I’m not sure why the criticism of this film was quite so harsh. This is of course a drama, not a documentary which I think may have been what the author would have preferred. That would probably have given a more unvarnished view of the the exceptional story of the achievements of these women.

Hollywood as you know has to sell feelings which make viewers connect with the characters and their individual plights. The supporting characters and antagonists are there to enhance that experience.

The antagonists in this story were much less overt in a similar way that the Old Man and the Sea with the protagonist overcoming nature as opposed to other men.

The white characters are not saviors and are themselves part of the nature that holds back our heroines. They are all composite character embodying the different views of people at the time. They are no more white heroes these women than obstacles. Kostner’s Stafford character is largely indifferent seeing only his mission as important. Parson’s character is threatens and insecure worried about his own rise in the agency. Dunst’s character is one of tradition and “propriety” and perhaps the most important obstacle to overcome because she is the closet racist who doesn’t know that she is.

These white characters are not the heroes and quite the opposite. In the end they are are the vanquished values of a bigoted uncaring society. However, they themselves are not portrayed as the shamed loser that most stories do but as reformed people in the wake of a just fight. The film may not go far enough in showing the outright racism of the day as even the tone-setting, country police officer in the beginning turned out to be more of a commie-hating pussycat than racist. This was done to lessen the impact on white viewers that it would otherwise have scared off.

Tensions in this country are again nearing a breaking point and the film’s appearance is “timely.” The film does a service to the memory of those women and serves to teach some important social lessons in a time of chaos where the shame of being a bigot has somehow been lifted.