The Color Purple Based on Alice Walker's novel, the Color Purple is a moving film of a woman's long journey

in finding her voice, freedom, and self worth in a society ruled by men. That woman is Celie Harris Johnson, a shy, hopeful and God-fearing black American, who struggles from her early adolescent years from his father to her forced marriage to a hard, dominant, widowed black, Mister Albert Johnson. From her childhood to her married life, Ms. Celie longs for her identity and selfworth as a woman and individual. This, she eventually finds after she musters the courage to stand up and decide what her life will be on her own terms. But this journey is long-and in between brief moments of love and joy--hard, and arduous. Directed by Steven Spielberg, the film is dramatic, hopepul, sometimes funny, and colorful. Along these lines, Spielberg has creatively managed to present issues of race, gender, class, and sexuality among black Americans. Race and Class Race and class tensions in the film depicts how black Americans are treated after the American Civil War, especially in the Southern states --which opposed the abolition of slavery--like in Macon County, Georgia, the setting of the film, in the early 1900s to 1937. Although black slaves are already free, enjoys American citizenship and voting rights through Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the passing of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendment, black Americans are still discriminated, treated unjustly, considered as a minority and segregated from American society, which is economically and politically dominated by white Americans. Such discrimination and

unfair treatment toward Black Americans are not just imposed by society; it is deemed legal. One form of racial discrimination and segregation is this: From 1876 to 1965, Southern and border states of the US enacted the Jim Crow Laws against black Americans, mandating "separate but equal" status for blacks. The Jim Crow Laws led to the unjust treatment, segregation and social disenfranchisement of black Americans in terms of economic, social, educational, and political opportunities. Some example of segregation laws are the separation of public schools, transportation, and other facilities for blacks and whites; and, even, the exclusion of blacks in white neighborhoods. Racial discrimination is very evident in the film, especially on how black characters (Celie, Corrine Mcgrady, and Sofia) are treated by white minor characters: When Corrine Mcgrady buys a cloth, she is treated tensely and rudely by the white store owner. Although there are no other customers to buy cloths, the store owner rudely asks Corrine if she is going to buy or not. Another and more vivid example is how Sofia is treated by Ms. Millie, the Mayor, and other whites in the town center. Ms Millie, the wife of the mayor, tells Sofia's children how clean they are and asks them if they want to become her maids. Ms. Millie looks upon Sofia and her children not as her equal but as people that are lower than her. The inequality and discrimination is furthered when the Mayor slaps Sofia just because the latter defiantly refused Ms. Millie's offer. Tension grows more when Sofia punches and knocks out the Mayor. The white town people surround and start to accuse her. Sensing danger, Sofia tells Swain to get her children, while other black people do not bother to help her. The sheriff, finally, hits her in the eye, and she goes down. For

insulting and hitting the Mayor, Sofia is jailed for eight years, where she is badly treated. She is next seen as a spent, downtrodden, graying old woman who is pardoned by the Mayor, just to ends up as Ms. Millie's maid. The sad fate of Sofia also shows the power relations between whites and blacks. The whites dominant society; they control everything--politically and economically. The blacks, although free, are still at their mercy. Nobody appealed for Sofia's freedom. Instead her family and relatives considered her good as dead and merely waited for her freedom. In terms of class in the film, the whites are still wealthier than black Americans, though there are also well-off blacks such as Shug Avery and her husband, Grady. The whites live and control the center of town. The blacks live outside of town, in the farms, plowing the fields. They are limited to agricultural work; hard labor. Blacks who live in the center of town are either servants or maids. Blacks are also separated from white domain. In the film, blacks live in their own communities, away from white communities. There are no whites that mingle in black churches and gatherings. The only white character that goes to black territory is the mail man. White dominance is further shown in Africa. Then, Africa is controlled and divided by powerful European countries such as France and Great Britain. This is shown in the film when the missionary school, church, and the village of Alinka are demolished without notice and consent of the African tribes--the ancestors of black Americans--for the "white man's road." As a race and class, black Americans are depicted in the film as religious. Ruled and discriminated by whites, blacks congregate in black Protestant churches,

administered by a black minister. They look upon God to save them from inequality and injustice. In fact, Celie, the protagonist, always communicates with God for her salvation and to maintain her sanity as she faces her hardships in life. Gender In the film, Celie, in most of the movie, embodies the stereotypical submissive, passive, and meek woman dominated and acted upon by active, authoritative men (as signified by her father and Mister Albert Johnson). This is subtly summed up in a brief scene: In the snow and on their way to her husband's house, Celie carries her belongings and walks with her dowry--a cow--while Mr. Johnson is confidently striding his horse. Living in a patriarchal society, Celie is forced to be obedient and subservient, first, to her father, and, later, to her husband. Her father does not treat her as a daughter but as an object, sexually abuses her, and gives her to a widowed, abusive, and authoritative man as a wife. Her husband does not love her. Instead, Mr. Albert takes her as wife out of need and comfort. He makes this clear at the very start when he first asks for Nettie's hand: He says that he needs a wife to take care of his young and house while he tends his farm. Thus, Celie ends up in a master-slave relationship, playing the role of a maid, caregiver, sexual object, and property of Mr. Albert. Mr. Albert, a sexist, barks orders at her; she calls her Mister and obediently follows. Although, she is strong and knows that she is being abused and beaten up by her father and husband, she does not fight. Instead, she is resigned in accepting her tragic role as a submissive woman and wife--at least in most parts of the film. "Don't let him run over you. You gotta fight, show him whos got the upper hand," Nettie tells Celie. "But I don't know how to fight. All I know is how to stay alive," she answers.

Reading Oliver Twist, Celie, in a way, sums up her plight and most of the woman of her time: she is a "victim of a systematic course of treachery and deception." Indeed, patriarchy imposes inferior characteristics to women: a weak, ignorant and emotional person that is dependent on men and whose only task is to take care of the house and children; a sexual object. While the men controls everything and determines the role of their wives. However, there are also instances in the film that women are empowered individuals, capable of standing up against men, and living independently, signified by Netie, Sofia and Shug Avery. The three ladies do not submit themselves on the notion that women must submit themselves to men. Nettie is brave, intelligent, and educated. She left her father when she can no longer bear the latter's advances; she repelled Mr. Albert's rape attempt; and, instead of living in the streets after she was kicked out of Mr. Albert's house, she is adopted by the Mcgrady's and ends up helping her foster parents educating African children. Knowing that knowledge can help improve ones status in life, she also teaches Celie to read and tells Celie how rich African culture is, so Celie can gain knowledge and feel proud of her race. Sofia, meanwhile, is outspoken, assertive, and honest. She speaks her mind when she wants to and is more of the decision maker of the family than Harpo. When treated lowly and violently, she asserts herself and fights back. Nettie and Sofia have one similarity: when violence strikes them, they break free. While Shug Avery is a free-wheeling, adventurous, and independent woman. She is not afraid of Mr. Albert; rather, he worships her. She uses her beauty and talent to

pursue her goal and get respected by people. Although not as fierce as Sofia, she stands up for others, letting Celie read Nettie's letters and directly telling Mr. Albert that Celie won't live with him anymore. The trouble, however, is that women like them are not warmly welcomed in a patriarchal society. As Celie puts in, "Folks don't like somebody too proud and too free [here]." This idea is also welcomed by Mr. Albert's father, saying that he prefers woman like Celie, who stays behind her husband, than independent women like Shug Avery. In the end, the film conveys that male dominance or oppression of women in is not permanent; that it can be torn down. In the end, Celie realizes her selfworth and identity, rises from her victimhood, and, finally, stands up against Mr. Albert, so she can pursue her goals. She opens a tailorshop and makes pants that fit for men and women, suggesting that she is no longer held by the chains of men. Sexuality Sex in the film is seen as a form of violence and a way of gaining freedom and happiness. Celie's father uses Celie as a sexual object while noting that she is ugly. This makes Celie lose her self-esteem and worth, making her powerless and submissive. Worse, her father sells her babies and threatens her if she tells her mother. Mr. Albert also treats Celie as a sexual object. He beats her. And he uses her just for his own satisfaction. He doesn't love Celie and doesn't satisfy her sexual needs. Thus, Celie does not recognize sex as special and a form of gratification and release in the early parts of the film, but of a totally ordinary male-controlled activity. Then Shug Avery comes along. She tells Celie that she is beautiful. Realizing the condition of Celie and her lack of sexual experience, Shug Avery shows affection to Celie and makes love with her.

For the first time, Celie experiences real sexual pleasure, albeit on the hand of a woman. Developing an affection for Shug Avery, she starts to smile and gain self-esteem. References: Perry Marvin, Davis, Daniel, Harris, Jeannette, Von Laue, Theodore, Jr. Warren, Donald. 1989. A History of the World. Massachussetts: Houghton Mifflin Company. Thio, Alex. 2007. Society: Myths and Realities: An Introduction to Sociology. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review? res=9F06E5DC153BF93BA25751C1A963948260&scp=1&sq=the%20color%20purple %20movie%20review&st=cse&gwh=D296F2F1960DB9941D7A7498C9173C40 http://thebestnotes.com/booknotes/Color_Purple/Color_Purple02.html http://www.shmoop.com/color-purple/setting.html http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAjimcrow.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_Laws http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American http://www.bookrags.com/notes/tcp/TOP3.html http://www.shmoop.com/color-purple/sexuality-sexual-identity-theme.html http://www.bookrags.com/notes/tcp/TOP4.html