It does not take a lot for Steven Spielberg to shine. His exceptional filmography speaks volumes on its own. The talent imbibed in one soul is enough to account for a great amount of masterpieces in the Hollywood industry. It takes understanding and skill to create stories the way he does. He has worked on various adaptations and mastered almost all of them perfectly.
One of the adaptations he made was of Alice Walker’s renowned novel The Color Purple. While the movie found great critical acclaim, having been nominated for 11 Oscars, there was a certain set of audience that wasn’t too fond of the adaptation. Walker’s novel told stories of a woman who was in pain of different kinds. She spoke for many people all at once, in a way similar to Maya Angelou.
Steven Spielberg Got Thrashed for The Color Purple
The book follows a young girl named Celie who suffers at the hands of various men, starting from her father, then to her husband, and to all those around her; sometimes including even the women. It is a journey of a woman who goes through abuse of various kinds, including s*xual and physical, because of men and their mindsets. Even women with similar spaces of mind encourage the same only to grow as people.
Most of the criticism came from directors that felt that we had overlooked them and that it should have been a Black director telling a Black story. That was the main criticism.
The entire story is through the mind of Celie, who takes matters into her own hands and thus takes life into her own hands. What belongs to her should be with her and not in the control of other people. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Steven Spielberg admitted that there were many who were upset with him for taking on the project. The story is about a woman of color who also happens to be a lesbian.
That is to say, triple marginalization. Making a film about such a character, there would have been a deeper understanding of the director to also be part of at least one of the three communities.
Steven Spielberg Felt Like He Was the Wrong Choice
The Color Purple‘s protagonist is Celie, who after marrying Mr. ___ (Albert) falls in love with another woman by the name of Shug. Shug and Celie’s romance is one of the most significant moments of the book because of the importance it holds in her development as a character. Shug is the light who guides Celie out of the darkness, even though they both part ways in the end.
And I was shy about it. In that sense, perhaps I was the wrong director to acquit some of the more s*xually honest encounters between Shug and Celie because I did soften those. I basically took something that was extremely erotic and very intentional, and I reduced it to a simple kiss. I got a lot of criticism for that.
Celie finding Shug is not just her romantic awakening but also s*xual. It is important because, for the first time in her life, she found herself happy and joyous. Steven Spielberg took all that and narrowed it down to one brief kiss. He was heavily criticized for the same.
He admitted that the way he condensed everything down wasn’t fair to Alice Walker, Shug, Celie, and all those who found solace in that relationship. The way their scenes together were portrayed in the book was personal, almost as if Celie’s letters to God were in prayer for Shug’s arrival. So for that having been destroyed, many criticized the film heavily.
The Color Purple is available to watch on Apple TV on rent.
