Go see the movie "Hidden Figures".

[TNNurse]

See it on the big screen if you can. Take your children, grandchildren and anyone you can. It is science and math in action. It is history and most of us did not know this part of it. No, it is not a documentary, but it is based on actual people and events. I am so very grateful that Katherin Johnson knows the book and movie were made. I hope John Glenn knew about it. REAL HEROES.

[Sherman A1]

1. Was hoping to go tomorrow

AARP had a free screening set up, but we have this ice storm thing going on this weekend, so the best laid plans...

[demmiblue]

2. This is one of the very few movies that I plan on seeing at the movie theater.

I may even go to one of those fancy pants theaters that has recliners.

[s-cubed]

3. It is wonderful!

[lapfog_1]

4. If I was still at NASA I would be taking

everyone at my Branch to a matinee showing, just like I did for the movie "Apollo 13" (and other movies)

In the 1990s I had the honor of naming some NASA supercomputers, including one I named for Florence "Pancho" Barnes. Pancho Barnes was an early test pilot and trainer for other pilots at what would become Edwards Air Force base (Chuck Yeager and Scott Crossfield were also honored).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancho_Barnes

I will go see it myself and take my niece this weekend.

[procon]

5. John Glenn knew.

When John Glenn was waiting to be fired into orbit aboard Friendship 7 in 1962, there was one person he trusted with the complex trajectory calculations required to bring him down safely from his orbital spaceflight: Katherine Johnson, an African-American mathematician who worked in Nasa’s segregated west area computers division.

“Get the girl, check the numbers,” Glenn said before boarding the rocket. “If she says they’re good, I’m good to go.”

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/dec/11/black-women-mathematicians-nasa-john-glenn-space-race



Computers were so new that NASA scientists were very skeptical of them, including John Glenn, and he requested that Katherine Johnson personally confirm the computer's calculations before he'd blastoff. A day and a half later, she verified the computer's math was correct and the rest is history.

[longship]

6. Emily Lakdawalla of The Planetary Society Blogged about it this week, too.

Hidden Figures

Go see Hidden Figures, and bring your kids. The movie stars three black women computers at NASA Langley who contributed their talent and brains to making NASA's human space program a success while encountering racist and sexist barriers at every turn. Despite its serious subject matter, the movie is joyful, often funny, and, in the end, triumphant. It's entirely suitable for children; my 10-year-old loved it, and the 7-year-old liked it although her attention wandered toward the end. Along with the other patrons in the theater, my daughters and I applauded repeatedly as the protagonists overcame their obstacles and achieved the impossible together, sending a man to space.

We were all smiles exiting the theater, but the more I reflect on the movie, the more sobered -- and sometimes even enraged -- I feel. How many more smart and creative people are out there who've never had the opportunity to contribute their ideas to the world because the world prejudged them? These aren't just problems of the past. In the 1950s and 1960s, racism and sexism were blatant and open. Officially, segregation is now illegal, as is workplace discrimination. But all you have to do is look at the continuing underrepresentation of minorities and white women in science and technology (the numbers for geology and astronomy are even worse than average) to know that the problems encountered by the protagonists in Hidden Figures have not gone away; they're just, well, hidden. Hidden, at least, to those of us fortunate enough not to have faced those barriers. But racism and sexism (and other -isms) are lurking under the surface. Making us demand proof of greatness before granting opportunities, while giving others chance after chance, rather than looking at everyone and seeing their potential.

There are two scenes that have especially stuck with me. The rest of this post contains spoilers, so I'll post it after the trailer.

More at link.

BTW, the spoilers are minor. It's history after all.

[IronLionZion]

7. I plan on seeing it. It's good to see diversity at NASA

lot of talent has been lost due to discrimination, or hidden from public view.

Seeing people who look like us doing amazing important things has a profound effect on young school kids and what they see as possible futures to pursue.

[brucefan]

8. Thats how I'm spending Inauguration Day

[Equinox Moon]

9. It is very important we have more and more movies

with strong female protagonists - that are NOT shooting a gun!

[NWCorona]

13. While I agree, I'm waiting for the day that a movie is made to honor this woman with a gun

[Equinox Moon]

14. Was she a Black Panther?

If so, that if far different than the aggressive fighting and kicking and shooting-up-up roles they are portraying women in.

[NWCorona]

15. Yes indeed. Her name is Kathleen Cleaver.

[Equinox Moon]

16. Maybe there should be a book about her.

Are you a writer?

[NWCorona]

18. No. lol! Unfortunately I'm not blessed with that skill set.

There are some books (out of print) on her and the women of the movement tho. Kathleen is an author as well.

[Equinox Moon]

19. Never too late to develop a skill set.

It is empowering even to go after something new. You might just be an excellent writer in seed form that requires some watering, nutrients and sunshine. You are keeping her legacy alive by having her picture, posting it and knowing things about her. If she is worthy of such remembrance, you could jointly work on a book project. Maybe with her!

[NWCorona]

20. You are right about that. It's never too late!

Thanks for the nice convo

[Equinox Moon]

21. Thanks for telling me of Kathleen

I will read about her.

Cheers

[yuiyoshida]

10. I found it, and have bookmarked it

Will check it out.

[csziggy]

11. Read the book by Margot Lee Shetterly, too

I'm only about 50 pages into it and I have learned a LOT about the history of the fight for equal rights in the 1930s and early 1940s. It is EXCELLENT!

Margot Lee Shetterly grew up in the area where the women did much of their work during the war and her father worked in the same area. She had access to many of the women who worked as computers during World War II so she got their stories first hand and also got a feel for their personal as well as their work histories.

This is a book I will probably read more than once. The first time through to get the story and general background, the second to absorb all the details.

[Wounded Bear]

12. Haven't watched a new movie in years...this one intrigues me...

I loved that in the recent remake of Cosmos with NdGT hosting, several of the segments explored and celebrated the unsung but very real contributions of women to the advancement of science.

[Demsrule86]

17. My daughter and I will see it tonight.

[Skittles]

22. that's my next movie

yes indeed

[Akamai]

23. Great movie! We saw it last night -- my far better half and our son and I. White Privilege

was clearly shown in the movie, but also a heck of a lot of grit in overcoming it.

Very interesting history as well!

[spooky3]

24. It was fantastic! Riveting, outrageous, moving--and true.