The Color Purple is a American period drama film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the eighth film directed by Spielberg and is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Alice Walker. The film tells the story of a young African American girl named Celie and shows the problems faced by African American women during the early 1900s; including poverty, racism, and sexism. The character Celie is transformed as she finds her self-worth through the help of two strong female companions.

Plot

Taking place in the Southern United States during the early- to mid-1900s, this movie tells the life of a poor African American girl, Celie Harris (Whoopi Goldberg), whose abuse begins when she is young. By the time she is fourteen, she has already had two children by her father (Leonard Jackson) (later discovered to be her stepfather), who takes them away from her at childbirth and forces Celie to marry a local widower named Albert Johnson, whom she calls "Mister" (Danny Glover). Albert, who had his eyes on Celie's younger, more attractive sister Nettie (Akosua Busia), treats Celie like a slave, making her clean up his disorderly household and take care of his unruly children. Albert beats her often, intimidating Celie into near silence and submission. Nettie comes to live with them, and there is a brief period of happiness as the sisters spend time together and Nettie begins to teach Celie how to read. This is short-lived, however; after Nettie refuses Albert's predatory affections once too often, he kicks her out.

Albert's old flame, the jazz singer Shug Avery (Margaret Avery), for whom Albert has carried a torch for many years, comes to live with him and Celie. Delirious with sickness, Shug initially insults Celie by saying "you sure is ugly" on their first meeting, but they eventually become close friends and Shug helps Celie begin to see her worth as a human being. Shug and Celie also entertain a lesbian affair (this was more pronounced in the book, and is only hinted at in the film). Celie also finds strength in Sofia (Oprah Winfrey), who marries Albert's son Harpo (Willard E. Pugh). Sofia has also suffered abuse from the men in her family, but unlike Celie, she refuses to tolerate it. This high-spiritedness proves to be her downfall, however, as a rude remark to the town mayor's wife and a punch to the mayor himself ends with Sofia in jail.