The Six Triple Eightis about some of the unsung heroes of WWII, and shows how a battalion of Black women sorted and sent over 17 million pieces of valuable mail to soldiers and their loved ones.The Six Triple Eightis based on a true storyand focuses on the women working together to achieve this seemingly impossible result while contending with both racism and sexism. The movie is one of the fewwar dramas with strong female leads, and although it received mixed reviews from critics, it was considerably better received by its audience.
The Six Triple Eightfeatures a standout performance by Kerry Washington as Major Charity Adams and cameos by Oprah Winfrey and Susan Sarandon, who plays Eleanor Roosevelt. While the story is a dramatized version of the real historical events,The Six Triple Eight’s focus on Black womenhas drawn praise for highlighting the achievements of previously overlooked people in WWII.For viewers wanting to watch a similar movie toThe Six Triple Eight,some excellent movies focus on real unsung heroes, powerful teams of women, and people fighting prejudice to become outstanding in their fields.
The Imitation Game
Cast
The Imitation Game stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing, the real-life British mathematician and computer scientist who was instrumental in decoding the German spy code machine Enigma during WWII. The film focuses on Turing’s work during the war and his personal life during that time, as well as the tragic story of his life after the war and his death in 1954. Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Charles Dance, and Mark Strong also star.
The Imitation Gamefeatures an all-star cast including Keira Knightley, Charles Dance, and Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the computer pioneer Alan Turing. LikeThe Six Triple Eight,The Imitation Gameis set in the UK during WWIIand is about a team of people on an important mission, with Turing and his team racing to decode messages sent by the Nazis.
BothThe Six Triple EightandThe Imitation Gameaim to give previously overlooked historical figures the recognition that they should have received at the time of their accomplishments.
The Imitation Gamehasa 90% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, and Alan Turing is often considered one ofBenedict Cumberbatch’s best characters. BothThe Six Triple EightandThe Imitation Gameaim to give previously overlooked historical figures the recognition that they should have received at the time of their accomplishments.
Alan Turing was gay, which was criminalized in the UK, and he was both targeted and blackmailed for his sexuality, eventually being jailed. Turing was pardoned by Queen Elizabeth II in 2013 andThe Imitation Gameaimed to give him the honor that homophobia had prevented him from receiving in his lifetime.
Shirley
Shirley is a biographical drama film written and directed by John Ridley and was created for Netflix. The film explores the life and career of political icon Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to reach Congress successfully and continue to aim higher - as high as running for the office of the President of the United States.
Shirleyisthe biopic of the first Black congresswoman in the US, and was a passion project for Regina King (Watchmen), who plays Shirley Chisholm and produced the movie.The cast ofShirleyincludes Lance Reddick, Terrence Howard, and Reina King (Regina’s sister) playing Shirley’s sister Muriel.Shirleydid not cover all of Shirley Chisholm’s history, but King received praise for her portrayal of her warmth and mannerisms, as well as for mastering her accent.
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War movies endure because of their timeless themes and messages, and some of the best of the past decade have taken unique approaches to the genre.
LikeThe Six Triple Eight,Shirleyis about the accomplishments of Black women in American history. While Shirley Chisholm andThe Six Triple Eight’s Major Charity Adams are very different people at first glance, they had several traits in common. Both women were skilled at finding the strengths in the people who worked with them, both were able to command the attention of a room, and both even had a dance scene.
Made in Dagenham
Made in Dagenham, directed by Nigel Cole, depicts the real-life 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham plant where female workers protested against gender pay inequality. Featuring Sally Hawkins as protagonist Rita O’Grady, the film highlights the impact of their action on the broader women’s rights movement in the UK, shedding light on labor and social justice issues in an industrial setting.
WhileMade in DagenhamandThe Six Triple Eightare about completely different groups of women, they experience some of the same frustrations and struggles in being underestimated.Made in Dagenhamis based on the true story of the machinists in a Ford car factory, who went on strike while fighting for equal pay.
Made in Dagenhamis a great movie to watch afterThe Six Triple Eight, as it takes the same themes to a very different location. The women inMade in Dagenhamrepeatedly have their work described as “unskilled labor,” despite proving that they are able to achieve results that the company leaders cannot.
Similarly, higher-ranking officials are dismissive of the 6888th battalion for working in the postal service rather than the front lines.Both movies share some tragic moments but have a triumphant ending, andMade in Dagenhamis one ofthe best period piece movies of all time.
A League Of Their Own
A League of Their Own is a comedy sports drama directed by Penny Marshall that was released in 1992. As professional Major League Baseball’s player count dwindles following World War II, the Chicago Cubs owner helps build a women’s league to save the sport. Now, hoping to make it big, the women of the new team must face off against fellow rival all-female teams and prejudice against their gender.
A League of Their Ownis based on a true story but much more loosely thanThe Six Triple Eight. For viewers wanting to watch another movie that heavily features female camaraderie in the face of sexism, it is a good film to watch next.A League of Their Ownisa sports comedy-drama with some unexpectedly hard-hitting scenes, and the story is also influenced by WWII.
When the war threatens to shut down baseball, a women’s team is formed, which includes prospective players from different walks of life, just as the 6888th battalion does inThe Six Triple Eight.A League of Their Ownis historically accuratein that many of the women were recruited from farms, and they were ridiculed just for being female.
The movie features similar personal conflictsand shifting relationships as the main characters have inThe Six Triple Eight, but it has one failing.A League of Their Owndoes not highlight that Black players were excluded from playing in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. That said, this shortcoming is addressed in theA League of Their Ownshow, which is rated 95% positive on Rotten Tomatoes.
Queen of Katwe
An uplifting biographical drama that follows the incredible journey of Phiona Mutesi, a young girl from the slums of Katwe, Uganda. When Phiona discovers her extraordinary talent for chess through a local missionary and coach, Robert Katende, her life takes an unexpected turn. Despite the immense challenges posed by poverty and societal norms, Phiona’s dedication and natural skill propel her to national and international chess tournaments.
There are relatively few movies about chess, and people may be more familiar with Anya Taylor-Joy’s series,The Queen’s Gambit, butQueen of Katwecame out four years earlier. The movie is based on the real-life story of the Ugandan chess player, Phiona Mutesi. WhileQueen of KatweandThe Six Triple Eighthave very different settings, both are about young Black women using extraordinary problem-solving skills to achieve success in their fields.
Queen of Katweis a greatcoming-of-age movie about a Black woman, andit shares a theme of perseverance withThe Six Triple Eight, while also highlighting the sexism its characters face. The movie stars Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo, with Madina Nalwanga playing Phiona. The role won Nalwanga multiple awards, and in a University of Oxford study, Ugandan students who watchedQueen of Katwebefore their exams achieved higher results.
Erin Brockovich
Erin Brockovich is a biographical drama directed by Steven Soderbergh, featuring Julia Roberts as an unemployed single mother who becomes a legal assistant. She uncovers a water contamination case against Pacific Gas & Electric Company, leading to a landmark legal victory. The film highlights her persistence and the significant impact on public health and corporate accountability.
Erin Brockovichis the story of an intelligent and problem-solving woman who was underestimatedfor her social status and used this to her advantage when taking down the movie’s antagonist. Erin initiated a legal case over a huge company that was poisoning the groundwater of a small town, leading to life-changing medical trauma for its inhabitants.
The time period and prejudices that Erin contended with are different from those inThe Six Triple Eight, butboth stories are about women who make a difference while facing hostility. Both movies convey the feeling of hopelessness facing a much larger power when the odds are stacked against you.
Tyler Perry’s Trending New Netflix WWII Movie Is A Great Reminder To Watch Oscar-Nominated $236M Cold War Biopic From 8 Years Ago
The Six Triple Eight is trending on Netflix to mixed and polarizing reviews, and there is a great war movie to watch next with similar themes.
Erin is constantly patronized for her lack of formal education while fighting a billionaire company, while Major Adams inThe Six Triple Eighthas to petition her racist superiors to get any kind of help. There are some fantastic one-liners andquotes inErin BrockovichandThe Six Triple Eight, and both movies have their share of joyful scenes as well as frustration.
Hidden Figures
Based on the lives of Katherine Goble Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, Hidden Figures tells the untold stories of the three African-American mathematicians and their work at NASA during the Space Race of the 1960s. Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe star as Johnson, Vaughan, and Jackson respectively, with a further cast that includes Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, and Mahershala Ali.
The critically acclaimed, and Academy Award-nominatedHidden Figuresstars Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, and Taraji P. Henson asthree talented Black mathematicians working at NASA. LikeThe Six Triple Eight, the movie centers on the real-life unsung heroes of one of the most world-changing events in human history.
Hidden Figureshighlights the three main women for their intelligence and skill, while the other characters do not, which leads to some powerful scenes and quotes. One ofJanelle Monáe’s most important movie rolesis that of the engineer Mary Jackson inHidden Figures, as she explained toClose-Up With The Hollywood Reporter.
BothThe Six Triple EightandHidden Figurescelebrate the achievements of Black women from different backgrounds…
Monáe said, “…we’re not monolithic. You know, we can do the math that gets men into orbit and into space.“BothThe Six Triple EightandHidden Figurescelebrate the achievements of Black womenfrom different backgrounds, while drawing attention to the prejudices that prevented their work from being acknowledged much earlier.
Billy Elliot
The coming-of-age drama Billy Elliot follows the journey of a young boy who discovers a passion for ballet amidst the coal miner’s strike of the 1980s. Directed by Stephen Daldry and featuring Jamie Bell as the titular Billy, the film explores themes of class, gender, and self-discovery, all set against the backdrop of a working-class community in turmoil.
Billy Elliotis a fantastic period movie and while it is fictional and may not resembleThe Six Triple Eightin terms of theme, the tone is extremely similar.Billy Elliot is a young boy with an innate talent for dancing, which attracts bigotry in his town, which is in turmoil and poverty due to the UK miners' strike. Billy’s father uses what little money he has to send him to boxing classes, but Billy secretly attends ballet.
As Billy begins to attract attention for his skill, the prejudice and homophobia that surround him threaten to tear his family (and Billy) apart. LikeThe Six Triple Eight, the bigotry the characters experience interferes with their morale and ability to work. Both movies feature powerful scenes in whichthe characters stand up to the people oppressing them, and both haveemotional final scenesin which the characters triumph.
The Land Girls
Three young women with very different lives join the women’s army during the WWII and are sent to work together on a farm in Dorset, where the experience changes their lives forever.
The Land Girls, likeThe Six Triple Eight, is abouta team of very different women who work toward a common goal in WWII. The movie’s story and characters are fictional, but the events are based on the real-life women who were called upon to assist farmers during the war.
These women were nicknamed the “Land Girls” and while they were not soldiers like the 6888th battalion, they learned to work together similarly.The Land Girls, likeThe Six Triple Eight, features personality clashes and growing friendships between the women, set against a background of the uncertainty that came with WWII.
The women have to contend with the preconceived ideas that farming is a “man’s job” while being the only people around to do it, knowing that they are unlikely to be thanked by the men.The Land Girlshasa 61% positive critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoesand stars Rachel Weisz, Anna Friel, and Catherine McCormack.
The Woman King
The Woman King is a historical epic set in the 1800s, following General Nanisca as she leads the Agojie, an all-female warrior unit, to defend the African Kingdom of Dahomey. The film explores their rigorous training and preparation for combat against a formidable adversary intent on obliterating their society.
Most historical biopics take some liberties with the story and characters to turn a complex and extensive account into a movie. This is true ofThe Six Triple EightandThe Woman King, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. Both movies tell female-ledhistorical stories that have been overlookedfor a long time.
The Woman Kingstars Viola Davis as General Nanisca, who leads the all-female warrior unit, the Agojie, who protect the kingdom of Dahomey.The Woman Kinghas a 99% positive audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and reviews have praised the cinematography and attention to cultural details.
10 Best Movies Starring The Cast Of The Six Triple Eight
The Six Triple Eight’s cast features Kerry Washington, Ebony Obsidian, Oprah Winfrey, and Susan Sarandon, all of whom have been in exceptional movies.
BothThe Woman KingandThe Six Triple Eightfeature standout performances from their main actors, andThe Woman Kinghas been described as especially empowering. For a movie that has a very different style and setting, but a similar sense of strength with a compelling lead,The Woman Kingis a movie to watch afterThe Six Triple Eight.
The Six Triple Eight
The Six Triple Eight is a World War II drama about the US Army’s all-Black, all-women battalion tasked with sorting a massive backlog of 17 million undelivered letters to American soldiers. They must complete the mission within six months, showcasing their resilience and crucial contributions during the war.
