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Excerpt from the film with the scientists from the Hidden Figures movie

Hidden Figures

Written by Lola Brouart on 10/17/2025
(reading time: 2 minutes)

The film "Hidden Figures" is an inspiring cinematic work that highlights the often unknown contributions of three exceptional African-American women at NASA: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson.

These brilliant mathematicians, nicknamed the "human computers," played a capital role in the successes of the first American space missions, notably John Glenn's orbital flight, at a time when racial segregation and gender discrimination were commonplace.

Their fight for recognition of their skills and work echoes that of Margaret Hamilton. Although their areas of expertise were different (mathematical calculations for some, software engineering for the other), they all evolved in an environment where barriers related to their gender and, for the "Hidden Figures," their ethnic origin, were omnipresent. They had to demonstrate remarkable perseverance and intelligence to overcome these obstacles and prove their worth.

Scene from the film showing the three scientists

Hidden Figures, 2016

This film reminds us that the space conquest is not only the story of heroic astronauts, but also that of many women who, in the shadows, made fundamental scientific and technical contributions.

→ The book the film is adapted from!

Trailer

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