Hidden Figures (2016)
Film details
Drama · History · Theodore Melfi · 2h 7min
Synopsis
The untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson – brilliant African-American women working at NASA and serving as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history – the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big.
Verdict
Inspiring story of merit, perseverance, and human dignity at NASA in the sixties.
In-depth analysis
'Hidden Figures' operates on the moral and anthropological plane, celebrating human flourishing through the exercise of cardinal virtues such as prudence, fortitude, and justice. The narrative enhances the intrinsic dignity of the person, anchored in natural law, by showing three African-American women whose intelligence and responsibility overcome racial and gender discrimination at NASA in 1961-1962. There is no ideological smuggling: the central conflict is technical-scientific (space race) intertwined with struggles for civil rights, presented as a defense of common sense and equality before merit, without deconstructing human anthropology or redefining family or sexuality. The family emerges as a root of filiation and support, with mothers and spouses who embody legitimate authority and self-giving. Absent of relativism, the work affirms responsible free will: the protagonists choose everyday heroism, rejecting victimhood. Visually, it evokes Chestertonian wonder at the cosmic and human order, with touches of grace in the collective redemption of prejudices through truth and sacrifice. Mild tensions (verbal discrimination, work stress) calibrate with PG, without crudeness. Ideal for fostering joyful realism in children: the talent given by God flourishes in responsibility, remembering that the true revolution is to defend the obvious—equality in human excellence—with transcendent hope. (198 words)