I’ve been in quite the ornery
mood lately. I haven’t seen a movie, it seems, since November. I really haven’t
been motivated to do too much. I hadn’t really seen a ton of trailers for
Hidden Figures, but given everything that’s happening in this country (post
election 2016), this seemed a movie I had to see. The movie is based on a book
about three African American women who were integral in getting John Glenn to
orbit the Earth. This was the time when the US were in a tight race with
Communist Russia to get into space. The 1960s setting seemed to be more
familiar than not. Take away the segregated bathrooms and that movie could be
taking place now. The cousin I went to see the movie with commented that this
could be a glimpse into the future instead of a story of triumph from the past.
The movie follows the story of
three African American women, all of whom, from an early age, excelled at
either science or math. Any woman, let alone a minority, would not be welcome
in these fields. The fact that these women were African American, before people
decided everyone should have equal rights, doesn’t accurately display how hard
their struggles must have been. There are microcosms of incidents where the
superiority of the white co-workers is used to show how different the world was
then. In truth, those situations are very much still alive and well. I noticed
that the woman who the main character is based on is still alive and I wonder
what she would think about how little it feels like things have changed.
I digress. The story starts with
a young African American family getting money that had been collected in the
community to send their child, a kid, not a young adult, to college. The girl,
Katherine Johnson, turns out to be a complete math whiz. The African American
women are placed in a part of the Langley campus that is far removed from where
their work needs to be done. There are dozens of scenes where Katherine is
running across the campus to use the bathroom. The culmination of that scene
was the perfect slow burn, a mere snapshot of everyday life for those who are
not born with pale skin.
The narrative is nothing new, yet
the story seemed somehow fresh. Each of the three characters had distinct
storylines, distinct hurdles they had to overcome to be successful. Janelle Monáe
stole every scene she was in. Kevin Costner was surprisingly accessible, where
I expected him to be another hurdle, instead he worked towards equality,
stating something along the lines of ‘wanting whoever could do the work’ to be
involved. That shattered much of the boys club that existed within NASA. The
often unlikable Kirsten Dunst was true to form, being unlikable, on purpose,
and being put in her place by Octavia Spencer’s firey Dorothy. All in all, the
hype is well given and the story is absolutely one you will not regret seeing.
As for the Hina test, it would be
hard for me to find something amiss in this movie. The three main characters
were African American women. The white characters were evolving to accept that
being different wasn’t a bad thing. The sole criticism I could give this movie
is that other than African Americans, there were no other minorities
represented. I find it hard to believe there were no Asians or Hispanics at all
in Virginia in the 1960s. However, at this point, that would really be quibbling
with what delivers a powerful message to those that believe white supremacy is
the only way forward. If not for this unknown story, our space program would
have been leaps and bounds behind Russia.
