Powerful tale of survival has wrenching scenes of abuse.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
a lot
The story is full of verbal, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. From the very first scene, when a 14-year-old girl painfully gives birth to a baby fathered by her own father, the abuse is near-constant in the young girl's life. In one of the movie's most emotional scenes, two sisters are painfully separated by an abusive man. Sex is usually disturbing and non-consensual -- visuals include close-ups of faces and a shaking headboard. A barroom brawl leads to many characters punching each other and breaking furniture. A beloved character is beaten by a White mob (mostly off-screen, but she's later shown disabled from the attack). One character almost slits another's throat with a straight razor but is stopped in the nick of time. A minor character dies. A group of armed soldiers takes over a fictitious African village (no shots are fired).
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Occasional use of "s--t," "damn," "hell," "ass," "pisses off," and the exclamation of "Jesus!" A Black man calls a Black woman a "jezebel." A heavy-set woman gets called a "heifer." A White woman calls someone a "Black slut," and the "N" word is briefly used.
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Brief glimpses of nude photographs of women. Many references to sexual relationships, including adultery. Much of it is non-consensual (see Violence & Scariness for details). A conversation about sex contrasts a wife's miserable "grin and bear it" experience with a mistress' pleasurable one with the same man. In one of the film's few tender love scenes, a couple laughs, kisses, and caresses one another -- the scene ends with the implication that they go on to make love, but it's not shown.
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Many messages, from spotlighting the inhumane way women and African Americans were treated in the United States the first half of the 20th century to the importance of perseverance and keeping your dignity under the most difficult circumstances. Racism, sexism, marriage, sex, parenting -- all are explored in this multi-decade story. The movie also has an underlying feminist theme about the unique, incredible bonds between women.
Diverse Representations
a lot
Based on a novel by a Black woman, the film was adapted by White men. It remains groundbreaking for showcasing complex Black women and celebrates the powerful bonds between them. It also has a same-sex kiss and tender romance between two female characters that's normalized within the story. Though Oprah Winfrey's Sofia is introduced as "a big girl" who cartoonishly marches down a street, she's given screen time and portrayed as confident and attractive. But the film's predatory Black men fall into stereotypes -- using physical comedy that borders on caricature, the film was controversial at its time of release.
Female characters are resilient in their ability to survive and maintain dignity under oppression: Celie works hard to be "good," Sofia stands up for herself, and Nettie never gives up on her sister despite decades of silence. But several racist and sexist characters treat women and African Americans in inhumane ways -- though they're portrayed as clearly in the wrong.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Color Purple is director Steven Spielberg's intense drama adapted from the novel by award-wining author Alice Walker. It was released in 1985 and is a different take on the story than the 2023 musical. The film with serious themes -- incest, marital abuse, sexism, and racism -- and many scenes include violence and abuse. This is mostly directed toward women, with sexist attitudes being passed down from dads to sons, demonstrating how sweet boys can grow up to become abusive husbands. Sexual violence happens frequently, but mostly off-screen (close-ups on faces, shaking headboard, etc.). There are also heart-wrenching scenes of forced separation between mothers and their children and between sisters. Language includes "s--t," "damn," and "hell," as well as "Jesus!" and slurs by White characters such as "Black slut" and the "N" word. But there are also positive messages about the incredible bonds between Black women and their resilience. The film is groundbreaking for its portrayals of complex Black women and has a tender same-sex relationship (women kiss, and it's implied they make love). To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
The movie portrays characters enduring traumatic experiences which are challenging and disturbing but which we can’t deny are still a reality in our society. Could spur meaningful discussion with teens and young adults.
What's the Story?
In this inspiring, wrenching drama based on Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel THE COLOR PURPLE, Whoopi Goldberg plays Celie, a Southern woman who's been abused all her life. Her current abuser is her husband, Mister (Danny Glover). Various women in her life -- including the confident Sofia (Oprah Winfrey) and intriguing singer Shug Avery (Margaret Avery) -- slowly help Celie find strength in herself. Eventually, correspondence with her sister in Africa gives Celie the courage to stand up to Mister.
This powerful movie isn't for the weak of heart; it deals with real, traumatic issues, including child abuse, sexual abuse, racism, and sexism. But for teens who can weather the subject matter, The Color Purple's story of a woman's journey from abuse to independence is inspiring. There's a great deal to admire in this sweeping epic, starting with the simple fact that complex Black women like those presented here are rarely seen in American movies. Goldberg, nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her performance, shines as the abused Celie, as does Glover as her brutish husband. And Winfrey makes a memorable impression as the strong-willed Sofia.
The Color Purple tends to bring out radically different responses in viewers. Those who like sentimental material tend to be extremely moved by the story. But other viewers find it overly grandiose, with scene after scene designed to be gut wrenching. Part of the problem lies in page-to-screen translation process. The filmmakers never quite solve the problem of adapting such dense literary material, moving from high point to high point in an attempt to cover the full sweep of the novel. And internal thoughts are delivered as stilted voice-overs, a device filmmakers often fall back on when they see no other way to work a character's personal psychology into a movie.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the abuse scenes in The Color Purple. What feelings did they bring up in you? How did Celie's relationship with Sofia help her survive? How can family members help one another survive and heal from traumatic experiences?
What makes these film adaptations of novels successful? What are the pitfalls? Do you think this is a successful adaptation?
How have times have changed for Black women since the era in which the story takes place? What's remained the same? Why are the challenges faced by women of color different than those faced by White women?
How do the characters in The Color Purple demonstrate perseverance and resilience? Why are these important character strengths?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
