Although the characters counter numerous stereotypes, the movie fails to portray the events and climate that informed these experiences. Throughout Hidden Figures, the directors have chosen to paint the civil rights movement into the story 's backdrop, ultimately downplaying its eminence and the significant ramifications that would impact the lives of these women. In doing so, the film portrays the pursuit of justice based on merit and not humanity alone. Humiliation, insult, discrimination, and embarrassment filled the lives of blacks all around the country. They were living as second-class citizens in a misinformed time of separate but "equal". The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 's [NACA (NASA 's predecessor)] computers were considered to be "sub-professionals", earning around $1,440 per year (When the Computer). Black computers earned even less, as it repeatedly emphasized throughout the film. Census statistics agree, showing that colored women earned just over half of what their white counterparts earned every year (African Americans in the Twentieth Century). During Katherine 's poignant rebuttal when confronted about her lengthy bathroom visits, she reveals the ridiculous expectations that are placed upon her, "My uniform: skirt below my knees, heels, and a simple string of pearls-well I don 't own pearls, Lord knows you don 't pay coloreds enough to own pearls!" Though a valid point, this remark proves to be rather incongruent with the rest of what we see