Plot Summary

Hidden Figures is based in the 60s when women and coloured people were given the `treatment’ in
America. More so in places like Virginia where this film is based. Yet three incredible women African-
American women Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji P Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary
Jackson (Janelle Monae), who were brilliant served as the brains at NASA and saw the launch of one of
the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement
that restored the nation's confidence. They crossed gender and race lines to inspire generations to
dream big.

Following the successful Russian satellite launch there was pressure on America to send one of their own
in space. Katherine's supervisor Vivian Mitchell(Kirsten Dunst) assigns her to assist Al Harrison(Kevin
Costner) space task group, Katherine becomes the first African American team member to assist in a key
group and even work in the building that doesn’t even have a bathroom for coloured people. Initially
dismissive and demeaning, especially head engineer Paul Stafford (Jim {Parsons) who is indifferent to her
and she has to face challenges like even having to drink coffee from a separate pot. Meanwhile,
Dorothy's request to be officially promoted to supervisor is rejected by Vivian. Mary identifies a flaw in
the experimental space capsule's heat shields, encouraging her to more assertively pursue an
engineering degree.

At a barbecue, Katherine meets US Army Officer Jim Johnson (Mahershala Ali) but they do not start on
the right note because he is skeptical about a woman's mathematical abilities. Later he wins and her
children from a previous marriage over and they marry. Even her mother is happy with this union.

Harrison invites his subordinates to solve a complex mathematical equation, and Katherine steps
forward, leaving everyone around impressed. The Mercury 7 astronauts visit Langley and astronaut John
Glenn is very cordial to the West Area Computers employees.

Once Harrison finds Katherine missing from her desk during a crucial time and is shocked when she tells
him that it takes her nearly half an hour to walk over to the next building to ``relieve herself.’’ Harrison
personally breaks down the board outside the bathroom and allows everyone to use the same
bathroom. He also includes Katherine in key meetings. Mary goes to court and convinces the judge to
grant her permission to attend night classes in an all-white school to obtain her engineering degree.

Dorothy learns of the impending installation of an IBM electronic computer that could replace her co-
workers. She visits the computer room and successfully starts the machine. Later, she visits a public
library, where the librarian scolds her for visiting the whites-only section, to borrow a book about
FORTRAN. She learns FORTRAN so that she and her other colleagues at West Area do not become
redundant. While congratulating Dorothy on her work, Vivian assures her that she never treated her
differently due to the color of her skin; Dorothy is unconvinced, but is happy when she is made
supervisor.
As the final arrangements for Glenn’s launch, Katherine is informed she is no longer needed at STG and is
being reassigned back to West Area Computers.

Spoiler alert ahead: only read if you have watched the film.

Prior to the launch discrepancies arise in the IBM 7090 calculations for the capsule's landing coordinates
and Glenn requests that Katherine be called in to check the calculations. Katherine quickly does so and
hurriedly delivers the results to the control room. The door is shut in her face after she hands over the
paper but Harrison brings her into the control room so they can relay the results to Glenn together.

After a successful launch, the space capsule has a warning light indicating a heat shield problem; mission
control decides to land it after three orbits instead of seven. Katherine understands the situation and
suggests that they should leave the retro-rocket attached to heat shield for reentry. Her instructions
prove correct and Friendship 7 successfully lands in the ocean.

Following the mission, the mathematicians are laid off and ultimately replaced by electronic computers.
Katherine is reassigned to the Analysis and Computation Division, Dorothy continues to supervise the
Programming Department, and Mary obtains her engineering degree.

As the United States raced against Russia to put a man in space, NASA found untapped talent in a group
of African-American female mathematicians that served as the brains behind one of the greatest
operations in U.S. history. Based on the unbelievably true life stories of three of these women, known as
"human computers", we follow these women as they quickly rose the ranks of NASA alongside many of
history's greatest minds specifically tasked with calculating the momentous launch of astronaut John
Glenn into orbit, and guaranteeing his safe return. Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine
Gobels Johnson crossed all gender, race, and professional lines while their brilliance and desire to dream
big, beyond anything ever accomplished before by the human race, firmly cemented them in U.S. history
as true American heroes.

—20th Century Fox