Directed by Cristina Constantini, Sally tells the story of the first American woman to surpass the stratospheric ceiling and fly into space. It was a great achievement not only for Sally Ride, but for all women who were not given equal status, treated as second-class citizens in their own country, and considered weak and incompetent compared to their male counterparts. The documentary focuses on the challenges Sally faced along the way and the price she paid to pursue her dreams, and also delves into the relationship she shared with the love of her life, Tam O'Shaughnessy.
It made national news when Sally Ride joined NASA's astronaut group 8, composed of 35 members, six of whom were women. There was a sense of excitement among people, as they found it quite amusing that women were working alongside men. Some were unsure if women were up to the challenge, and some went so far as to comment that they were not biologically fit to be astronauts. When the conversation should have been about what women like Sally brought to the table and how they could contribute to upcoming missions, people were more concerned about their work attire and whether their male colleagues would struggle to concentrate due to distractions. But Sally and her colleagues ignored all the chatter and tried to focus on their purpose.
Director: Cristina Costantini
Writers: Cristina Costantini, Tom Maroney
Stars: Mike Wallace, Lindsey Lamer, Sally Ride
After a year of training, Sally served as the capsule communicator, also known as CapCom, and assisted in the development of the space shuttle's robotic arm. Sally was extremely competitive and had an unspoken rivalry with her colleague, Judith Resnik. I believe they both wanted to be the first American woman in space. Both were equally skilled and willing to put in the work to earn the approval of their superiors. But fate would have it that Sally Ride was selected for the STS-7 mission and became the first American woman to fly on the space shuttle Challenger in 1983. Sally had always been a very private person, and while she didn't mind talking about her professional life, she felt very uncomfortable when asked about her private life. Women already faced discrimination in the workplace, and the media didn't make their lives easy.
Misogynistic remarks were thrown at them daily as if it were the most casual thing to do. You wouldn't expect that kind of behavior from such erudite men, who were the brightest minds in the country. I think their narrow-mindedness stemmed from a lack of imagination regarding what a woman was capable of. Also, I think, to some extent, they would have felt threatened by coexisting with their female counterparts. Men at that time were used to women taking a backseat.
They simply weren't ready to accept that they didn't have to play supporting roles and could take control of their own destiny. Sally had been told in advance that after her mission, she would be hounded by the media and that she should be mentally prepared for it. But Sally withdrew into herself because, no matter how hard she tried, she didn't feel comfortable interacting with the media. Furthermore, she didn't feel obligated to answer all the stupid questions they asked her. During press conferences, she tried to remain calm and subtly ignore questions unrelated to the mission or her work at NASA, but the reporters always got on her nerves.
In 1987, Sally decided to leave NASA because, according to the documentary, she no longer had faith in the leadership after the disaster that killed Judith Resnick. Ride joined the Rogers Commission, set up to investigate the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. It was discovered that the leaders were aware of the technical problems but still decided to go ahead with the mission, and it was their negligence that led to the deaths of some people. I don't know if that was the only reason behind Sally's decision to leave NASA or if she simply wanted some quiet time away from the spotlight.
Sally married astronaut Steve Hawley, but it was only for show, as she never truly loved him. Steve and Sally lived more like roommates than partners. Sally loved Tam, but knew society wouldn't accept their relationship, and she wasn't one to openly rebel against established norms. Steve was very aware of Tam's presence in Sally's life, as Sally was a brash person. She didn't speak about it explicitly, but made it very clear with her actions what she really wanted. Tam, in the documentary, noted that Sally wasn't very open with her parents and that they were very formal when discussing personal matters.
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