Hidden Figures (2016)
Katherine Johnson works at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia in 1961, alongside her colleagues Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan. All of them are African-American women; the unit is segregated by race and sex. White supervisor Vivian Mitchell assigns Katherine to assist Al Harrison’s Space Task Group, given her skills in analytic geometry. She becomes the first Black woman on the team; head engineer Paul Stafford is especially dismissive.
Mary is assigned to the space capsule heat shield team, where she immediately identifies a design flaw. Encouraged by her team leader Karl Zielinski, a Polish-Jewish Holocaust survivor, Mary applies for an official NASA engineer position. She is told by Mitchell that, regardless of her mathematics and physical science degree, the position requires additional courses. Mary files a petition for permission to attend all-white Hampton High School, despite her husband’s opposition. Pleading her case in court, she wins over the local judge by appealing to his sense of history, allowing her to attend night classes.
Date of download: 2015-11-11T17:22:34+00:00
Cast:  Taraji P. HensonKatherine G. Johnson  Octavia SpencerDorothy Vaughan  Janelle MonaeMary Jackson  Kevin CostnerAl Harrison  Kirsten DunstVivian Mitchell  Jim ParsonsPaul Stafford  Mahershala AliCol. Jim Johnson  Aldis HodgeLevi Jackson  Glen PowellJohn Glenn |
Katherine Johnson works at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia in 1961, alongside her colleagues Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan. All of them are African-American women; the unit is segregated by race and sex. White supervisor Vivian Mitchell assigns Katherine to assist Al Harrison’s Space Task Group, given her skills in analytic geometry. She becomes the first Black woman on the team; head engineer Paul Stafford is especially dismissive.
Mary is assigned to the space capsule heat shield team, where she immediately identifies a design flaw. Encouraged by her team leader Karl Zielinski, a Polish-Jewish Holocaust survivor, Mary applies for an official NASA engineer position. She is told by Mitchell that, regardless of her mathematics and physical science degree, the position requires additional courses. Mary files a petition for permission to attend all-white Hampton High School, despite her husband’s opposition. Pleading her case in court, she wins over the local judge by appealing to his sense of history, allowing her to attend night classes.
