To take this film as a representation of only one historical occurrence would be to drastically miss the point of the story. The real thrust of this story is the way that European opinions about Africans shaped human history in real life. That is why the subject matter is historical. The historicity allows viewers to see the real consequence of hateful prejudice in action. Instead of treating Venus as a human, they intentionally mislead her (with language, so they know she is intelligent), and then subject her to humiliation and sexual abuse by the masses.
Perhaps the most salient aspect of the film is the way that death is not the end for Baartman. The mistreatment is codified and remembered by the real-life cast that the scientists made of her. Their hateful descriptions of her appearance are evidence of their bigoted stance. They were committed to a blind theory about her being some sort of Neanderthal or something when in reality she was human enough to understand them, communicate her desires and concerns, reason and argue with them, complain about her mistreatment, and even weep.
After she is dead, the scientists use formaldehyde to permanently remember her appearance. This serves as a dual symbol: It signifies their genuine interest and attraction in her appearance, evidence of the same human-to-human attraction that was the venue for their abuse; and it signifies a kind of defensiveness about her nature. Instead of allowing her a peaceful burial, they treat her body like scientific specimen and dissect her, studying her, and making a mockery of science with their biased opinions of her nature.
