Review: ‘The Six Triple Eight’ makes strides, but misses mark

Yana Mcguire 

Staff Writer 

Typically, I do not watch anything Tyler Perry writes or directs. His movies tend to perpetuate stereotypes about African Americans which many of us fight against every day. However, when I heard about Perry’s Netflix movie that tells the untold story of an all-black all-female unit of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) who served overseas during World War II, my curiosity won, and I made the exception. Was it a mistake? Yes–for the most part.

“The Six Triple Eight” is an American war drama film inspired by the true story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, led by the first African American woman to become an officer in WAC, Major Charity Adams (Kerry Washington). The story follows Lena Derriecott (Ebony Obsidian), who enlisted in WAC after losing the love of her life in combat, hoping to ease her grief. Derriecott joined 855 women in the seemingly impossible mission to help boost frontline soldier morale by organizing a three-year backlog of undelivered mail in six months. Despite the sexism and racism they faced, they were able to complete the mission within three months. 

The Good

In an interview with Black Entertainment Television, Washington stated that stepping in Major Adams’ shoes was a privilege and a responsibility. These sentiments really shined through in her performance. Washington embodied the strict disciplinary yet tender nature I observed in authoritative Black female figures in my life from that generation. 

Her scenes nicely sum up the adversity Black women face, how we feel about it, and the proper way to handle it. 

The accuracy of most key moments in the movie was on point and powerful. For instance, the final showdown between Major Adams and General Halt (Dean Norris) ate down! In an effort to belittle Major Adam in front of her troops, the General began yelling in her face, proclaiming he was going to send a white Major to show her how to do her job. Her response was “Over my dead body!”–a wild statement to say in the days of lynching. 

According to the National WWII Museum, this is an actual quote from Major Adams, though General Halt was fictional. The event happened with a visiting General who Major Adams declined to name in her memoirs. Adding this to the movie highlights her strength and determination. 

The movie also displayed how religion (all forms) has been used to demonize African Americans. This was a nice touch because that fact is often omitted in the mainstream media. 

The Bad

Character development and storyline progression were horrible. There is no regard for the true sense of whom these women were behind their adversity. When tear-jerking moments happened, I was left feeling indifferent because I had no connection to the character. 

The plot focuses on the “fight on all fronts” so much that it forgot to humanize the characters. Having that human connection would have helped people who have not experienced racism connect to the movie more.

The Ugly

With all the historically accurate aspects of the movie, it is a shame that the only character development displayed was built on falsehood and stereotypes. 

The real relationship between the main character Derriecott and a Jewish boy named Abram David (Gregg Sulkin) was not romantic. They were good friends, according to Warfare History Network 

However, Derriecott was a member of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s National Youth Administration, working at the local hospital and aspiring to be a nurse at the time of his death. The loss of her friend further inspired her to enlist, but she was already interested in joining WAC. Why diminish that with an unnecessary love story that brought nothing to the storyline? 

In typical Perry fashion, the stereotypes were in full force. When will Perry understand that you do not have to tear Black men down to uplift Black women? Or that dark-skinned, curvy Black women are not all loud and rambunctious. A movie with this level of importance should have no room for this foolishness. 

Overall, bringing the story of these brave women to light in time for some surviving members to be able to see it is a win for the culture. It made me and hopefully others seek out the truth. The truth deepened my appreciation for the generation that crawled, so my generation could walk. 

For that reason, I give “The Six Triple Eight” three out of five stars.

Editor’s Note: The breakout box was updated to provide accurate movie information.

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