Movie Reviews #43…
Hidden Figures. Theodore Melfi, dir. Racial and gender biases in science and technology are always ugly. As a working scientist, I always thought everyone should be given an equal opportunity to show what they can do, especially in critical R&D where time constraints must be met head on by the best and brightest. I still do. This movie follows three black women—Katherine Goble Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn, and Mary Jackson, played ably and respectively by Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae—who contributed significantly to the Mercury program that put John Glenn in orbit. That was just the beginning of their illustrious careers in space science; the movie doesn’t consider the rest except in the credits at the end. This is a history rarely told by white historians documenting the U.S. space program.
The era covered in the movie was at the beginning of the civil rights movement. Blacks still set in the back of the bus and had to use separate water fountains and bathrooms. Those were minor but flagrant and demeaning inconveniences compared to the discrimination in education and opportunities. These three women and many others had to overcome that, not an easy task in the old white boys’ world of space science at the time. The three main characters had two strikes against them before even stepping to the plate: being black and being women. They still hit home runs.
Excellent acting and screenplay based on the book by Margot Lee Shetterly make this movie one of the most entertaining and meaningful I’ve seen lately. Melfi’s excellent screenplay was surely made easier to achieve with such a book to inspire him. In spite of the blatant discrimination portrayed (I imagine it being much worse), this is the kind of feel-good movie we need now as we still face these problems and an uncertain future with the new president-elect and his cronies, not to mention the current attitude by many budget-cutting politicos that the space program is a waste of money.
Recommended for all audiences, but especially for today’s STEM students who are minorities and/or female—don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t be successful in an R&D career in science and technology. Show what you can do!
***
Silicon Slummin’…and Just Gettin’ By. The Silicon Valley hasn’t seen anyone like Mary Jo Melendez, ex-USN Master-at-Arms, and she’s not sure she wants to stay there either. Readers met the MECHs (Mechanically Enhanced Cybernetic Humans) in Muddlin’ Through. Russia and the U.S. still want them and think Mary Jo knows where they are. But they have to compete with Mary Jo’s stalker. Unlike the first book in the series, this one doesn’t travel around the world, but the dangers for her might be worse. This mystery/suspense/thriller novel is available in all ebook formats.
In libris libertas!
