I went and saw Hidden Figures this afternoon. I was looking forward to seeing a good movie, but I actually saw a great one.

The story was compelling, based on fact, and emotional. Despite knowing about segregation, and the lack of equality between black and white, and between male and female, seeing it depicted drove home exactly how awful it was and still is in some places.

The theatre was filled with gasps of outrage at times, along with chuckles, and full blown laughter. There was a smattering of applause when the movie finished, and I found myself tearing up a little.

You see, it was only the early sixties when this was all unfolding. I was born in the mid sixties, so a lot of the story happened in my lifetime, even if it was my very early childhood.

I think that was the tipping point for me. This story was still playing out when I was born. There was still segregation in the US. Australia had not given the vote to its indigenous people. Racism was still rife, and so was sexism.

The women in the movie were astounding mathematicians, engineers, and pioneering computer scientists. It was a story of triumph – they achieved enormously, and it’s a tragedy that they were not recognised earlier. I suppose it highlighted how far we’ve come in the last sixty years, and how far we still have to go. I’m still thinking about it, and I’ll probably go and see it again.