Molly Johnson

Professor Ramsey

Hidden Figures Movie Critique

Molly Johnson
Molly Johnson

Professor Ramsey

The movie Hidden Figures is a film based on the lesser-known women involved in the launch

of astronaut John Glenn into orbit. Three women, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and

Mary Jackson, code the IBM mainframe needed for the ship as well as many other calculations

necessary to get to space. This film mentions the Race to Space and the issue of segregation.

While advanced enough to send a man to orbit, the country was unable to achieve equality.

The film is set in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia in the year 1926 as the first introduce

character (Katherine) moves schools and then is solving a complicated math problem at a young

age. The following clip shows Katherine as well as Dorothy and Mary on the side of the road

with a broken car. A racist police officer comes to question them, and the women explain the

work for NASA. The officer is surprised that the women, black women especially, work at

NASA. The movie follows the story of this women, their jobs at NASA, and their home lives. At

the launch date, nearly the end of the movie, an issue arises with the IBM machine. With the

incorrect numbers, or figures, it is unsafe to take off. Katherine locates the issue and is able to

enter the control room to save the day. However, that isn’t the only dire problem. John Glenn,

the astronaut realizes there is a warning light that indicates a problem with the fasteners on the

heat shield. Mary, watching from her house, uses a payphone to reach NASA and reports how to

fix the issue. Without her information, John would have died upon re-entering the atmosphere.

A main issue that is dealt with throughout the film is segregation. For example, Katherine

using the restroom was nearly impossible. The bathroom for people of color happened to be half

a mile away! Another example of not necessarily segregation, but prejudice and racism is a

character named Vivian not allowing Dorothy be promoted to supervisor likely because of her

skin color.
Molly Johnson

Professor Ramsey

I believe the main purpose of this film was to highlight the achievement and great impact

these women had. Because they are women and they are black, these individuals are hardly ever

regularly remembered or recognized for their work. By this film, more people were able to learn

their stories in an accessible and enjoyable way.

Major themes of this film include racism, sexism and grit. These women faced a white male

career field, and it was made very apparent to them. The best example of this is when the racist

cop came to inspect the situation of their broken-down car. He was surprised because of their

gender and race that they worked at NASA. However, the women weren’t phased by his

assumption and continued to make ground-breaking role-defying history.

The acting of this movie is incredibly and many well-known actors and actresses star in the

film. Jim Parsons, Kevin Costner and Pharrell Williams all make appearances. The director,

writer, and cinematographer did a wonderful job in working together to beautifully complement

each other. My favorite scene was Katherine running to the bathroom. The repetitive scenes of

her foot tapping to show anxiety, the running shots, and the music all added to the scenario at

hand. Character development is used because we see the characters at a young age, their working

age and then told of what they accomplished after the launch in their later life. I think this movie

is applicable and watchable to all ages. I think young people would enjoy this film. In fact, this

movie is on Disney+ currently which is a streaming program directed towards children.

The topic discussed were a part of our learning. However, this part of the Space Race was

never fully discussed. The Space Race was a key part of our curriculum, but not so much as the

people behind it.

Molly Johnson

Professor Ramsey

This movie was historically correct. Despite its accuracy, I do think there was some creative

liberty to make the scenes ‘funnier’ to the audience. These silly sections didn’t deter from its

accuracy, but possibly a downfall of this film. The strengths were very evident as this film

addresses many societal issues. Racism and sexism alike both still exist in today’s society. While

not as prominent as they were during the time period of the movie, these broad ideas most

definitely are. Grit is always an important and relevant theme as determination and hard work

never cause any harm to relearn.

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