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The Space Race

Play trailer Poster for The Space Race 2023 1h 31m Documentary Biography History Play Trailer Watchlist
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88% Tomatometer 16 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
THE SPACE RACE weaves together the stories of Black astronauts seeking to break the bonds of social injustice to reach for the stars, including Guion Bluford, Ed Dwight and Charles Bolden, among many others. In THE SPACE RACE, directors Diego Hurtado de Mendoza and Lisa Cortés profile the pioneering Black pilots, scientists and engineers who joined NASA to serve their country in space, even as their country failed to achieve equality for them back on Earth. From 1963, when the assassination of JFK thwarted Captain Ed Dwight's quest to reach the moon, to 2020, when the echoes of the civil unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd reached the International Space Station, the story of African Americans at NASA is a tale of world events colliding with the aspirations of uncommon men. The bright dreams of Afrofuturism become reality in THE SPACE RACE, turning science fiction into science fact and forever redefining what "the right stuff" looks like, giving us new heroes to celebrate and a fresh history to explore.
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The Space Race

Critics Reviews

View All (16) Critics Reviews
Devika Girish New York Times For the most part, “The Space Race” doesn’t quite interrogate these tokenizing narratives, leaving the central question unaddressed: Can the glorified achievements of a few result in change for the many? Feb 14, 2024 Full Review Tim Cogshell FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles) This is just a fantastic doc that I thoroughly enjoyed. Feb 13, 2024 Full Review Brian Lowry CNN.com From the title to the execution, this National Geographic presentation has the right stuff. Feb 12, 2024 Full Review Erik Childress Movie Madness Podcast Even as a student who has been fascinated with and absorbed the space program since seeing The Right Stuff as a kid, this was an eye-opening lens into the whitewashed history that has only recently come into focus. Rated: 3.5/4 Feb 19, 2024 Full Review Sabrina McFarland Common Sense Media Documentarians Diego Hurtado de Mendoza and Lisa Cortés offer an informative film journey about Black aerospace history. Feb 14, 2024 Full Review Vikram Murthi The Daily Beast While the film broadly achieves its aim of correcting a biased historical record by allowing primary historical actors to control their respective narratives, it falters structurally and tonally by adopting too broad a scope of inquiry. Feb 12, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (3) audience reviews
Dakota M Thoughful retelling of a story I didn't know. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/15/24 Full Review Angelo R An enjoyable documentary. Learned a lot about a story easily looked over. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/17/24 Full Review Tom M A really interesting, unknown story, well told. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/14/24 Full Review Read all reviews
The Space Race

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Movie Info

Synopsis THE SPACE RACE weaves together the stories of Black astronauts seeking to break the bonds of social injustice to reach for the stars, including Guion Bluford, Ed Dwight and Charles Bolden, among many others. In THE SPACE RACE, directors Diego Hurtado de Mendoza and Lisa Cortés profile the pioneering Black pilots, scientists and engineers who joined NASA to serve their country in space, even as their country failed to achieve equality for them back on Earth. From 1963, when the assassination of JFK thwarted Captain Ed Dwight's quest to reach the moon, to 2020, when the echoes of the civil unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd reached the International Space Station, the story of African Americans at NASA is a tale of world events colliding with the aspirations of uncommon men. The bright dreams of Afrofuturism become reality in THE SPACE RACE, turning science fiction into science fact and forever redefining what "the right stuff" looks like, giving us new heroes to celebrate and a fresh history to explore.
Director
Lisa Cortes, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza
Producer
Keero Singh Birla, Alex Bowen, Lisa Cortes, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, Aly Parker, Mark Monroe
Screenwriter
Mark Monroe
Production Co
The Kennedy/Marshall Company, Diamond Docs, National Geographic, National Geographic Documentary Films
Genre
Documentary, Biography, History
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 13, 2024
Runtime
1h 31m
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