All Hail the STEAM Queens in Hidden Figures

 

Janelle Monae, Taraji Henson, & Octavia Spencer are a real STEAM dream team!

 Hidden Figures Review

The Science Technology Engineering And Math (STEAM) field has long been a boys club. All too often in history, women have been discouraged from entering into those occupations. Even today, in the midst of 2017, a time where things are radical and tumultuous and more socially conscious than ever, we’re still not exactly flocking to on careers in those fields.

But what about recognizing the accomplishments of the women who do work in them? The women who went the distance! The women whose findings and brilliant minds have made huge and valuable, contributions to our nation and to the sciences?  

Hidden Figures is a remedy to the largely unspoken-of, and often ignored, efforts and accomplishments of women in the sciences. This is drama is an adaptation of the novel of the same name, brimming with historical detail and accuracy and carried by a trio of well-seasoned actresses who perform their hearts out in the roles of three exceptional women.

The opening of Hidden Figures plunks us down into the thick of the 1960’s when the Space Race is making daily headlines and civil rights are slow go and in short supply. Don’t let the drama genre discourage you. It’s an uplifting story from start to finish, sunnier than typical dramas out there, but still with an emotional weightiness to it. Hidden Figures tells the stories of three best friends working together at NASA when they’re not only barred because they’re women, but because they’re Black women. 

Katherine (Henson) and Mary (Monae) get their morning assignments.

Dorothy Vaughn aspires to become the IT supervisor for the “Colored Computer” division at NASA. Mary Jackson dreams of becoming the first black female Engineer. And Katherine Goble, with a mind that can calculate sums lightening fast, and a genius level IQ, wants to a chance to make her math count. And, count it does!

In a tremendous stroke of luck, (and some seriously Cold War paranoia) right after the Russians launch Sputnik, supervisor Vivian Mitchell (Kirsten Dunst) recruits Katherine for The Space Task Group.This ambitious program aims to launch American men to the moon.

A quick series of flashback shows us even as a little girl Katherine had a knack for numbers and a drive to succeed and challenge herself. It’s not a role that takes up much screen time, but young actress Lidya Jewett leaves a memorable impression. Jumping forward to “present day” 1961 finds Katherine as a widowed single-mother of three. She encourages her young daughters to think, be, and say, whatever they want, while logging hours day in and day out at a job that means a lot to her, but constantly undervalues her. There’s an unshakable positivity to Katherine (Taraji Henson) that makes her such a joy to watch on screen. There’s also an abundance of passion, and fire inside of her.  It’s captivating to see Katherine in her element. At first, the lone black woman in a department loaded with affluent white men, Katherine keeps her lips locked and her head down. She’s not arrogant about her smarts, and it’s not until she’s desperately needed by The Space Task Group, that her insanely impressive math and science skills make their debut. She adapts to the office environment and continually shows how she’s a crucial teammate to send Americans, specifically the astronaut John Glenn (Glen Powell, of Scream Queens), into space.

Katherine's always in her element in this situation room!

The concept of teamwork doesn’t come easy to Katherine’s “partner” Paul Stafford. Jim Parsons of Big Bang Theory fame performs as this salty scientist, playing very much against type of his usual roles. He’s an insecure and easily butt-hurt kind of guy, always dropping bland remarks. He’s one of many in the room: white men in their white starched shirts with their black ties and shiny leather loafers, and a worker bee drone through and through. He’s quick to try to discredit Katherine and to discourage her, and often spouts out sexist nonsense like  "There's no protocol for women attending" any of the briefings. His grouchy personality makes us root for Katherine even more. In that moment when she counters with, "There's no protocol for a man circling the Earth either, sir." And the moments afterwards where Katherine types her name up on the research papers, sharing the top billing of author with Paul, are satisfying and bring on the cheers!

Katherine is always climbing up narrow ladders, hand dashing madly across the blackboard chalking up massive formulas and number sequences. Watching her calculate for various makes and models of rockets, and discover the ever elusive coordinates for launch projections, is fascinating and attention-grabbing. The enthusiasm Taraji Henson brings to the role keeps this from being boring or too abstract and bogged down by just the facts. Seeing each of her triumphs makes your happiness swell up and brings a smile to your face. Katherine’s conversations and friendship with Dorothy (Octavia Spencer) and Mary (Janelle Monae) make for outstanding scenes buzzing with energy, wit and often even hilarity! The camaraderie between the ladies and their magnetic female friendship often reigns on the screen. Even when they’re pursuing their own ambitions they deeply love and support, and occasionally even mercilessly tease(!) one another.

The youngest of the bunch, Mary (Janelle Monae) is also the most idealistic. She’s flirty and charismatic and downright determined. She’s giggly, but not a giddy air-head, and her fashion forward wardrobe (costume designer Renee Ehrlich Kalfus knows where it’s at! ) sets her apart from her more conservative, and somewhat mousy, coworkers. Mary isn’t content to just fade into the background. Instead, she actively seeks out making her Engineering dreams a reality.  She petitions the court to be able to take Engineering courses at Hampton High, a white high school. Her persistence and her assertion that "I have no choice but to be the first,” wins over the judge, who gives her the clearance to take night classes. Only. But “only” is more than enough for this stellar Engineer-to-be.  

Woooohoo! Spontaneous kitchen dance parties, what else are best friends for!?

Rounding out the trio is Dorothy. One of the older and more experienced women in the Colored Computers Department Dorothy is a sassy matriarchal figure. Spencer’s performance here is strongly reminiscent of her role as Minnie Jackson in 2011’s The Help. She’s constantly looking out for the other girls, determined to help them both succeed at the jobs in the moment, but also to advance. Dorothy decides to make herself indispensable to NASA by using their own ploy against them. Those WASP-Y jerks want to keep up with the technology of the times, so they install bulky computer processors that can calculate sums a thousand times faster. Faster computers means more of the girls would be out of a job. Dorothy’s determination comes to a head where she teaches herself, and the other girls, the complicated IT skills to operate the computers and keep them running. Dorothy and her squad of computers have a real knack for running the machines that the white male computers hopelessly fail at. That means two things: job security, and career advancement. Yaaaas!

In Hidden Figures Virginia is still stubbornly, shamelessly segregated. We’re privy to an era loaded with racial tension and rampant sexism and discrimination. The filmmaker’s historical details cannot be praised enough. Accuracy is the name of the game, and Hidden Figures Incorporates genuine videos and audio recordings from the early US space launches. In between following Katherine’s, Mary’s and Dorothy’s stories, footage from JFK's speeches and press conferences add authenticity. Along with renowned composer Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams lends his vocals to many of the songs featured. His pitch-perfect tracks, a little jazzy, a little bubble-gum pop, and a little R&B buoy up Hidden Figures, keeping things from being too serious and heavy. This, is an underdog story that is well told with a happy ending that is made all the sweeter by the fact that it actually happened.

Ultimate verdict: Highly recommended. 

Dorothy (Spencer) and her "computers" are ready to slay some serious numbers.

All images from IMDB