It is not every day that a movie manages to remind, impress, and inspire its viewers, but the 2017 film "Hidden Figures" does just that. The film gives an inside look at NASA during the Cold War era through the unique perspective of not only a woman, but an African American woman.
The movie starts out with a young Katherine who is wise beyond her years. At a young age, viewers see her solving complex algebraic equations that are way beyond the ability of a normal child her age. Viewers quickly realize she is anything but normal and her talents are practically unimaginable. She receives a scholarship to a better school and Katherine and her family move to pursue her bright future. The movie then flashes to the 1960s. Viewers get to know the three main female characters Katherine, Dorothy, and Mary. All three work as computers for NASA, but they all quickly make their mark. Katherine is promoted to the calculations task force, working specifically on calculations to get a man into space. Mary works on pursuing a degree in education, while Dorothy learns a new computing system at the time known as IBM and works her way up the ladder. We see the struggles and triumphs of these ladies who all have families of their own as they work at NASA full time and achieve their dreams. It is by no means easy for any of the women; the challenges of segregation, prejudice, and sexism at every turn remind Americans of our dark and continued history.
"Hidden Figures" is more than just a historical tale; its messages are extremely prevalent to society today. "Hidden Figures" reminds us of our dark past where people of color were treated inferior to whites, and it acts as a reminder of the kind of ignorance that needs to be stopped in today's world. Its characters also serve as an inspiration to all young women. These ladies opened the doors for women in the field of science and math and proved that even the impossible can be done. They proved that despite the negativity they received, if they worked hard, they could achieve anything. They juxtaposed typical gender roles of the time, proving to be role models to women then and now. Perhaps the most important theme from "Hidden Figures," however, is that of unity. Throughout the movie, the employees of NASA begin to push aside differences, prejudices, ignorance, and segregation to come together as one to launch the USA into space. Black and white, man and woman, tall and short, people of all kinds came together for the common good, and perhaps that is what we need most now in 2017. Despite our differences--whether they be political, religious, or based out of ignorance--it is time to put them aside and come together, because as "Hidden Figures" reminds us, we are all just human at the end of the day.
"Hidden Figures" is the kind of movie that I wish was around when I was younger. Looking back at my media role models as a young child and as a preteen, they were all princesses. Don't get me wrong--I love Disney, but what did I really learn from them? That I should sit around waiting for Prince Charming to come? That everything would be handed to me in life if I was a kind human being who sang to small animals? This is the kind of movie I want my children to watch someday. I want them to see that with a lot of hard work and ambition, the impossible can become possible, just as Katherine, Mary, and Dorothy showed the world.
This is a film I would highly recommend going to the theaters to see.
