By Faith Gonia and Ethan Li
“I’m poor, I’m black, I might even be ugly,” passionately shouts the young woman, driving away from her husband, “but dear God, I’m here. I’m here.” After years of surviving domestic abuse, protagonist Celie of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple escapes, finding her voice in a world that silences women. Motivated to find her sister and inspired by the powerful women around her, Celie defies the odds in a heart wrenching journey of self-discovery and human connection. Paying homage to Walker’s novel, several theatrical versions of The Color Purple have emerged in recent years, including the most recent—Director Blitz Bazawule’s 2023 film, The Color Purple. Bazawule’s musical film, based on the 2005 stage musical with music by Brenda Russel, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray, follows Steven Spielberg’s 1985 non-musical feature film. We read and watched Walker’s and Bazawule’s works:
Ethan Li:
From the first page, Walker’s style evidently shines through as a unique and compelling way to present Celie’s narrative. The Color Purple is a epistolary novel, meaning it is written as a series of letters. In The Color Purple, Celie writes letters to God as she tries to make sense of the love, loss, and abuse in her life. The style is wonderful, contributing to a unique mood while reading the book as Celie narrates all the happenings in her life. Additionally, the syntax itself develops her character because Celie’s word choice and sentence structure evolves as she goes from uneducated child to confident woman. Walker’s world is complex, with deeply unique characters, and the book covers a myriad of themes including the power of one’s voice, the relationship between racism and sexism, and the omnipresent nature of God. Walker’s rich world was delightful to read, even as the characters faced very real and very depressing struggles.
In fact, this setting with complex characters was something I missed in the movie. Danielle Brooks and Taraji P. Henson gave stellar performances as the supporting characters Sofia and Shug Avery respectively, but I found myself wanting more from their characters. Bazawule’s movie moved too fast to capture the intricacies of these characters that I loved. However, overall, seeing The Color Purple in theaters was a wonderful experience. Bazawules past experience in music video direction clearly influenced his work here as the songs were directed with sharp style. As another interpretation of this timeless story, I was very happy with the movie.
Faith Gonia:
Similarly to Li, I found the structure of Walker’s novel—individual letters from Celie to God—to have a deeply moving effect. Through reading Celie’s intimate account of her struggles, I felt even closer to the protagonist as opposed to a traditionally structured narration. Her raw language and utter honesty completely immerses the reader into her life. Furthermore, Walker’s plot itself sheds light on the severe disparities women of color experienced in the early twentieth century; consequently, Walker’s novel provides a historical account for how, regretfully, such patterns continue in the modern day.
Reading The Color Purple after watching Bazawule’s film offered critical details of Celie’s inner dialogue that the movie failed to illustrate. Regarding Celie’s own sexuality, the book’s detailed and heartfelt letters acknowledge her queer identity, delving into her experiences in understanding herself. Meanwhile, I felt that Bazawule’s film glossed over Celie’s sexual orientation—an essential aspect of her life. Nonetheless, Bazawule’s adaptation of The Color Purple absolutely captivated me. Fantasia Barrino, in the role of adult Celie, left me overwhelmed with emotion. And of course, the phenomenal Taraji P. Henson delivered a powerful performance, inspiring not only her character’s loved ones, but also those of us in the audience. I left the movie theater in awe of the production.
Overall, I would recommend The Color Purple as a timeless story of a strong, black woman finding her way. Alice Walker, the first black woman to earn a Pulitzer Prize, crafted a complex story that clearly deserves its accolades with its unique storytelling style and dynamic characters. However, I must express some reservations about wholeheartedly recommending this novel due to its mature themes and complex writing style that could turn away readers. While Walker does not endorse these actions, The Color Purple’s plot deals with strong sexual content, violence, and allusions to rape and incest. If you do decide to read The Color Purple, I hope you also fall in love with the courageous story of Celie and also watch one of its many adaptations to experience this classic story in unique formats.