Get the Girl to Do It: The Important Message of 'Hidden Figures'

The film Hidden Figures, about three African-American women who worked at NASA, has an important message for all viewers, writes blogger Bronwyn Lea in an article for Christianity Today.

The film tells the remarkable story of three brilliant women who were an integral part of helping space travel succeed, and yet who went mostly unrecognized at the time.

Lea notes that though the film will likely be inspiring to women, and especially women of color, perhaps those who have not been marginalized like these groups are the ones who truly need to see it.

Even President Obama commented on the importance of the film:

“It’s not just important for the girls in this [screening] room to see it, but people all over the world to be reminded of how we got here as a country. We got here on the backs of those hidden figures and we can never forget.”

Ray Rodriguez, professor of cellular and molecular biology at University of California–Davis and executive committee member for the Center for the Advancement of Multicultural Perspectives on Science, agrees:

“Society’s problems are serious, interconnected, and complex,” he says. “We cannot solve the world’s problems using less than half the brain power on the planet.”

Lea notes that the film’s portrayal of teamwork and how integral the women’s contributions were to NASA’s efforts is a good picture of how men and women are called to work together. Our culture is in need of more of these “portraits of partnership,” she says, to remind us that “male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).

Photo courtesy: foxmovies.com/hidden-figures

Publication date: January 5, 2017