{"id":6178,"date":"2017-03-08T12:13:40","date_gmt":"2017-03-08T17:13:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6178"},"modified":"2017-03-13T08:06:35","modified_gmt":"2017-03-13T13:06:35","slug":"george-mason-university-mentioned-in-the-film-hidden-figures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6178","title":{"rendered":"George Mason University Mentioned in the Film Hidden Figures"},"content":{"rendered":"

When was the last time you heard George Mason University mentioned in a major motion picture? For this author, never. But in the\u00a02016 film Hidden Figures<\/em>, which was nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Picture, George Mason University found its way into the script during a memorable part of the film. \u00a0The reference to Mason was made by Janelle Monae in her portrayal of Mary Jackson, a NASA engineer and one of three African-American women who played key roles in the early development of the United States’ space program.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Janelle Monae as Mary Jackson in “Hidden Figures” Twentieth Century Fox Studios. Screenshot from video clip accessed at https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7aiWlZJ6Pfg on 8 Mar 2016.<\/p><\/div>\n

During the scene Mary Jackson is standing before a judge in a Hampton, Virginia courtroom to ask permission to attend night school classes in graduate-level math and physics sponsored by the University of Virginia and held in the then-whites-only Hampton High School. \u00a0When the judge informs her that segregation is the law in Virginia, and that an African American woman attending a white school is unheard of, Jackson pleads with him:<\/p>\n

“Your Honor, you of all people should understand the importance of being first…You were the first in your family to serve in the \u00a0armed forces. U.S. Navy. The first to attend university. \u00a0George Mason<\/strong>… Your Honor, of all the cases you will hear today, which one will matter in a hundred years? Which one will you make the first?”<\/p>\n

While the scene in the movie takes place sometime in 1961, as a later reference in the scene to Alan B. Shepard implies, we know that Mary Jackson actually attended the classes several years earlier and completed the program in 1958. A 1961 reference to George Mason University would have been a bit premature. \u00a0Mason was known as George Mason College (it became George Mason University in April of 1972), was a two-year community college, and had only been in operation for four years by 1961. So, it is highly unlikely that this jurist would have just finished his work at George Mason and became a high-ranking judge.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, it was gratifying to see that the writers of the film chose George Mason as the institution for the judge to have attended. This might spur some interesting reference inquiries in the future!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When was the last time you heard George Mason University mentioned in a major motion picture? For this author, never. But in the\u00a02016 film Hidden Figures, which was nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Picture, George Mason University found its way into the script during a memorable part of the film. \u00a0The reference to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,339],"tags":[445,211,444],"class_list":["post-6178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-scrc-interest","category-virginia-2","tag-film","tag-george-mason-university","tag-hidden-figures"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ep5i-1BE","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7793,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=7793","url_meta":{"origin":6178,"position":0},"title":"Apathy? The Class of \u201968 and Student Life at Mason","author":"Bob Vay","date":"July 31, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This is Part 3 of a four-part series of articles pertaining to the George Mason University Class of 1968. The text is borrowed from SCRC\u2019s exhibition \u201cFirst Class: Mason \u201968 and Beyond\u201d currently on display through August 2018 in the SCRC Gallery. As is sometimes part of the two-year commuter-college\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "George Mason University History"","block_context":{"text":"George Mason University History","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=529"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/jeckleandhyde.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/jeckleandhyde.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/jeckleandhyde.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/jeckleandhyde.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/jeckleandhyde.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/jeckleandhyde.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5144,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=5144","url_meta":{"origin":6178,"position":1},"title":"Mason’s Fairfax Campus turns 50!","author":"Bob Vay","date":"September 13, 2014","format":"image","excerpt":"George Mason University's Fairfax Campus turns fifty years old this Sunday.\u00a0 On September 14, 1964 George Mason College of the University of Virginia opened its doors to 356 freshman and sophomores.\u00a0 The faculty, which numbered fifteen,\u00a0comprised\u00a0seven full-time and eight part-time professors. The four original buildings were named North (now known\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fairfax History"","block_context":{"text":"Fairfax History","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=194"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/R0120B01F16.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/R0120B01F16.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/R0120B01F16.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8812,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=8812","url_meta":{"origin":6178,"position":2},"title":"Presidents Series: 1966 – 1973 – Lorin A. Thompson","author":"Amanda Menjivar","date":"September 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This post was written by Lana Mason, Processing Student Assistant. Lana has an Associate of Arts degree in Fine Arts from Piedmont Virginia Community College. She is currently studying Art History at George Mason University. Lana was the recipient of the University Libraries Student Assistant Scholarship for the 2018-19 academic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "George Mason University History"","block_context":{"text":"George Mason University History","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=529"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Draft001.jpg?fit=919%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Draft001.jpg?fit=919%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Draft001.jpg?fit=919%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Draft001.jpg?fit=919%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5936,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=5936","url_meta":{"origin":6178,"position":3},"title":"Before a Mason Team Made it to the Final Four, We Made it to the Final Two. And Won!","author":"Bob Vay","date":"November 2, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"While many college sports fans are familiar with the George Mason University Men's Basketball team's run to the Final Four in 2006, not as many know about the Mason Women's Soccer team's National Championship title of 21 years earlier. The author of this post recalls reading about this achievement in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "SCRC interest"","block_context":{"text":"SCRC interest","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=5"},"img":{"alt_text":"George Mason University Soccer team members (left to right) Sis Koskinen, Pam Baughman, and Meg Romaine lift the NCAA Division I National Championship trophy. Mason Magazine, George Mason University Archives, University Publications, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/07_1985_Womens_Soccer_Champions.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2855,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=2855","url_meta":{"origin":6178,"position":4},"title":"George Mason University\u2019s Earliest Video Footage, Part 1","author":"Bob Vay","date":"October 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This post is Part 1 of 2 parts. Part 2 can be read here. Bailey's Crossroads, George Mason's First Campus During the summer of 1957 University of Virginia President Colgate W. 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The first four\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fairfax History"","block_context":{"text":"Fairfax History","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=194"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/GMUAP_1_11_Fairfax_1965_sm1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6178"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6191,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6178\/revisions\/6191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}