Purple is an imagining of what The Color Purple film could’ve/could look like through the eyes of a Black woman, through the eyes of a womanist. TCP is a story about identity, agency, and love in various forms, and Black women are at its center. Yet the 1985 film adds/heightens male voices & perspectives that are not present in the novel. 

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Purple was originally produced in response to Dr. Christina Baker’s book, “Contemporary Black Filmmakers and the Art of Resistance.” She discusses how contemporary Black women filmmakers use film as a means of resistance and a reclamation of identity. Yet, this resistance is often diminished when the work of Black women writers is reinterpreted and reimagined through the lens of a male film director.

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Scene 1 in Purple is a reimagining of a scene from TCP film that I felt most reflected the male gaze. Scene 2 is an imagining of a part of the novel that is not included in the original film - this is when main character Celie reclaims her voice and identity independent of male influence for the first time. 

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This (re)imagining reminds us that art and stories are universal, but the story that is told, who tells it, and how it’s told, is what makes it personal. Our identity shapes our experiences and therefore our unique perspective, which influences both the art that we create as well as the art that we reimagine and recreate. The Color Purple novel was written by a bisexual Black woman, the film was directed by a cishet white man. How does a story change when it’s reimagined through the lens of an artist whose identity is not reflective of that of the original artist?

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I personally love both The Color Purple novel and the film; the film brings new aspects and perspectives that the novel does not. However, the film does not honor the womanist perspective, which is the very root and reason for The Color Purple story in the first place. Purple illustrates what the film could be like from a womanist perspective, maintaining the agency and voice of women from their relationships and sexual experiences to their spiritual awareness and evolution. Purple seeks to maintain the visibility of Black women through their own voice and efforts.

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-Summer J. Robinson