If there’s one thing you do this winter break, take a trip to the movies and see Hidden Figures. When the commercial first came out I knew instantly it was going to be an incredible film but I never expected it to make me feel the way I did after watching it in the theater. My mom had her doubts but let me tell you, she laughed throughout, clapped, and cried three times.
The movie takes place during the 1960s and the race to space against the Soviet Union. The main actresses, Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae all portray the lives of three intelligent women working for NASA.
All three of the actresses were part of NASA’s “computers,” a group of African American women doing all the calculations for the aerospace technology and working on the west campus, away from the rest of the engineers. Henson, who played Katherine Johnson, was transferred to the head room to check all the math for landings. However, this headquarters was a room filled with all-white males who had never worked with a colored woman. Keep in mind this was the 60s and there was still segregation so of course there were some scenes that made you want to punch some white people in the face.
Octavia Spencer plays Dorothy Vaughn, another black woman working as a “calculator” who despite already doing all the responsibilities, was constantly denied the position of supervisor for the department. NASA was changing technologically and there suddenly wasn’t a need to employ all the women doing calculations, thanks to a new calculating system. Vaughn proves herself by being the only one able to figure out the new machinery despite the doubts of white coworkers.
Monae, playing Mary Jackson, struggles with becoming an engineer for NASA, an unheard-of position for a black female. In order to become an engineer she must complete a couple of courses at the only place offering them nearby, an all-white high school that had never seen an African American woman before. She challenges the city by making a petition demanding her equal opportunity to an education.
All in all, this is a must-see this break. All three women had to battle racial injustices while working for one of our country’s most important programs at the time. I had never heard of these women before and I think we need to start giving credit to where credit is due. We always hear about people who finish the race, like astronauts, but not the extraordinary ones who worked hard throughout. This was an incredible film that showed the hardships of what it was like to be a person of color during segregation. With politics and race issues still filling the news today I advise whoever is reading this to see the movie, give everyone the benefit of the doubt, underestimate no one, and play fairly. We can’t change our country’s past and the people who acted like assholes in the 60s but we can learn from our mistakes and treat everyone with the respect that deserve.
