movie reflection

Student’s Name

Professor’s Name

Course Title

Institution

Date

The Color Purple

Background of The Movie

The Color Purple is a movie released in 1985 directed and written by Steven Spielberg and Menno Meyjes. The period movie is based on Alice Walkers award winning novel The Color purple. The main character of the movie is Celie Harrison-Johnson a role played by Whoopi Goldberg. It also features other prominent actors such as Oprah Winfrey, Dany Glover, Margaret Avery and Desreta Jackson (Dong-mei, 2004). The film is about a young African American girl named Celie. Throughout the film, the problems facing African American women are highlighted from racism, sexism, domestic violence, poverty, pedophilia and incest. Celie is at the center of all this as she is a victim of rape and domestic violence from a very young age. She suffers physical, psychological, emotional and sexual abuse. Despite this, Celie is completely transformed when she finally finds her self-worth through the help of Shug Avery who she looks up to as not only a refuge but as a mentor (Lewis, 2001).

Celie as depicted in the movie is a Southern black woman who is sold into a life of servitude to a brutal husband Albert. She suffers multiple rape and violent abuse in the hands of this man. Celie identifies only one mean through which to pour her heart out and that is to write letter to her sister Nettie. In doing so, she has the hope that Nettie is alive, and she would share her pain once she reads the letter (Lewis, 2001). Albert her husband, has been hiding the letter Nettie writes back and since Celie is getting no reply from her sister she assumes that she is probably dead. Celie finds a champion in Sofia, Glovers son’s wife albeit from a previous marriage. Celie finds courage when she befriends her husband mistress, and this helps her go through his stuff where she finds Nettie’s letters. Most importantly, Celie if finally, able to stand up to her husband and makes the decision to leave him to seek a new life on her own.

Celie together with Shug set for Memphis where they start a new life. Finding Nettie’s letters gives her a new perspective with which to view the world. Details in the letter from Nettie, include the revelation that Pa is not her biological father. Besides, she now learns that Nettie traveled to Africa where she abides with Reverend Samuel, a missionary, and his family. Not only that, the Reverend had also taken in Celie’s two children from her step father Pa several years back and now after being in Africa for missionary duty, they all plan to return to America including Nettie (Lewis, 2001). Celie also finds out that the house in which Pa had lived in actually belonged to them since the passing on of their mother.

Celie is now a home owner, and she anxiously prepares the home awaiting Nettie’s arrival. In her independence as woman, Celie keeps Shug as a very close friend. However, Shug is not consistent and faithful in their romantic relationship. On the other hand, Mr. Albert becomes a new man after Celie abandons him. He is now reformed and very much decent of a man. Celie’s romantic interest in him is gone at this time but even then, they do enjoy each other’s company (Bobo, 2004). Nettie returns from Africa with her husband Samuel and Celie’s two children and their reunion is as blissful as it can get. Despite their old age, the two women seems to have just begun their lives. A life in freedom.

Character of The Main Character

A young Southern girl, Celie is undergoing a lot of negativity in her life. She is constantly subjected to abuse, rape, domestic violence and even being told that she is ugly. She decides to survive and her options ae only limited to being silent and invisible as she endures the pain she has to put up with. She writes letters to God often as the only avenue to express herself and let out the pain she holds from within herself (Dong-mei, 2004). Celie finds God as some figure in the distant who might not be caring about her concerns. Her stepfather, Alphonso, rapes her multiple times and because she is helpless, she does nothing much to fight back. She goes through a lot of emotional, physical and psychological torture as she has to go through this kind of abuse from her stepfather.

Celie gets married to Mr. Albert and the marriage is no good either. She comes face to face with rape and abuse from this man and because she’s helpless still, her reaction is passive as she did with her stepfather. Celie displays great endurance albeit the fact that these experiences significantly affect her perception of sexuality and intimacy. She is very reserved on intimate matters besides not being able to enjoy intercourse. Celie however, clings onto Shug who appears an empowered woman (Lewis, 2001). Shug is beautiful, and Celie can find I her a role model. During the period Shug moves into Celie and Mr. Albert, Celie learns how to fight back from Shug. Shug has a unique maternal prodding that proves to be quite pivotal in helping Celie in her development.

Day by day Celie recovers herself, her sexuality, her voice, her spirituality and her history. Shug even describes Celie as a virgin because in throughout her life, Celie has never enjoyed a satisfying sex life. This is Shug’s demonstration to Celie of the great renewing and empowering impact storytelling could have on an individual’s life (Dong-mei, 2004).Celie is now opened to new perspectives on matters religion as a result giving her the power to believe in a new version of God that is nonpatriarchal and nontraditional.

Besides, when Celie finally finds Nettie’s hidden letter, her sense of self is fortified courtesy of the information on her personal background history as well as the wellbeing of her children and what became of them. Celie gains the ability to make sense of her own feeling and thoughts even synthesizing them into her voice that is fully hers. Finding her voice helps her stand for herself when she confronts her abusive husband Mr. Albert. She strongly curses him for the years she abased and abused her (Lewis, 2001). As expected, Mr. Albert is insulting in his response but to his surprise his put-downs have no sting on Celie any more. Celie has discovered her self-worth something she did not possess previously.

The ability to self-actualize has transformed Celie into a happy woman who is not only successful but also independent. She excels in sewing, an act traditionally considered as a chore for women confined to some domestic role. Celie turns her sewing act into an outlet for creative self-exploration as well as making it a successful business. Despite years of being voiceless, Celie is finally getting satisfaction out of her life. She not only has a fulfilling life, but she is also self-sufficient. In her own words, Celie declares that though they have endured many years of suffering, let no one think they are old, as a matter of fact, then was the youngest they ever felt (Dong-mei, 2004).

Writing Techniques in Used in The Movie

Imagery symbolism and allegory: purple is used as a symbol of all the great things that God has created in this world that many would wish to enjoy (Dong-mei, 2004). Celie clearly has no purple as the story begins. The end of the story would mean Celie starting to have some purple. Besides, the pants are a strong symbol for breaking from the bondage of gender stereotypes as well as economic freedom for Celie (Dong-mei, 2004). Being a preserve for men only, when Celie decides to wear pants and even start a successful business of making pants, Celie is considered free now. She is a fully unrepressed woman.

Writing style: The novel is composed of brief chapters which are written as letters to God. Celie’s thoughts are represented in vernacular with poor spelling and grammar. This help to emphasize the point that Celie is uneducated. Celie’s letters are also very shallow on the topics they address as time goes especially after her reconnection with Nettie, the letters get longer. This shows she’s gotten happier would express her joy through writing more (Dong-mei, 2004).

Reference

Bobo, J. (2004). The color purple. The Black Studies Reader, 177.

Dong-mei, W. A. N. G. (2004). Decoding of the Symbols in The Color Purple from the Feminist Theoretical Perspective [J]. Journal of The Second Northwest Institute For Ethnic Minorities, 1, 021.

Lewis, C. E. (2001). Sewing, Quilting, Knitting: Handicraft and Freedom in The Color Purple and A Women’s Story. The Color Purple: New Edition, 161-74.