Most movies during this time of year are so busy beating on the give-me-an-Oscar-please door, that they take themselves too seriously, but "Hidden Figures" says "F that noise!" This movie is riddled with racism, and prejudice toward women in general, heavy with tension even though it's based on true events and one could simply Google (yes, John Glenn survives), yet it is also light-hearted, but most of all it's inspirational.
The inspiration stems from the ladies in this film that are all about STEM. While skin color is a major theme in the movie, another big part is the fact that women can be smart, too. Or, perhaps it's the fact that women can be smarter.
In vain of this movie, I thought I'd honor some of the women in the world that have changed science, and our world for the better.
Rosalind Franklin
Ever wonder who discovered DNA? Well, Rosalind Franklin was a part of a four-person team, who discovered the structure of DNA. She first was a major part of understanding the nature of carbon and X-Ray diffraction, which aided in her work on understanding DNA.
Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton led the NASA team that was responsible for developing the in-flight software for Apollo and Skylab. On November 22, 2016, Hamilton was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama for her involvement in the successful moon landing of Apollo 11.
Sally Ride
In 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman to fly in space. After retiring, she founded Sally Ride Science, a program dedicated to students interested in STEM subjects. While Ride passed away in July of 2012, her work still continues to motivate young women within the United States.
Lydia Villa-Komaroff
Mexican-American, Dr. Lydia Villa-Komaroff graduated MIT in the molecular and cellular biologist field, and became the founding member of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science, but her main contribution to science was during her postdoctoral research at Harvard in 1977. She was the first author to report that bacteria could be engineered into human insulin.
Katherine Johnson
This is the woman that "Hidden Figures" pays most homage to: Katherine Johnson. She was an enormous asset to the America's space program, and was responsible in calculating the trajectory of NASA's top missions, especially the important Apollo 11's flight to the moon. At the age of 98, Katherine Johnson still encourages women to pursue careers in science, math and technology fields.
"Hidden Figures" is more than a movie that talks about racial tension during the 1960's. It proves through comedy, intelligence, and tenacity, that women, a lot of women, were a large part in putting men into space. This movie also promotes science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and the fact that this industry is not just a man's world, but a lady's as well. So Ladies, my message to you is, whether you are interested in STEM, or not, if you want something bad enough, no matter if someone tells you not to, do it anyway. If anyone tells you otherwise you remember the women that came before you, and use them as a source of inspiration.
If we go by history, we know that prejudice of any kind is not going to be eradicated tomorrow, and sometimes brow-beating us to death about it works, but in the case of "Hidden Figures", I liked that it offered up comedy in the face of injustice, and wit in the face of ignorance.
