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Movie Synopsis-The Color Purple

The film, The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a feminist presentation of the abuse of uneducated African woman as they struggle to gain empowerment in the community. Celie undergoes trauma in her journey to have an identity and become an equal member of society. She is raised in rural Georgia and works hard to resist the paralyzing self-concept that she is forced to adopt (Wang & Yang, 2019). The major social issues highlighted in the film are rape, racism, poverty, domestic problems, discrimination against women, and marriage. 

The social problems occur in the film due to various reasons. For instance, rape take at Celie home while she still lives with her parents. Her family experiences domestic issues because of the violent nature of the father. The father is abusive not only to her but also to her mother (Majeed, 2021). Alphornso, Celie’s father, rapes her several times until she becomes pregnant for the second time at the age of 14. Domestic challenges also take place due to the nature of Alphonso. He is a cruel person and without conscience. He takes away the babies and tells Celie that her children are dead. Marriage and problems associated to it in various families also takes place in the film (Hite, 2018). For instance, Alphonso forces Celie into an abusive marriage to a man who came to marry her elder sister. Primarily, it shows the discrimination that women experience in society. Most of the social challenges taking place in the film are due to poverty, ignorance, common perception of society. For instance, Women have no role in making decisions, even if it directly affects them.

Celie lives in a society, which is predominantly white. Being uneducated black woman, she experiences racial challenges. She is made to believe that she cannot be empowered as a black woman in a white-dominated society (Hite, 2018). However, she is able to reject this assertion and move against all the challenges to achieve what she believes is best for her. One of the social theories that can be used to address the social challenges experienced by Celie is feminist theory. The theory enhances that the society perception of women can be changed. It indicates that women are not subordinate to men (Hite, 2018). The conflict perspective theory is also applicable in this case. The theory suggests that men consider women subordinate to them to maintain power and a dominant position in society. Social cognitive theory is also evident in the film, especially in Celie’s character.   

There are various social norms violated in the film. For instance, respect of personal space. Alphonso does not respect the personal space of her daughter. He defiles her and forces her to get married to abusive marriage (Hite, 2018). Besides, the father also yells when he talks to his daughter, especially when he tells her she should not let anyone know what happened. The films express interactionists perspective to demonstrate formation of relationships among people. It is more evident when Celie finds meaning in her association with other black women. Gender bias is one of the major themes in the film (Wang & Yang, 2019). The society perspective about women makes them to have law self esteem. The issues of rape and discrimination against women are entrenched in my society today. However, there are measures that have been put to reduce their influence in the society. The film is an interesting work that I would recommend to those who intend to change the community basing their concept on the plight of women.