I was probably 17 months old when this film came out, so it’s been part of my entire life. Last week I told y’all I finally read the book earlier this summer. Now I want to share why The Color Purple is one of my all-time FAV films. Or should I say it’s been in my top 5. There’s just something about a story that is deeply layered that draws me in. So much so that you have to watch it repeatedly because the nuances give the story different meaning especially when you watch it during different stages of your life. And that’s what The Color Purple does to me.
When I watched it as a child, yes I did, I loved the sister bond between Celie and Nettie. One of my cousins and I used to do the hand clap whenever we would leave each other. That was our thing. “You and me must never part.” Then as a teenager I felt bad for Sophia. All she wanted to do was shop with her kids and not be disrespected by a dimwit of a mayor’s wife or her own husband. In my 20s, I felt Celie was trapped in a life that everyone decided she was only good enough for. Mister worked my nerves because he married her for all the wrong reasons. That also played into how I saw women I knew getting married to ain’t good men.
Mister colored my perspective on what a husband was NOT supposed to be. My heart aches for women who marry for whatever reason a man who only sees them as a nurse, babysitter for their kids, maid, whipping post. Now that I’m in my 30s I see Shug as a woman who was not only misunderstood but also a woman who refused to fit into society’s definition of what a woman should do and be. Shug was loud in the sense that she made her presence known. She didn’t shy away from taking up space. Yet, she also dealt with her own insecurities especially about not being loved and accepted by her father, the Pastor.
Like I said last week, the book only gave the film a much richer viewing experience for me. The reason The Color Purple is one of my FAV films of all time is the love and community between the women. They have their own stories of how they all come to know one another yet they stand ten toes down the best they can for the other women in their circle.
A commitment that is unspoken yet felt. A bond that transcends continents. A love that moves beyond anything people can wrap their minds around. The Color Purple encapsulates why women today need to have a good sister-circle. Because without one we might not have the balance to make it through the challenging times. That sister-circle is the reason those women made it through the hells they experienced. And why women today make it through theirs.
I can’t wait until December when the reimagined musical of The Color Purple comes out. Please know I will be there on opening day because my excitement can’t be contained.
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