Saw "Hidden Figures" this evening--and all showings were sold out at several theaters in our area. We enjoyed it a lot--very uplifting. It was predicatable and shmaltzy, but good shmaltz, and yes, we know these women were successful in real life, so there's only so much unpredictability it could have.
I can remember in 1961 that our teachers at George Washington Carver Elementary got more advanced math books from the library and burned the mimeograph machine out to give us materials we'd never have gotten from the hand-me-down books the town gave us. Some of that kind of thinking was evident among the "colored computers" in this movie.
Also, life for middle-class blacks wasn't all being chased by hooded KKK, so you don't see that here, either. There was real-world quiet racism, there was some real-world meritocracy as well. Even then, I suspect there was more drama in the movie than there was in real life. I also wonder if these particular women actually were friends in real life. They undoubtedly would have known each other as colleages, but I wonder if they were really close friends.
Also, I had heard before that John Glenn's attitude toward the "colored computers" was actually like that--he tended to figure, "They must be smart or they wouldn't be here, so they're fine with me."
My only criticism of the direction was too much verbal exposition--the most brilliant orbital mathematicians in the nation giving each other 3rd grade explanations of things they knew in the 2nd grade. But other than that, it was excellent.
I don't think they blew anything up, though.
Wait, yes they did--they had record footage of a number of the failed early US launch attempts.
I can remember in 1961 that our teachers at George Washington Carver Elementary got more advanced math books from the library and burned the mimeograph machine out to give us materials we'd never have gotten from the hand-me-down books the town gave us. Some of that kind of thinking was evident among the "colored computers" in this movie.
Also, life for middle-class blacks wasn't all being chased by hooded KKK, so you don't see that here, either. There was real-world quiet racism, there was some real-world meritocracy as well. Even then, I suspect there was more drama in the movie than there was in real life. I also wonder if these particular women actually were friends in real life. They undoubtedly would have known each other as colleages, but I wonder if they were really close friends.
Also, I had heard before that John Glenn's attitude toward the "colored computers" was actually like that--he tended to figure, "They must be smart or they wouldn't be here, so they're fine with me."
My only criticism of the direction was too much verbal exposition--the most brilliant orbital mathematicians in the nation giving each other 3rd grade explanations of things they knew in the 2nd grade. But other than that, it was excellent.
I don't think they blew anything up, though.
Wait, yes they did--they had record footage of a number of the failed early US launch attempts.
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