Essay On The Color Purple

The Color Purple is based on the novel of the same name written by Alice Walker. The story begins in the 1920’s and spans a period of 30 years in the life of Celie Harris. Celie, played by Whoopi Goldberg, is a poor, 14-year-old black girl living in rural Georgia and is the protagonist and narrator of the story. Celie’s meek personality and unfortunate circumstances while growing up have caused her to been mistreated by men from the time she reached puberty. She was twice impregnated by her father, but both babies were immediately taken from her arms and given away. Along the way, Celie’s mother passed away and Celie was left to look after her younger sister and best friend, Nettie. Celie is married off to a widowed man, Albert, played by Danny

The story is multi-layered, exploring the interrelationships of a group of people and their influence on one another's lives, for better or for worse. The viewer becomes attached to each of the characters, most importantly Celie, who struggles to empower herself, overcoming the abusive life she has faced. The Color Purple is a story of perseverance, love, rectification, strength and humanity. That being said, there are portions of the film that I considered farfetched and confusing. For example, the likelihood of Nettie ending up in Africa with the couple that acquired Celie’s newborns is ridiculous. I also questioned why these children, as young adults, appeared to struggle to speak English even though they grew up with English speaking parents. Regardless of these improbabilities, they do not deflect from the beauty of the

Celie is often shot at a downward angle when being tormented by Mister, emphasizing his power over her. Spielberg mixes long shots of dazzling fields of flowers and creekside churches with close-ups of important specifics. One such scene takes place on Mister’s front porch as he order Celie to shave him. Everything seems to slow down for a long moment as Celie scrapes the razor blade slowly across Mister’s stubbled neck. Flies are heard buzzing, a swing creaking and Celie’s eyes large and contemplative eyes take up the screen: will she cut his throat? Another close-up example occurs when Sophia is slapped by the mayor after she was disrespectful to his wife. The audience already knows of Sophia’s temper and refusal to surrender to intimidation because of her past fights with her husband Harpo and later Harpo’s girlfriend, Squeak. As Sophia’s body is forced to turn due to being slapped in the face, the camera settles on just her hand lying on the hood of the car. Her fingernails scrape slowly across the metal as she balls her hand into a fist. We know as viewers what is going to happen and that it will have major consequences.

The Color Purple is an example of how an amazing piece of work can be created when a collection of talented professionals come together. The movie is not perfect and many people complained it did not follow the novel closely enough. Set aside the idea