Film Lesson-" The Right Stuff"

Beginning of the Space Race
-The film "The Right Stuff" was about the competition between the United States and the Russians during the Cold War. One of the conflicts that took place during this war was the space race.The Russians had developed a space program and were working to be the first ones in outer space. The space race began after the Russians launched the first satellite called Sputnik on October 4,1957. The United States became furious and sought ways to defeat the Russians. The first way was the U.S created the program called NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) which focused on exploring outer space.

"The Right Stuff"
- The opening of the film is the United States trying to break the sound barrier. After several unsuccessful attempts, the U.S had finally broke the sound barrier defeating the Russians. Some news reporters were present the day the sound barrier was broken but they were told not to print it out for fear that the Russians would take another step forward. The U.S had selected seven pilots to be the first men to on outer space, however the Americans were still uneasy of sending them and decided to send a monkey first. The Russians took the chance and sent the first man to space on April 12, 1961. The United States became a laughingstock for sending a monkey instead of a man. The space race ended when the U.S sent the first man on the moon on July 20, 1969.

- The scenes that will remind me of the Cold War was the rivalry between the U.S and the Russians. In parts of the movie, a meeting would take place between the President and the spies who had taken footage of the Russians space program. Another would be the tests that the pilots had to go through. The space program was very selective and wanted only the healthiest, and the most intelligent pilots who could handle being in outer space. The pilot who had broken the sound barrier was not offered the chance because he had not gone to college but he was better than the rest of the pilots who had been chosen to compete. When the seven pilots were selected it took many months for the United States to successfully launch a rocket. They spent millions of dollars on trying to fix the rockets and it stalled the United States' chance to beat the Russians.