Sisterhood in The Color Purple Movie
I recently watched the new version of The Color Purple with Fantasia and Taraji P. Henson, produced by Oprah Winfrey, who was the original Celie in the 1998 version. Seeing this movie brought me back to a long history with the book. I first picked up The Color Purple by Alice Walker in the library when I was about eleven or twelve years old. It was my first foray into “Black” literature. Around that time, we were reading Bad Boy by Walter Dean Myers in school, and I longed to read a narrative about Black women and girls like me. Well, I don’t know if you’ve ever read The Color Purple, but it’s not a children’s story. After reading the first few pages, I closed the book, declaring that I was not emotionally mature enough to handle the content of the book. I remember watching the movie with my mom on Channel 7. So much went over my head. It wasn’t until college that I revisited the book with intention, determined not to look away from the pain and the ugly truths the book revealed, choosing instead to find inspiration in its lessons about the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.
Celie & Nettie
Sisterhood is having each other’s backs even though we disagree or seem to be on opposing sides. We could be women with two different lives and viewpoints, but I’m still gonna have your back. Even when there is silence, like Celie and her sister, Nettie, who endured years of silence (Nettie’s letters were stolen and hidden), until they were reunited and the dam of communication was broken open again.
Sisterhood might be the key to Black women’s resilience. It’s like hope — it’s this everlasting holding on to each other through thick and thin. Even when you think you are alone, you are actually supported. I think this has a lot to do with our journeys as women as well. When we’re young, everything seems like a competition or a race, but as we get older, we realize it’s more important to live in peace with people you love. You can soften. You don’t have to be a brick wall or defensive. I know that in a world that so rarely respects us, it can be easy to judge each other harshly, but we must take the approach of nourishing each other, because at the end of the day, we’re all we've got. And there’s enough room for every sister’s dreams to manifest to their fullest potential.
Anyway, the movie was fantastic! I give it 5/5 stars. It’s a musical, so expect music and singing. You already know, Fantasia’s voice is heaven-sent, so that’s another good reason to watch. Did you watch the new movie adaptation of The Color Purple? What did you think?
