With a subscription to Entertainment Weekly, I usually know what’s coming to theaters. So I was surprised a few months back when I saw a trailer for Hidden Figures. The trailer looked great and I couldn’t believe it was based on a true story.
It’s amazing I had no idea about the story about African-American mathematician Katherine Johnson and her two colleagues, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. While working in the segregated computer division of Langley Research Center, they helped NASA catch up in the Space Race.
The film starred Taraji P. Henson as Katherine G. Johnson, the African American mathematician who calculated flight trajectories for Project Mercury and the 1969 Apollo 11 flight to the Moon. The film also features Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughan and Janelle Monáe as Mary Jackson. Also starring are Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Glen Powell, and Mahershala Ali.
As I always say, everything is about connections and connecting aith the audience. The film is excellent because of the acting and the script, the true life, historical characters are able to connect to you. You will feel their pain in living in segregated times, you will feel joy in their accomplishments in spite of being treated poorly as African-American women.
Pharrell Williams is a producer and adds his talent with some great music.
I recommend anyone that has a strong love of history to take a look at Hidden Figures; its excellence isn’t hidden.
