The Color Purple Dichotomy

Alice Walker’s novel, The Color Purple, follows the life of an oppressed and abused woman as she faces the hardships of being black and uneducated in the early 1900’s. Written in 1982 and adapted for film in 1985, this novel and movie work to spread the reality of racism, sexism and the oppression of black women during the 20th century. Critics of this movie are polarized in their opinions, believing that the film is either a feminist masterpiece or a racial disaster. Steven Spielberg was a controversial director for the film, but brought an essential white audience in order to further broadcast Walker’s message. The film adaptation of this novel sparks a debate between black male critics and feminists during the 1980’s because of its balance

Because of the dichotomy between black critics and black feminists of the 80s, the film was a controversial but iconic masterpiece. Spielberg’s objective was to show an anti-female abuse not an anti-black male movie, which is seen in his jazz scenes, but some critics neglected to make that distinction. Alice Walker’s novel adapted for film was the perfect vehicle for the start of a black feminist movement and gave a voice to every black female struggling with hard problems. American’s could sympathize with Celie as they watched firsthand the horrendous acts that she went through on her quest to finding her sister. The ending of the film, although different from the novel, is able to show Celie and the black females in the movie standing up against their abusive husbands. The final scene set in 1937, although a parallel to the opening, leaves viewers with a different, less unsettling, feeling. As Celie plays patty cake with her sister who are both grown adults, viewers feel that progress has been made. The Color Purple sheds light on pressing feminist and civil rights issues and asks all Americans to think about if color actually