![]() ![]() In addition, the film was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress for Octavia Spencer. The inspiring depiction of the three women has resonated with audiences and critics across the US it beat Star Wars: Rogue One on its opening weekend. Portrait of Dorothy Vaughan Nasa/courtesy Vaughan family The numbers don’t reflect the capabilities.” The same applies with African-American people and a number of minority groups. “We’re nowhere near 50 per cent representation of women in Nasa and I suspect that even brain power isn’t evenly distributed in the level we have. “We see it as a way to get our message out to people that we’re an organisation that wants people with talent – no matter what you look like.”ĭespite efforts to ensure the diverse make up of Nasa is equal to that of the US population, the organisation still struggles to hire enough women and people of colour. Showing the positive work of the women and how they changed Nasa was one of the reasons the agency supported the film. As my mum would have said, she still has all her marbles – she’s still really sharp.” At this year's Oscars, Johnson received a standing ovation when she was escorted to the stage by Nasa astronaut Yvonne Cagle. Barry met Johnson, who is now 98 years old, at a premiere for the film in Hampton. Johnson Computational Research Facility was formally dedicated to her at Langley. In 2015, Johnson was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama, and last year a Katherine G. She went on to work in aeronautics research, on the Apollo 11 and Apollo 13 missions. Katherine Johnson, played by Taraji P Henson, continued working as a Nasa analyst until the early 1980s. “By 1961-62, when the movie happened, most of the physical trappings of segregation would have gone from Langley.” As Nasa was part of the US federal government, it had been working towards de-segregation – quietly, so as not to attract the attention of the Virginia state government. Though African-Americans had to use separate bathrooms and dining rooms when working at Nasa in the first half of the 20th Century, segregation at Langley had mostly been eliminated by the late 1950s. “The movie takes a lot of things that happened in the 1950s and moved them into that time period to tell the story effectively.” “It’s a great moment in the film, but they took a little dramatic license with it,” said Barry. Unfortunately, it’s not an entirely true representation of the organisation at the time. It’s symbolic as an example of the racial barriers being smashed for black people at Nasa. There is a poignant scene in which the character Al Harrison, Johnson’s supervisor played by Kevin Costner, breaks down the “colored bathroom” sign. Throughout Hidden Figures we see these barriers of racial discrimination outside Langley being broken down as the women strive to be more than just computers. She went on to work in aeronautics research, on the Apollo 11 and Apollo 13 missions Nasa Katherine Johnson continued working as a Nasa analyst until the early 1980s. ![]()
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