Katherine Johnson Hidden Figures

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Throughout film history, many top charted movies are surrounded by mathematical equations and themes. For instance, Hidden Figures is based upon a true story of a female mathematician breaking the glass ceiling in NASA. Katherine Johnson, played by Taraji P. Henson, tells the story of the Space Race during the Cold War and the United States fight to be first in space. What is so interesting about the character and the story is that Katherine Johnson is a black woman in the midst of the civil rights battle in America. This film creates discussions about the international fight for black women across the globe. Even though the movie has a powerful message, there is an underlying message about the equality of math throughout the movie. From the ancient method used to prove the numbers to the message of equality and hope, Hidden Figures is a film that will never be forgotten to any mathematician. …show more content…

From the philosophers from Greece, many concepts in math have not changed over the centuries following. How the writers and directors used this unique subject in the movie Hidden Figures is a symbol for hope and equality for the characters and real life subjects involved in the historical event. The space race was, arguably, one of the greatest achievements of man, and when lives were at stake, there was no room for any discrimination when Katherine Johnson was “objectively better with those numbers than anyone else [that was] around” (Garber, 2017). In the pivotal scene where Johnson was allowed in a military briefing, mathematics trumped all prejudice over her gender and color of her skin. This goes to prove that math in the workplace and the world holds no judgements based upon your

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