The Six Triple Eight Honors Women of Color

Netflix Original The Six Triple Eight is inspired by the first and only Women’s Army Corps unit of color to serve overseas in WWII. Given an extraordinary mission and united in their determination, these unsung heroes delivered hope and shattered barriers. The film is based on the article by Kevin M. Hymel, WWII History Magazine by Sovereign Media—titled “Fighting A Two-Front War.”

The film, written and directed by Tyler Perry, stars Kerry Washington as Major Charity Adams, the commanding officer of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. The Six Triple Eight also features an ensemble cast including Ebony Obsidian, Milauna Jackson, Kylie Jefferson, Shanice Shantay, Sarah Jeffery, Pepi Sonuga, Moriah Brown, Jeanté Godlock, Susan Sarandon, with Dean Norris, Sam Waterston, and Oprah Winfrey.

Obsidian leads the cast as Lena Derriecott, a Black Christian woman who joins the Army to serve her country after losing her white Jewish boyfriend, David Abrams (Gregg Sulkin), to the war. Lena’s best hope is to finally get some closure by finding any information on how David died in battle. In joining the Army, Lena befriends multiple other Black women and women of color—all headed to join the 6888th Battalion.

Six Triple Eight’s Ensemble Carries the Movie

The ensemble cast heavily carries The Six Triple Eight on their backs. Arguably, Washington’s Major Charity brings all of this movie’s emotional impact. It’s a bit strange at first that it sounds like she’s giving a speech every time she’s speaking to the whole battalion. However, when she does deliver a big speech, it hits hard. The introduction of her character begins with a speech. It’s very cheesy, but it would’ve been a cool moment when she meets Lena and the new recruits to say a stereotypical line like, “Oh, and welcome to The Six Triple Eight.”

While the overall enemies of the Americans in this film were the Nazis, the antagonist of The Six Triple Eight is none other than Dean Norris (Breaking Bad). Norris plays General Halt, the American general in charge of overseeing Major Charity. His accent for playing General Halt is quite a choice. Most of Norris’ roles, he typically uses a normal speaking voice so it was jarring to hear his voice like this. It is even more grating and infuriating to hear him talk about how “white women can get the job done properly.” His voice is an overbearingly, testosterone-filled voice of ignorance. Though it sounds like he is speaking an octave too high for his stature, his oppressive talk still bleeds through effectively.

Just as much as Washington plays the noble and stoic character, Norris stands out as one of the scummiest villains. General Halt throws out racial slurs, schemes to set up failure for the 6888th Battalion, and flat-out disrespects Major Charity whenever he can. It quickly becomes more enraging when other white men in power do the same thing. Or worse, they’re bystanders and do nothing. However, it’s funny to see the look on his face when he’s ultimately and obviously proven wrong.

A Film That Stands For Something

At the core of The Six Triple Eight, the message is clear. The film is paying homage to the U.S. Women’s Army Corps, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. It told the raw truth of the adversity they had to overcome both as women and women of color. The rhetoric of what these women stood for transcends time to current-day industries and fields where many women of color are marginalized. This film is an important piece of media; it’s informative of the female war efforts from people of color in WWII and an inspiration to continue fighting for equality.

It’s rare to see Oprah Winfrey in an acting role, but she tends to play pivotal roles. In The Six Triple Eight, she plays the major role of American educator and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune. Bethune worked to get the support of the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, for “a role for black women in the war overseas.” Although Winfrey appears only in one scene in the film, she delivers a captivating speech that could convince anyone to join her efforts.

Aside from the cast driving this film, the set design and costume department deserve major credits. From the training camp in Georgia to the base of operations in Glasgow, Scotland, the sets looked and felt historically accurate. At certain moments, the sets seemed a little too clean. However, the plot explains how the women were taught to maintain decorum and properly dress whenever they were on duty.

The original song “The Journey” was made for this film, written by Diane Warren and performed by Oscar, Emmy, and Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter-instrumentalist H.E.R. The film’s final montage powerfully uses this song to show the impact the 6888th Battalion left throughout the years. The voiceover for this final fact-filled ending featured the voice and video of the real Lena Derriecott at 100 years old. It’s amazing to see her and her battalion finally getting recognition after watching decades of racism and resistance from various white people in power and men in general.

Tyler Perry’s Power

Tyler Perry presents a long overdue story with a poignant tale. While the bright filter in most of the daytime scenes was off-putting to the glum moments, the pacing of The Six Triple Eight was its strongest point. The CGI/VFX work is fairly good—about as good as most higher-end TV shows.

Regardless, The Six Triple Eight is a tearjerker with a lot of heart. It confidently shows the resilience of women of color who should have received praise for their commendable work a long time ago. Like the film, the cast and crew worked with limited resources and told a meaningful story. The set and costume design were made to look great during WWII. Despite lacking technicality, the dialogue and storytelling made up for it.

The Six Triple Eight is streaming now on Netflix.