“Forgotten Hollywood”- 21st Century 50 Fav Films (#40, #39)…
Manny P. here…
“`Let me continue the countdown of my person favorite cinema of the initial twenty years of the 21st Century. The previous ten picks had an abundance of well-known personalities that were profiled, including Don Shirley, Tonya Harding, Maria Altman, Ben Bradlee, Molly Bloom, Katharine Graham as well as icons of the Lost Generation, such as Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Let me provide absorbing tales about modern luminaries in the next two offerings.
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~ #40 – HIDDEN FIGURES (2016)
“`African American female mathematicians and computers who worked in the 1960s at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during the Space Race are the subjects in this feel-good film. Katharine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson broke glass ceilings, yet this fascinating story was seldom referenced until this flick was released. Among the tasks achieved: A calculation of flight trajectories for Project Mercury and future missions; IBM feeds to accelerate calculations; and various engineering projects to provide safer spacecrafts.
“`Hidden Figures received three Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe express a firm commitment in providing cinematic content that places persons of color in appropriately accurate situations. Co-star Mahershala Ali also appeared in Green Book (#41).
“`After Hidden Figures was released, charities, institutions and independent businesses who regard the film as relevant in improving youth awareness in education and jobs in technology, science, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, organized free screenings to spread the film’s message. Plus, the Walt Disney Company partnered with the Department of State on the Hidden No More exchange program, which was inspired by the film and brings fifty women from across the globe who have excelled in spacecraft engineering, data solutions, and STEM-related education to network and provide fellowship for their colleagues.
~ #39 – TRUTH (2015)
“`Based on American television news producer Mary Mapes’s memoir, Truth and Duty: The Press, the President and the Privilege of Power, the movie is based on the story of CBS’s 60 Minutes report that George W. Bush had received preferential treatment to keep him out of the Vietnam War. The Killian documents controversy took place during the Bush / John Kerry presidential contest and resulting last days of Dan Rather and Mapes at CBS News. The film was in development since 2007.
“`Robert Redford, Cate Blanchett, Stacy Keach, and Dennis Quaid provides fine performances as the story breaks down what goes into a 60 Minutes news segment. The screenplay further examines the politicization of the reaction to stories by pundits with opposing viewpoints.
“`Truth never caught on with the public. Plus, CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves did not approve of the film, the network refusing to allow ads promoting its release. However, Rather praised the motion picture, saying:
There’s so much right in the film… I think it’s the best thing that’s ever been up on the big screen about how television news really works, the reporting side of it.
“`A Mary Mapes assessment sums up the sad legacy of this production: Truth gets lost in the scrum. My advice to you… It is time for some scrum searching to find this gem of a movie.
Until next time> “never forget”
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