Color Purple, The

Story

Set in the first half of the 20th century, this is the story of Celie (Fantasia Barrino), a young, unmarried woman about to give birth to her second child. She lives with her abusive father, Alfonso (Deon Cole), and her sister, Nettie (Halle Bailey). Celie’s baby is immediately taken away from her and put up for adoption. Celie is bereft and finds solace in Nettie, the only person in the world who loves her. Nettie is clever and attractive and draws the attention of Mister (Colman Domingo), who asks Alfonso for his permission to marry Nettie. Alfonso refuses and gives him Celie instead.

Celie moves from one abusive relationship to another, where she’s expected to raise Mister’s children, cook, clean and have sex with him. Celie is also separated from Nettie, who goes to Africa as a nanny. Nettie writes frequently to Celie, but Celie never gets the letters because Mister keeps them a secret.

Celie is influenced by Sofia (Danielle Brooks), who marries Mister’s oldest son Harpo (Corey Hawkins). Sofia is defiant, strong and brave at a time when women had no rights. Celie is also greatly affected by Shug Avery (Taraji P. Hanson), Mister’s glamourous lover. Shug, a well-known singer, takes a liking to Celie and they become lovers. Shug teaches Celie a lot about sexuality and self-confidence.

Celie and Shug leave Mister and go to Memphis to live, although Shug has married musician Grady (Jon Batiste) by this time. Life finally takes a better turn for Celie, who goes on to have a rewarding and fulfilled life.

Themes

Incest; women’s rights; abuse and neglect; forced adoption; racism; redemption and forgiveness

Violence

The Color Purple has some violence. For example:

Alfonso is abusive and intimidating. He constantly yells at Celie and makes her work hard.
Mister repeatedly beats Celie, knocking her down. Their sexual relationship is non-consensual.
Sofia and Harpo have a fight, and Harpo is seen with a swollen eye.
Squeak, Harpo’s new wife, hits Sofia, who hits her back and a fight breaks out.
There’s a war scene in Africa. Soldiers have rifles and there’s shooting. Nettie and the family she works must go to a refugee camp.
A bar room brawl breaks out, and characters punch each other.
Sofia is rude to a white woman who wants Sofia to work for her. The woman’s husband hits Sofia for speaking to his wife like that. Sofia hits back. Several men then gang up on Sofia, who is knocked unconscious.
Mister is drunk and disorderly when he comes into Harpo’s Juke Joint. He knocks things over and makes a nuisance of himself. Harpo has to remove him.
Celie nearly cuts Mister’s throat but is prevented at the last moment.
Celie threatens Mister with a large knife.

Sexual references

The Color Purple has some sexual references. For example:

Celie’s father, Alfonso, is the father of her babies.
Nettie tells Celie that Alfonso tried to touch her so she had to leave home. She moves in with Celie and Mister, who also tries to take advantage of her, but she fights him off.
Sofia sings about having to fight men off all her life. She says they ‘climb on top and start to rock’.
Mister and Shug dance very closely in a sexualised way.
Mister’s father says that girls just have to spread their legs.
Shug sings about how to treat a man. She also dances provocatively. Couples on the dance floor simulate sex.
Sofia flirts with Harpo, although they’re both remarried.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

The Color Purple shows some use of substances. For example:

Mister drinks regularly and is often drunk.
Shug drinks out of a flask and collapses drunk in Mister’s arms.
People drink in pubs, at home and in other places.

Nudity and sexual activity

The Color Purple has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:

Mister forces himself onto Celie in a disturbing sex scene.
Shug is seen in a bubble bath, but nothing is shown.
Mister removes Shug’s dress and smacks her bottom.
Shug and Celie dance closely, kiss and end up in bed together (nothing explicit). Shug is wearing a negligee.

Product placement

There’s no product placement in The Color Purple.

Coarse language

The Color Purple has some coarse language.

Ideas to discuss with your children

The Color Purple is a musical drama, adapted from the stage show and based on the classic Pulitzer prize-winning novel by Alice Walker. The dance and music scenes are spectacular, and the cast is excellent.

The Color Purple covers some deep subjects, like the lack of women’s rights in the early 20th century and the abuse and neglect suffered by Black women in the Untied States. Therefore, it isn’t suitable for under children aged under 13 years. It’s better suited to older teenagers and adults.

The main messages from The Color Purple are to stand up for yourself, have confidence in yourself and not be brought down by others.

Values in The Color Purple that you could reinforce with your children include strong women, sisterhood, empathy, forgiveness, redemption, resilience and perseverance.

The Color Purple could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like gender equality and women’s rights. Life was inequitable and hard for women in the early 20th century. Women’s rights have been achieved because of women’s hard work and perseverance. But these rights shouldn’t be taken for granted and we must continue working for equality.