Movie Review : Colour Purple

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The famous movie Colour Purple made by Steven Spielberg released in 1985 is a
great example of the African American society where black people were treated differently.
The society had a different type of mentality for the Black people. And also this movie shows
some heinous crimes against women at that time. If we see the content of this movie from the
perspective of sociology then we will be able to see a lot of stereotypes and over-sentimental
aspects of it (Spielberg). There are different aspects of society is discussed and showed in a
very livid manner. It has a lot of examples throughout the movie about abusive behavior
against women. Also, the movie showed the black culture and the domesticity problem in that
period. It made the issue of the crimes against women a stereotypical one and there are some
places in the whole movie that are quite overly sentimental in nature. They have also shown
that the major protagonist of this movie Celie did not have a proper education in her earlier
days and in this way they showed that black women were not quite a cultural reader at that
time. These sections of the movie created a lot of controversies and debates about the
particular image of the black people in America at that time. Another side of this drama
showed the clash between black males and females (Jubair). If we talk about different points
of arguments of this movie separately, those are as follows:
Abusive behavior against women

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The movie has shown a lot of scenes where the female protagonists of the movie are
abused. And in these places, the image of a woman in the black society in America is shown
in a very vivid way. At that time in American society, black people used to be treated as
slaves. They were abused and made to work even without their will. In this movie, Celie was
first abused by around father and then by her husband. And she didn't stand up for yourself
for a very long time in the movie which is an example of the position of women in the society
at that time. They were not allowed to fight back against any kind of crime against them and
that is why they did not dare to do that at that time. So this movie can give you an idea about
the abusive behavior against women America for a very long time. It could not be seen from
outside but from inside the problem was quite deep. So normal people cannot say this from
the outside behavior of those same people (Spielberg). But through this movie, it was shown
clearly about the exact situation of women in the households as well as in the society of black
culture in America. So we can say that it is a great example of abusive behavior against
women in America in the 80s.
Domesticity and Black Culture
This movie is an example of the black culture in America at that time and also the
domestic City culture there. In the movie, it is shown that Celie and Nettie both use to work
ok as the domestic help in spite of being an immediate relative of Mister. Celie was his wife
and Nettie was Celie's sister. Black people had been treated very badly at that time in
America and that is why the film brought the period drama of African American culture of
that time showed the exact condition of black people in America through the lives of Celie
and Nettie. They were used by rich people very badly at that time (Weaver). Because the
Americans could not read the black people well and prefer to keep them as their slaves in
spite of all the legal rules. This movie is criticized widely at that time because of the
reminiscent of those times and also the controversial black culture in America. The black

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people of Africa used to be the domestic help of the American people. Steven Spielberg
amalgamated the black culture and domestic problem with the behavior with the women at
that time very well in this movie to show the exact scenario of the world. So it is considered
to be a movie which can give you an idea about the women as well as the people in America
at that time precisely.
Power of Feminism
Steven Spielberg chose a book of a women American novelist Alice Walker named
the Colour Purple to make the movie of the same name. It was itself the symbol of feminism
in America at that time. The book won the National Book award in the hardcover fiction
genre and also the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1982. Also, the writer herself was a famous
social activist and that is why she was able to show the situation of the black feminist in
America at that time. In the movie as well as the book, Celie the main protagonist used to
tolerate all the tortures of all of her family members earlier but then by some external forces
she managed to stand up for herself against the people who used to do abuse her. This is a
great movement of feminism of color which is also known as the black feminist movement.
Celie fought back against Mister and also regained her pride and respect at last along with
other female characters and her sister Nettie (Jubair). In this movie, Steven Spielberg showed
the womanism in the best possible way. Alice Walker herself showed an act of great courage
to write a book like this to state the situation against the women in the society and also how
women are fighting back against all of their problems. So it is a great movie of all time
through which we can learn the truth about the black people especially black women in
America.
Bonding among the women characters

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In the movie, it is shown that all the women characters of the whole drama bonded
with each other quite well (Spielberg). At first, Celie and Nettie bonded well and stayed the
partners till the end. And later on, all the women were sympathetic to each other if their
respective situations. This is a great showcase of the empathy of women to each other in the
crisis time. So it is a great attempt by Steven Spielberg to include the relation between
different women in the movie to show that they were quite bonded in the tensed situation of
the country regarding the black people as well as women. So it has become a great piece of
work of all time to show the real feelings of women and friendship among them. Also, it
showed the power of bonding between two or more human beings at the time of fighting back
the situation (Weaver).

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Works Cited
Jubair, AhmedKaryosh. "Feministic Issues In Alice Walker's The Color
Purple". International Journal Of Advanced Research, vol 6, no. 4, 2018, pp. 938-
944. International Journal Of Advanced Research, doi:10.21474/ijar01/6931.
Spielberg, Steven. The Color Purple. Amblin Entertainment, 1985.
Weaver, Hilary. "Can Steven Spielberg Make The Color Purple A Hit Once Again?". Vanity
Fair, 2018, https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/11/steven-spielberg-produces-
the-color-purple-film-remake.