Top Secret Rosies

Gr 9 Up—In 1942, a computer wasn't a machine—it was a person. In this stellar documentary, we meet several women computers—"Secret Rosies"—who worked on war-time mathematical calculations. Figuring out the trajectory of a bomb by turning the gears of a huge machine was all in a day's work. Young, fresh-faced, and patriotic, these recent college graduates were exhilarated by the opportunity to help their country. Some were also sobered by the later realization of collateral damage caused by miscalculations. Viewers will relate to the themes of coming-of-age and finding one's moral compass in a complicated world. The film is a rich tapestry of archival footage and interviews with former female computers, veterans, and history professors. Color and black-and-white images capture viewers' attention. The women tell their own stories, and voice-overs thread through the film unobtrusively. Snippets from letters and photo slideshows give us a flavor for the language and sensibility of the time. Technical and mathematical information is communicated in layman's terms. Several of the women profiled later worked on ENIAC, the first electronic computer. Although the women in this film were eventually replaced by machines, this excellent film shows that their contributions to the technology field were irreplaceable. Ideal for history or ethics classes, this film could also supplement math or computer science research about the transformation from human to electronic computing.—Jess deCourcy Hinds, Bard High School Early College Queens, Long Island City, NY