Shug : More than anything God love admiration.
Celie : You saying God is vain?
Shug : No, not vain, just wanting to share a good thing. I think it pisses God off when you walk by the colour purple in a field and don't notice it.
Celie : You saying it just wanna be loved like it say in the bible?
Shug : Yeah, Celie. Everything wanna be loved. Us sing and dance, and holla just wanting to be loved. Look at them trees. Notice how the trees do everything people do to get attention... except walk?
[they laugh]
Shug : Oh Miss Celie, I feels like singing!
“The Color Purple” (1985) is my final film for Black History month.
Separated from the only person who loves her, her younger sister Nettie, Celie Harris is given away by her abusive father as a wife to widower, Albert Johnson, referred to as “Mister”. The African American teen quickly experiences grave abuse and mistreat by her new husband’s hand. As the years pass by, Celie build relationships with other black women, who suffer their own struggles, like most women of color during the early 20th century. Celie, over time, is transformed as she comes to discover her self-worth with the assistance of two strong female friends.
Directed by Steven Spielberg with screenplay by Menno Meyjes, this 2 hour and 34 minute film was based on the Pulitzer Prize winning 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker. The cast stars Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Avery, Adolph Caesar, and Whoopi Goldberg in her breakout role as Celie. The film was a box office success, grossing $142 million and receiving 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It didn’t receive a single win.
In 2004, Ebert included The Color Purple in his list of “Great Movies”, stating “I can see its flaws more easily than when I named it the best film of 1985, but I can also understand why it moved me so deeply, and why the greatness of some films depend not on their perfection or logic, but on their heart.”
On that note, get your preferred drink, settle down for an amazing film that will make you squirm, but in the end, will bring joyous tears of triumph to your eyes. “The Color Purple” can be viewed on Amazon Prime, YouTube, and Apple TV for $3.99.
Enjoy!
