My opinion on Hidden Figures

I participated in a contest on the Facebook page of Ladies Learning Code – Montreal Chapter, and won a pair of tickets to attend the preview of Hidden Figures or Figures of the Shadow! Since I had the chance to watch this film before it was released in Canada and the United States, I felt that I was going to share my appreciation of this film.

Synopsis

This film is about the life of African-American and mathematician Katherine Johnson as well as two of her colleagues, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. They helped NASA gain ground in the Race to Space. Using their calculations, John Glenn became the first American astronaut to perform a complete orbit of the Earth.

Review of Hidden Figures

There are many elements of the period of segregation that I had forgotten over the years. Do you remember that the African-Americans had to use the toilets assigned to them, sit in their section at the back of the classroom and did not participate in the important meetings with the white men? They could not even borrow the same books as the whites from the neighborhood library …

This film moved me to the highest point. It is not a sad film, on the contrary, it is a film full of hope. But twice I had tears in my eyes when I saw what black women were dealing with at the time.

Actress

From left: Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae), Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson) and Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer)

The main actresses are all very talented. The three women work for NASA. Mary Jackson is a mathematician and aerospace engineer. She campaigned to be accepted at the University of Virginia to move from being a mathematician to being an engineer. This university was for the whites, so she had to beg a judge from the city of Virginia to be granted the right to attend evening classes.

Katherine Johnson is a physicist and mathematician who is widely recognized for her contribution to NASA. She calculated the trajectories of the shuttle Apollo 11, with John Glenn on board. As for her, Dorothy Vaughan is a mathematician who was the first African-American woman to be a supervisor at NASA.

Thus, the film takes place in the 60s and we follow the evolution of their personal life, but especially the careers of the three women. I won’t tell you any more details as I don’t want to say spoilers.

It’s a movie I’ll remember. I advised all my entourage to go to see it!

Buy the movie

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Conclusion

I have only good words for this striking film. And you, did you see the film? What do you think of that? If not, will you see it?

References

1. Mary Jackson, Wikipedia Page, consulted on January 5, 2017
2. Katherine Johnson, Wikipedia Page, consulted on January 5, 2017
3. Dorothy Vaughan, Wikipedia Page, consulted on January 5, 2017
4. Synopsys of the movie Wikipedia Page, consulted on January 5, 2017