Tag: NASA

Movies, Streaming

‘The Space Race’ Featurette Spotlights the Bright Dreams of Afrofuturism and Space

Michael Lee

While some may recognize the Space Race defined the competition between two Cold War rivals — America and the former Soviet Union, National Geographic Documentary Films’ The Space Race, from co-directors Lisa Cortés and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, weaves together the stories of Black astronauts seeking to break the bonds of social injustice to reach for the stars. Now a new featurette takes a look at one of those early Black astronauts who eventually paved the way for the future for those like him.

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Animation, Movies

Pixar’s Approach to Making ‘Lightyear’ a Sci-Fi Epic

Michael Lee

Pixar may be known for its originals, but the animation studio has also produced a few sequels and prequels for its unforgettable films. While the Toy Story films may have given us a glimpse at Woody’s history, Lightyear serves as the definitive origins story for the brave space ranger that we all know and love. But rather than follow the character as a toy, the spinoff is presented to us as one of Andy’s favorite Sci-Fi films. As such, director Angus MacLane assembled a group of talented artists to achieve that cinematic look and feel that one gets when watching a Sci-Fi movie like Star Wars and Aliens.

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Animation, Movies

Pixar’s NASA Research Trip Helped Influence the Look and Feel of ‘Lightyear’

Michael Lee

In 1995, Disney•Pixar would release the first of four Toy Story films, not to mention countless other shorts and TV specials, making them the premier animation studio. And throughout these films, we’ve seen Woody and Buzz in all sorts of adventures. Though we’ve seen glimpses of “Woody’s Roundup,” the show that inspired the cowboy doll Andy played with, Buzz’s story remained untold. That is until Pixar decided to make Lightyear, an all-new Sci-Fi epic adventure that would be the movie Andy watched in 1995.

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Movies, Sci Fi, Streaming

Celebrate Earth Day and Netflix’s ‘Stowaway’ with Daniel Dae Kim and NASA Astronaut Leroy Chiao

Laura Sirikul

It’s Earth Day! It’s also the premiere of The Nerds of Color’s favorite Daniel Dae Kim’s space drama Stowaway on Netflix. 

To celebrate this event, the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE) brought together NASA astronaut and research engineer, Leroy Chiao, and Kim for an exclusive Actor Astronaut vs NASA Astronaut interview. 

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Movies7 Comments

What’s Hiding Behind the Feel-Good Curtain of Hidden Figures: One Black Feminist’s Take

Shannon Gibney

In a scene in Hidden Figures that is all too familiar for Black women viewers, or really anyone from a historically marginalized group, Taraji P. Henson’s character Katherine Johnson rushes to enter the NASA control room where she has just handed off crucial calculations for astronaut John Glenn’s safe return from orbit, and has the door summarily slammed in her face. The camera lingers on Henson’s profile, as she grapples yet again with the devastating knowledge that although she may be a useful “computer” for spitting out numbers that may make missions successful and even save lives, she is still not seen as fully human in the eyes of her peers and superiors. Indeed, in Henson’s capable hands, viewers ourselves experience the physical and emotional pain of being barred from entering the halls of power for absurd reasons beyond one’s control — in this case, race and gender.

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