Fetishizing the exotic
This film could easily be described as an allegory which warns against the dehumanizing effects of fetishism. The scientists can use whatever language they like to absolve themselves of their guilt, but the truth is strikingly obvious here: they are sexually aroused by this woman. Instead of courting her or asking about her life or something, they fetishize her as a exotic object with immense value. At first she is honored by their esteem of her, but then she realizes that to them, she is just a fancy sexual pet. They are guilty of robbing her of human dignity.
Objectifying and scapegoating
This story can also be seen through the lens of the scapegoat motif. The one person stands as a representative for the totality of human suffering, and in this case the scapegoat is innocence, meaning she did not do anything to deserve the treatment by which she is martyred. In this case, that martyrdom is evidence of a European assumption about Africans that because they look different or have different skin that they are primitive and savage. This is obviously a short-sighted opinion, but it is the standard historically speaking.
The feminist allegory
It is worth mentioning that without respect to ethnicity, race, or nationality, this story can also be seen as an allegory about feminism, because if a viewer intentionally ignores the thematic content relating to African-European relations, they see a portrait of men placing a woman on a pedestal and then misusing her. That is a fairly apt description of misogyny which often elevates the "value" of women while robbing them of choice or humanity. That "value" is shown to be a mark of currency, not a reflection of their unfathomable worth as human beings. In the allegory, this "value" is the scientific progress they allege to be making.
The entertainment motif
Anytime a story features a white crowd fascinated by a black entertainer, there's a chance racial criticism is afoot. The criticism is about prejudice: The film shows that these Europeans are automatically programmed to fit black people into a mould to make them entertainers. Every person likes attention and praise, and it can be very difficult to tell if you are being appreciated or patronized until it is too late. This motif is completed when the men begin to sexually assault Black Venus proving their opinion about her as an object for their entertainment.
Prostitution and abuse as motif
This story features a decline into prostitution as a symbol for social disenfranchisement. Again, it is simultaneously self-defeating symbolism: prostitution suggests shame and participation, but more importantly, it proves that she and her Johns are the same species of animal. That is such ironic evidence against this community, because she is "not human" enough to have dignity or choice, in their opinion, but she is "human" enough to merit sexual attraction and at times, obsessive praise.
