings, but, at one point, he also lets her go from the team since she’s just a “computer”. Vivian Mitchell, played by Kirsten Dunst, is Dorothy’s boss who has a prickly exterior, but a softer side once she is called out about inequality. Mahershala Ali is refreshingly kind as Colonel Jim Johnson, Katherine’s love interest. Finally, Glen Powell wonderfully channels the affability and charm that the real John Glenn supposedly has.
A story of perseverance, of showing that it’s valuable to be intelligent and to stand up for yourself, and that gender or race can’t hold you back if you don’t let it, Hidden Figures is a much-needed powerful movie to share with all ages.
Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox
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