Hidden Figures

2017 April 2017 At the movies Suzanne A. Marshall

By Suzanne A. Marshall from the April 2017 Edition

Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons

Director: Theodore Melfi

“As the United States raced against Russia to put a man in space, NASA found untapped talent in a group of African- American female mathematicians that served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in US history. Based on the unbelievably true life stories of three of these women, known as ‘human computers’, we follow these women as they quickly rose through the ranks of NASA alongside many of history’s greatest minds specifically tasked with calculating the momentous launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, and guaranteeing his safe return.”

This was a very engaging movie and a story that so many of us were unaware of. The story plays out during the time of the global space race but also at a time when America was in the early stages of major racial issues and women’s equal rights movements which were working their way to the forefront. So, of course, this makes for some of the subtle tension felt in the movie; but also some of the amazing feats that we see these women undertake amidst the gallery of aeronautical geniuses and bureaucracy. At this time, NASA was struggling unsuccessfully with the huge IBM mainframe computers that had yet to provide them the computational support they were desperate for. The story is amazing and one I would highly recommend everyone should see.

The movie garnered a total of 68 various nominations including 3 Academy Awards for Best Motion Picture, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay.

The IMDB rating is 7.9/10 based on about 58,697 viewers.

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