Hidden Characters: Real vs. Adaptation

Daphney 2021-11-26 08:01:25

This is a typical inspirational-themed genre film. The film tells the story of three female African-American protagonists who, due to gender and skin color, still existed in segregated America in the middle of the last century, relying on trustworthy knowledge and morality to overcome The story of prejudice gaining respect and happiness and advancing the cause of human rights. We were moved by the protagonists’ perseverance, so maybe many people, like me, are also curious about which plots in this work come from real events, and which ones come from artistic processing and re-creation, so I read some HollywoodvsHistory. The introduction of this film on com in this regard, I hope it can help people with the same needs.

Note: The following content contains spoilers.

Q. Is the director of NASA's Langley Research Center played by Kevin Costner real?

A: No! The prototype of the director of the center actually came from the three male directors of the heroine Katherine Johnson during the work of the research center. According to the news of "USA Today", the director Theodore Melfi failed to obtain the authorization of the real character he wanted to interpret, so Decided to design him as a figure that brings together the deeds of three executives.

Q. In order for the heroine Katherine to go to school, does her father really drive 120 miles a year to move the whole family to school?

A: Yes! Katherine Johnson, who was born in 1918, has shown a different level of intelligence since she was a child. She is very fascinated by numbers and has already entered high school at the age of 10. In her hometown of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, USA, for those black families who can afford tuition, their children can only go to the eighth grade at most (this should be the 8-4 school system in the United States, which is elementary school). 8 years in school, 4 years in middle school). So in order to prevent the children's talents from being wasted, Katherine's father Joshua drove his family 120 miles to the Institute in West Virginia, where African Americans were allowed to attend high school education and enter university. Joshua rented a house near the school, and he ran between the school and his hometown for 8 years, so that all of his four children completed high school and eventually went to college. Katherine's genius is obvious to all. She skipped several grades and graduated from high school at the age of 14, and received a bachelor's degree from West Virginia State University at the age of 18.

Q: At the Langley Research Center in the 1940s, did black American women really need to follow the apartheid law?

A: Yes! Beginning in 1943, the Langley Research Center began to have African-American women working, and their workplaces and bathrooms were isolated from whites, and even the location of the buffet was also isolated. On the cafeteria’s table, there is a sign that says "'colored computers". This English name looks more like the name of an iMac or some other fashionable computer, but at the time this term Refers specifically to black women who are in charge of mathematical calculations at the research center.

Q: When Katherine first came to the workplace, did her colleagues really think she was a cleaner in the office?

A: No! This plot did not appear in the original film (title Hidden Figures, author Margot Lee Shetterly), so it should be original by the filmmakers. Since the original work was only published in September 2016, much later than the production time of the film, the film was only adapted from a 55-page outline of the original work, which also explains why it is quite different from the original work. .

Q: Does the role of engineer played by Jim Parsons really exist?

A: No! Paul Stafford played by Xie Er is a made-up character that represents a class of people with racism and sexism in the United States in the 1950s.

Q: Is the role played by Kirsten Dunst real?

A: No! This difficult female supervisor is believed to represent a group of people who did not realize that their words and deeds were prejudiced and discriminatory. It is said that this image is quite representative and is considered to be a true reflection of the work in Langley. The attitude of some department heads in the center.

Q: Is Dorothy Vaughan played by Octavia Spencer really the first black department director in NASA history?

A: Yes! According to the real situation, Dorothy Vaughan became the first black department director in NASA history in 1948, five years before Katherine Johnson came to NASA. She is also an active advocate for human rights. There is a scene in the movie where Dorothy takes her African-American colleagues to a new work place in a line, which is considered to be a tribute to the 1983 movie "Space Heroes."

Q: Is Katherine really told that women cannot participate in the briefing of the space project like in the movie?

A: Yes! According to Katherine's own answer, she asked to participate in these meetings, but was told that although there is no law that stipulates this, women can't participate under normal circumstances. But just like in the movie, Katherine got the opportunity to participate in the meeting after getting the consent of the boss. Katherine recalled that her leader said at the time: "Let her go".

Q: Does Katherine need to go to the toilet through the compound of NASA's Langley Research Center like in the movie?

A: Not entirely true! According to the content of the original book, this kind of thing happened more to Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) who wanted to become a female engineer. Mary Jackson joined a project at NASA's Langley Research Center. She worked with a group of white female computer engineers in the Eastern District. Mary, who was new to the city, was not familiar with the environment, so she asked her colleague where the bathroom was, but the colleague not only didn't help her but even laughed at her. The closest toilet was exclusively for white people. Feeling humiliated and angry in this way, Mary went to find the bathroom of people of color. Unlike in the movie, there is a segregated bathroom in the eastern district where she works, but not all buildings in the eastern district have it, so although she travels through the entire compound Going to the bathroom is a bit exaggerated, but basically it is still a very troublesome thing for her to solve physical problems.

As for Katherine's own situation, when she first came to Langley Research Center to work, she did not even realize that the toilets here were segregated. The reason was that there were no signs in the toilets for white people, and there was no sign nearby. Katherine has worked there for a few years before discovering the quarantine regulations, but she still continues to use the white-only toilet, and no one has troubled her anymore.

Q: Is Mary Jackson really the first African-American female engineer in NASA history?

A: Yes! Mary Jackson, played by Janelle Monáe, was hired by Langley in 1951. As shown in the movie, she was encouraged by the aeronautical research engineer Kazimierz Czarnecki (renamed Karl Zielinski in the movie) to apply to the Hampton Court Court Taking graduate courses together, she eventually won the lawsuit and was promoted to engineer in 1958.

Q: Will NASA female mathematicians meet astronauts like John Glenn like in the movie?

A: Yes! According to Katherine Johnson’s own memories, they were indeed arranged to meet with the astronauts, but the astronauts are not necessarily as excited as them. Katherine said: “We are watching them with awe.”

Q: Did Katherine really participate in John Glenn's orbit calculation? In the movie, John Glenn asks Katherine to double check the computer’s calculation results are true?

A: Answer the first question first, it is true! Katherine Johnson himself recalled: "When John Glenn might become the first American astronaut to enter Earth orbit, they hoped that he could land in a certain area when he returned. That's what I did. I calculated They got his orbit. So since then, as long as there is orbit calculation work, they have gotten to me, and I almost completed these tasks by hand.

The answer to the second question is also true! The NASA plan at the time was to launch the Mercury-Atlas 6 into space in February 1962, and performing this mission made astronaut John Glenn the first person in American history to orbit the ground. In this part of the movie, it can be said that the truth is quite restored, and even Glenn's lines are no different from the real situation. According to NASA records, the original words at the time were "Get the girl to check the numbers... If she says the numbers are good... I'm ready to go."

John Glenn performed the Mercury mission on 2/20 of 1962. He named his spacecraft Friendship VII and successfully orbited the earth 3 times, which took 5 hours.
John Glenn died on December 8, 2016, at the age of 95 before the film was released.

Q: What is the biggest difference between film and reality?

A: Regarding this issue, the original author Margot Shetterly said: "When watching a movie, you may think that the work is done by the main characters, but in reality we all know that the work is done by the division of labor in different departments. To complete these tasks requires Too many people work hard together, but I also understand that you cannot focus on 300 characters in the movie."

Q: Is the heroine Katherine Johnson satisfied with the film?

A: According to the Daily Press interview, Katherine herself has seen the movie and liked it very much. She said: "(The movie) is very good and very real."

78/100

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Extended Reading

Hidden Figures quotes

  • Dorothy Vaughan: Separate and equal are two different things. Just 'cause it's the way, doesn't make it right, understand?

  • Dorothy Vaughan: If you act right - you are right. That's for certain.