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We all know the names of the people who led our country’s race into space—men like Alan Shepard, John Glenn, and Neil Armstrong. But director Theodore Melfi’s Hidden Figures goes behind the scenes at NASA to introduce some of the women who helped to keep the space program running.
Hidden Figures tells the true stories of three of the women who worked behind the scenes at NASA during the space race of the 1960s. Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) led an office full of African-American women known as “computers,” who assisted with NASA’s figures and calculations. One of these computers, Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe), was encouraged to apply to NASA’s engineering program and fought to overcome the obstacles in her way. And Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson) was assigned to the Space Task Group, where she assisted with the calculations that helped to launch John Glenn (Glen Powell) into orbit.
Hidden Figures is a moving and often powerful film about three women who fought to overcome both racism and sexism to achieve their goals. In a time when women were expected to remain in the home—and when African-Americans still had to use separate bathrooms (and libraries, too)—these women refused to be boxed in. Instead, they fought, they planned, and they used their minds to achieve what seemed to others to be impossible. At times, the challenges that they face in the film seem simpler than they must have actually been, but these characters are still forced to show resolve and resilience as they deal with the people who stand in their way. And while they may have fought for rights in the ‘60s, that message is just as inspiring—and important—today.
These ground-breaking women were smart and tough and determined—and the three leads give fittingly strong performances, too. The characters’ stories may be interwoven together, but the actresses give each woman her own personality—different strengths, weaknesses, and dreams. So while they may share the spotlight—and the film’s runtime—each one is able to stand out in her own way.
There’s so much to this story—not just the social context but the political context, too, as the US races to get a man into space before the Russians. There’s even a technological context, as many of the women’s jobs are threatened by the installation of NASA’s first IBM. And all of these fascinating details add historical interest to this uplifting drama.
Hidden Figures isn’t a heavy, serious award season movie. It’s enlightening and inspiring, but it’s entertaining, too. And after seeing it, you may feel as if you’re ready to take on the galaxy.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
