Social Aspects of the Lives of Black Women Within the Film The Color Purple.

Social Aspects of the Lives of Black Women Within the Film The Color Purple. By Larry A. Boldman Jr.

Social Aspects of the Lives of Black Women Within the Film The Color Purple.

The film, The Color Purple (1985), is a period drama that gives insight into the struggles of American black women in the south during the early decades of the1900s. The film shows the extraordinarily low standing of black women within the social hierarchy due to both gender and cultural perceptions that were prevalent at that time. It portrays how women were treated based on such factors as beauty, race, ethnicity and social class. The film furthers delves into the idea that each of the preceding factors contributed to the development of one’s identity, and not just in how these women were seen by society, but in how they ultimately saw themselves. Director Stephen Spielberg paints a clear picture of the trials that black women faced in society as a whole and within their own culture, in order to figure out for themselves who they would become.

Gender It is a common gender stereotype that women should be submissive and take care of the house and children while men should be aggressive and provide for his family. (Planned, 1) This film shows how these gender stereotypes can be taken to extremes, which may ultimately lead to abusive relationships. The lack of equality for women, taken to extremes, is a prominent theme in the film. The reactions of two women to those extremes are shown in contrast. Celie (Whoopi Goldberg) chooses to accept her abuse for most of the film, while Sophia (Oprah Winfrey) chooses to fight back. Celie’s abusers were the two most important men in her life, her father and her husband. When Sophia married Celie’s step-son, Harpo, (Willard E. Pugh) she had already endured abuse by all the men in her life- her father, her uncles and her brothers, and had decided she was not going to take it from her husband, too.

Gender Roles Forced Upon Mrs. Celie by Her Father

Celie, in her very early teens, is first physically abused and sexually molested by her father (Leonard Jackson), even before her mother dies. When her mother dies, Celie is forced to assume her mother’s role of housewife and lover. She was viewed as property and her status was that of a servant to her father. “Celie is a black woman who grows up in the rural South in the early decades of this century, in a world that surrounds her with cruelty.” (Ebert) It is obvious to viewers that in their close knit community, everyone is aware of what is happening, and either didn’t question it (the men) or didn’t dare interfere (the women.) Inequality for women in general, during the early 1900s, was rampant, but it went to much more extremes for black women. Only having moved a generation or two away from legalized slavery, not much had changed for the black woman, who remained in complete subservience, in her own household. Celie has two children by her father, who takes them from her, against her will, and sells them to a minister and his wife. She is powerless to stop him, and once again, no one intercedes on her behalf, even though she is still a child herself. Celie’s powerlessness over her own life is acerbated even more when her father gives her to be married to Albert (Danny Glover) whose wife passed away. Her father allowed Albert to ‘inspect’ her before he decided, reminding viewers of slave auctions of times past.

Gender Roles of Forced Upon Mrs. Celie by Her Husband

When Celie is brought to her new home, she is used as a domestic slave by Albert to clean, take care of his children and meet his sexual needs. When Celie talks back or does not listen to Albert he beats her into submission causing detached behavior. “She rarely smiles nor speaks to houseguests.”(England, 1) The film shows that slavery, for black women, was still alive and well in the early 1900s.For Celie, inequality was just the beginning. It was no longer just an issue of not being equal to a man, but became an issue that she was not equal to a human being, period. Celie is viewed as property, is treated like property, and begins to see herself as property. She wasn’t valued as a person, and in return, she did not value herself, either, making her truly powerless to the abuses that were heaped upon her.

Gender Roles of Forced Upon Sophia Brought About by Mrs. Celie and Enforced by Her Husband.

Sophia is a strong black woman who marries Albert’s oldest son Harpo and exerts her power upon Harpo. Harpo first asks Albert what he should do about Sophia, and Albert says “Beat her.” Harpo doesn’t do it at first, but then asks Celie what to do about Sophia’s defiance. Celie hesitates, and then quietly, resignedly replies “Beat her” Harpo does, and evidently tells Sophia that it was Celie’s idea. Sophia tells Celie that unless she wants a dead son-in-law, she’d better give him some different advice. “Celie wrongfully and mistakenly advises Harpo to beat Sophie and when Sophie confronts Celie about this, Celie who can think of no excuse for it makes the first silly statement that comes to mind.” (Griffin, 2) Sophia explains that she has had to fight her whole life, but never thought she would have to do so in her own home. Sophia and Harpo begin a pattern of abuse between them, where they seem to take turns doing the beating. Sophia fought back, as opposed to Celie’s inaction, but the abuses didn’t stop for either of them. Finally, Sophia had all she could take and leaves Harpo, taking their children with her. Harpo’s love for Sophia is evident to viewers, as is his inner conflict about beating his wife. He has been told that’s what men do and even though he has been taught the abuse by his father’s and grandfather’s examples, he is not sure it is what he wants to do. Harpo did not lay a hand on Sophia until Celie told him to do it. Harpo did not want to use violence in his marriage because he loved his wife, and he witnessed first-hand the violence his father committed against Celie and himself. Harpo only resorted to violence because it is how he was taught to teach a wife proper respect for her husband, and that lesson was confirmed by his step-mother as the only way to handle the situation. The Minnesota advocates of human rights state “Although research does show that boys who witness abuse in the home are seven times more likely to batter, many men who witnessed violence as children vow not to use violence and do not grow up to be batterers.” (Domestic, 2)

Mental Repercussions of Abuse Driven by Gender Roles

Sophia lashed out and fought back when the abuse in her marriage started, whereas Celie just withdrew into herself even more. Sophia was strong enough to walk away when she had taken all she could, but Celie kept it all inside and kept taking the abuse. When Celie finally had enough, she didn’t see leaving as an option. Her whole world had revolved around being the victim of violence for long enough that it became her answer as well, when she got to the breaking point. Twice, she gets to the point where she believes she will never be free from the slavery in which she is trapped, and the overwhelming feelings of worthlessness, and powerlessness unless she ends Albert’s life. She is driven to the point of murdering him, twice –being stopped both times by Shug Avery (Margaret Avery), Albert’s lover and, ironically, the only person to show love to Celie aside from her own sister. Editors of Boston University N. H. Rafter and E. A. Stanko discuss two essays about battered women commit crime. Both believe that inadequate enforcement and punishment towards abusive men who push gender roles upon women sometimes cause women to take justice into their hands through crimes against their abusers. Within their abstract the editors state that “An essay on wife battering reveals a cycle in which victims' helplessness and self-blame are reinforced by inadequate responses of the system, perpetuating deeply rooted cultural support for violence against women.” (Rafter, 1) Although, Celie did not go through with murdering her abusive husband, she came dangerously close. It is certainly plausible that the society of her culture did not protect her because of her gender, therefore she became driven to take matters into her own hands.

Cultural Perspectives on Beauty/ Aesthetics

Beauty is perceived by society through the appearance of one’s facial structure, body type, hygiene and sense of style. “Human Beauty is a reflection of reflection of cultural perception and inherited ideas of aesthetics”(Cunningham, 202)

Perspectives on Beauty between Celie and Nettie

The perspectives on beauty within the film are magnified through use of costumes (Aggie Guerard Rodgers), makeup (Richard Alonzo) and directly through dialog (Menno Meyjes). Nettie (Akosua Busia) is Celie’s younger sister, who is perceived to be a great beauty. She is well maintained and dressed because of her self-confidence, which is a result of the fact that she is treated better. She is seen as more valuable since she is pretty, so unlike Celie, who has been ‘defiled’, Nettie gets the new, pretty dresses, and also gets to go to school. Albert originally wanted to marry Nettie, but her father told him she was too young, but added that Albert would never get to have Nettie. Their father was willing to part with Celie, but it was obvious that he wanted to keep Nettie for himself. Albert settled for Celie because he needed someone to take care of his children. When Nettie visited them to get away from her father, who had been trying to rape her, it was clear that Albert still favored Nettie over Celie. Because of Albert’s attraction to Nettie he also tried to rape her. She fought him off and was driven out of Celie’s life as a result. Her rejection of Albert had long lasting effects and he spent decades trying to punish both Nettie and Celie- Nettie for rejecting him and Celie for not being beautiful and because he was stuck with her.

Perspectives on Beauty between Celie and Shug

Shug is a bar singer who exudes beauty through her voice, hairstyle, makeup and costume. When Shug meets Celie for the first time, Shug is drunk and looks Celie straight in the eye and says, “You sure is ugly.” Both Albert and Shug laugh at that. Celie is dressed in humble clothing during the majority of the film with no desire to look beautiful or make herself up. Throughout the film, Shug is worshiped by Albert, while Celie is beaten and called ugly. It is not until Shug sings a song she wrote specifically for Celie, and tells Celie she is beautiful that Celie discovers some sense of value within herself. Makeup artists used Aesthetics to make both Nettie and Shug seem more beautiful and Celie to look plain.

Celie’s Lack of Identity

Throughout the film, Celie seems to lack an identity because she is constantly told that she is ugly and only identifies with what male figures tell her. Celie lost the only person she loved, and the only person who loved her, when Nettie was driven away. Celie and Nettie were so close that they were like one soul, as viewers witnessed with their hand clapping game. Celie’s whole identity up to that point was wrapped up in her sister’s. When she lost Nettie her identity was lost as well. Celie does not find her own identity until she is shown love once again through Shug. When Shug comes into Celie’s life, Celie again forms a bond to a sister, who showed that she has value, giving her the strength to find her own identity, and finally the strength to leave Albert.

The Difference Between Race and Ethnicity

Oftentimes the terms ‘race’ and ‘ethnicity’ are used interchangeably, but there is actually a specific distinction between the two, and references to both are found in the film.

“Race refers to a person's physical characteristics, such as bone structure and skin, hair, or eye color. Ethnicity, however, refers to cultural factors, including nationality, regional culture, ancestry, and language.”(Ethnicity, 2)

Racial Tension in The Color Purple

One of the most powerful scenes in this film that portrays racism is when Sophia’s children are being swooned over by a white woman, named Millie (Dana Ivey). The children are treated very similar to animals in a zoo, in that they were a novelty to look at and even to pet, but were not the same as human (white) children. Because Sophia was a black woman who “knew her place” in society, she was unable to do anything except stand by and let Millie fawn all over her children. She then told them to say “thank you” to Millie for the ‘complements,’ although it was evident to the viewer that she despised doing so. Sophia was then treated as if she were no better than the zookeeper, as opposed to an actual mother. Millie raved about what a good job Sophia does because the children are so “clean,” and follows that statement with “Do you want to come work for me as my maid.” Sophia is offended by the way the whole scene has just played out, and replies “Hell no!” Because of the perceptions of racial inequality at that time, Sophia, a black woman, could not ‘talk back’ to Millie, a white woman, without repercussions. Millie’s husband, also the mayor of the town, struck Sophia in the face, and when she tried to defend herself, the other white people joined in the beating to teach her a lesson. When the police showed up, she thought they were breaking in to save her, but to her horror, they arrested her. The next scene shows Sophia being released from prison 8 years later. She is shown to be in a much worse physical condition than the day she went in, alluding to the fact that beatings at the hands of the police continued regularly throughout Sophia’s incarceration.

The film shows that racism was prevalent and deep rooted in society during the early 1900s, by showing how severe the punishment was to a black woman for such a minor infraction. The justice system, reflecting the views of society, was used by that society as a tool to enhance the racial inequality that already played such a major part in their lives. That treatment of the black population in the south was commonplace and even expected. ‘Racism’ was not considered a valid problem in the south until 1896. The Color Purple is set during the timeframe leading up to that validation.

“Throughout American history Black women have been considered the adversaries of many, the most inferior beings in society and have been the object of exploitation that certainly surpasses that of any other group.” (Bradley, 2)

Ethnicity Shown Through Celie’s Children

Shug helps Celie find the decades’ worth of letters from Nettie that Albert had hidden. When Celie reads the letters from her sister, she discovers that the minister and his wife who had adopted her children had become missionaries in Africa, and that Nettie had gone with them to help take care of the children. The letters show how Celie’s children are learning about their heritage, and learning to embrace their ethnicity, where in America they had been made to feel ashamed of it. The letters conclude that Celia’s children have been inducted into the African tribe’s adulthood rituals and that they were continuing to live in Africa. Through Nettie’s words, Celie pictured her own ethnicity through her children’s eyes and developed a sense of pride in who she was for the first time in her life. This enhanced her growing sense of personal identity and self-worth, giving her the strength and courage to stand up for herself and to finally leave Albert.

Social ClassAlong with the many other aspects of Celie’s life that affect the choices she makes is her position in society- her social class. The combination of set design (Linda DeScenna), costume and dialog effectively show that Celie and her family are part of the lower social class within the black community, which was already seen generally as low class in the wider scope of society. This contrast of classes is played out realistically in the scene where Celie meets the minister’s wife in the general store. Celie recognizes her baby in the arms of the minister’s wife and follows them into the store. It’s apparent by the differences in the quality and style of her clothing, and the way she carries herself that the minister’s wife is considered to be upper class in the black community. She even very subtly looks down her nose at Celie, when she asks to hold the baby, showing that she recognizes their difference in class. However, when she had to address the shopkeeper, her entire demeanor changed and she appeared much more subservient. When the shopkeeper addressed Celie, she was too terrified to even answer him at all, and just ran out of the store. Because social standing is reliant on many factors in addition to economic status, Albert’s words to Celie as she is leaving are significant to understanding Celie’s social class. Albert had kept Celie submissive by beating her down physically, but he and society in general had succeeded in beating her down emotionally by telling her in so many ways that she was worthless, and making sure that she believed it herself. When she finally got up the courage to leave him, he had to try to make her believe again that she was all those things he and society had taught her over the course of her lifetime."You’re black, you‘re poor, you’re ugly, you’re a woman. You‘re nothing at all!" Celie’s reply to Albert’s hateful words shows the true power she has finally found within herself."I’m poor, black, I may even be ugly, but, dear God, I’m here. I’m here...“ (“The Color Purple”, 1)"

ConclusionIN THE 1985 FILM, THE COLOR PURPLE, DIRECTOR STEPHEN SPIELBERG SHOWS HOW SOUTHERN BLACK WOMEN IN THE EARLY 1900S STRUGGLE TO DISCOVER THEIR OWN IDENTITIES, AND THEIR PERSONAL POWER AND SENSE OF SELF-WORTH, IN THE MIDST OF A CULTURE AND A SOCIETY THAT ARE JUST AS DETERMINED TO KEEP THEM FROM DOING SO. THE FILMS PORTRAYS HOW FACTORS SUCH AS RACE, BEAUTY, ETHNICITY AND SOCIAL CLASS CONTRIBUTED TO THE TREATMENT OF WOMEN AND HOW THAT IN TURN CONTRIBUTED TO HOW THOSE WOMEN SAW THEMSELVES. THE FILM TRANSCENDS EACH OF THOSE FACTORS AND OVERCOMES THE SETTING’S TIME AND PLACE TO PRESENT A UNIVERSAL MESSAGE OF HOPE THAT HUMAN BEINGS ARE CAPABLE OF FINDING BEAUTY AND LOVE WITHIN THEMSELVES AND OTHERS, EVEN IN THE MIDST OF THE MOST DEPRAVED AND UGLY OF CONDITIONS.

Work Cited

Bradley, Dari L. The Image of Black Women in Reality TV. Blackboard Learn. Dari Bradley, 16 Feb. 2016. Web. 16 Feb. 2016. PowerPoint“

Company Credits." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 28 Feb. 2015. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088939/companycredits?ref_=ttfc_ql_5>.

Cunningham, Micheal. "Evolutionary Aesthetics." Google Books. Science & Business Media. Web. 28 Feb. 2015. <https://books.google.com/books?id=W9gB1F-Q9wwC&pg=PA201&lpg=PA201&dq=Human Beauty is a reflection of reflection of cultural perception and inherited ideas of aesthetics&source=bl&ots=y5rlM4q-1r&sig=DZ8kAVeoNk1fwY9H7p3nMH_KQSE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hk3xVKTfMMmPsQTotoHwCA&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Human Beauty is a reflection of reflection of cultural perception and inherited ideas of aesthetics&f=false>.

"Domestic Violence: Explore the Issue." Domestic Violence: Explore the Issue. University of Minnesota. Web. 28 Feb. 2015. <http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/svaw/domestic/link/theories.htm>.

Work Cited Cont.

Ebert, Roger. "The Color Purple Movie Review (1985) | Roger Ebert." All Content. 20 Dec. 1985. Web. 28 Feb. 2015. <http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-color-purple-1985>.

"Ethnicity vs Race." - Difference and Comparison. Diffen. Web. 28 Feb. 2015. <http://www.diffen.com/difference/Ethnicity_vs_Race>.

Grifin, Julie. "The Color Purple." Examiner.com. 13 July 2011. Web. 28 Feb. 2015. <http://www.examiner.com/review/the-color-purple>.

Meera, Jain. "The Cultural Implications of Beauty." The Cultural Implications of Beauty. Web. 28 Feb. 2015. <http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_cult/courses/beauty/web5/mjain.html>.

Rafter, N.H. "LIBRARY." Abstracts Database. Web. 28 Feb. 2015. <https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/abstractdb/AbstractDBDetails.aspx?id=85486>.

The Color Purple. Dir. Stephen Spielberg. Perf. Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover. Warner, 1985. DVD.

"The Color Purple (1985): Celie Is Leaving." Metacafe. Web. 28 Feb. 2015. <http://www.metacafe.com/watch/an-AFGJnbtJnhbm4u/the_color_purple_1985_celie_is_leaving/>.