Kennedy, K., & Spielberg, S. (Producers), & Spielberg, S. (Director).
(1985). The color purple. [Film]. Hollywood: Amblin Entertainment.
>The Color Purple, based on the novel written by Alice Walker,
is a movie
>that follows the early to mid-life of a very poor Black girl, Celie,
>living in the deep south in the first one-third of the century. She
is
>forced to deal with myriad hardships, including losing her mother,
incest,
>marriage at age 15 (?) to an abusive man who doesn't love her, separation
>from her babies, and separation from her sister to whom she is very
close,
>and being at the mercy of the powers that be (in this case, Black
men and
>all Whites). Many characters are woven in and out of the plot, from
the
>women who come into her household because of their involvement with
her
>husband and step-son to a mean-spirited father-in-law. It is a story
of
>weird alliances, the need to be needed, and familial love. It's also
about
>Celie's development of self-esteem and eventual refusal to accept
her
>position of being at the bottom of the USA's human hierarchy.
In spite of
>the pain, frustrations and injustices shown throughout the movie,
it
>managed to be upbeat and hopeful. There were pans of the beautiful
land in
>the warm sun, humorous scenes, and great music throughout. It's a
>"feel-good" movie; it left me with the same drained but happy feeling
I
>got from "Forrest Gump" and "Driving Miss Daisy".
>I chose this movie because I saw it years ago, and the only thing
I
>remembered about it was my favorite scene, where Celie spits into
her
>father-in-law's glass of water, and she enjoys the satisfaction of
>watching him drink every drop. I could identify with her need to strike
>out at him, and being totally powerless, this was her only safe means
to
>do so. It made her feel better and he was never the wiser. This time
>around, though, I wanted to see if there were issues I had missed
before,
>or if I was able to make better sense of them.
>
>Questions:
>
>1. How did a Black man in the Deep South come to own a fairly fancy
house,
>which became more and more upscale throughout the movie? Eventually
it
>looked like a southern mansion, complete with white pillars, a huge
porch,
>sweeping lawns, etc. Was this an accurate portrayal of wealth available
to
>Black families in the early 1900's?
>
>2. If Nettie went to Africa as a missionary, why did the kids come
back
>with the values, speech, and mannerisms of African culture inculcated
in
>them instead of missionary beliefs?
>
>3. Why were the main male characters portrayed as abusive? Was this
for
>the sake of the story?
>
>4. Why did Sofie have to become Miss Nellie's maid, and why did she
spend
>eight years in prison before Miss Nellie "took her in"?
>
>5. Why did Celie want to take care of Shug (the other woman), especially
>when she had no inkling that Shug could be a potential ally?
>
Submitted by Kathy Newman.
Return
to Annotated Bibliography Page
Return
to Home Page