The late 1950's and early 1960's was a time of recovery, civil rights, and NASA. The Great Space Race between America and Russia was at its peak, both powers struggling to send men into space and later to the moon. However, Russia seems to be steadily approaching the finish line while America lags behind To complete the task, NASA will need math that doesn't exist yet, and mathematicians who can invent that math. Taraji P. Henson as west NASA computer Katherine Johnson and her two friends, Dorothy Vaughan (played by Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (played by Janelle Monae) can complete the task and more. Each of their special traits of a mathematician, mechanic, and engineer (respectively) are needed in different parts of NASA to do the job and help America emerge as the victor of the Great Space Race. However, racial and gender-based prejudices are in the way of the three women's capabilities. Hidden Figures is the true story …show more content…
The two controversies often overlook each other despite their similarities. Katherine's outstanding speech, commenting on the extremely but subtly segregated facilities-- white and colored; men and women-- that later leads to the end of segregated bathrooms in NASA's main building is an example of such. The plot overall is a bit rushed, and there is a lack of a complete understanding--if you have no previous knowledge of what was happening at the time, you would have no idea of what was happening during the movie. This, however, is understandable, because Hidden Figures is not a science fiction movie, but rather, it is based on a true story. Other than that, the components fitted well together, including the alternating use of movie footage and actual footage from The Great Space Race itself. Hidden Figures deserves 4.5/5 stars, and is worth a