Film Comparison

     I really enjoyed watching the film version of The Color Purple.  It helped to better visualize the time that Celie had lived in.  I thought the movie did a good job of representing most of Celie's struggles and life events.  The despair and depression that Celie felt when Nettie left was shown in a very strong scream that literally made me cry.  The actresses in the film showed such strong emotion in the scene that I thought really mirrored the emotion that was expressed in the book.  Celie was shown as a very strong women that took life as it came.  I thought that the most consistent character between the movie and the novel was Celie because of how she was portrayed and the personality that matched how she was described in the book.
     I think that the film creators chose to keep Celie's character the same between the book and film because it helped the readers better follow and understand the movie/novel more.  The book is a difficult book to read because of the story it tells.  Although some people may have never personally experienced a traumatic event like rape or incest they can sympathize with Celie in the book and although they may not entirely be able to understand, the female readers/viewers can somewhat get a handle on the emotional and physical distress it causes a person.  By keeping Celie the way she is described in the book the reader that is now the viewer feels like they already "know" the character.  Celie's emotional strength can also give the reader and viewers hope that she will be ok and she will make it through this struggle.  This can translate into the reader or viewer feeling as if THEY will be ok and that THEY will make it through what ever struggle they are currently facing.  Novels and films can have a strong impact on peoples lives especially if they can relate to the characters in them.
     The largest difference that I saw between the novel and the film was how the men were portrayed.  The first thing I noticed was the it seemed the men in the movie had more of an identity.  Their names tended to be used more, first and last, and the film showed the names in writing, such as on the mailbox.  All of the men in the movie also seemed to be "nicer".  They were far from being Saints, but they were portrayed as hardworking, friendly to others, and not as abusive.  The man that was most changed was Albert.  There were still abusive and depressing scenes in the film but in my opinion they were nothing like I envisioned in the book.  The book was much more graphic both with language and content.   There were scenes in the movie where Albert was working in the field or with him and Celie lying in bed talking and joking almost like a happy couple would.  In a way it disturbed me how they made this change.  Although as the book went on Albert did seem to change as a person, especially with Shug around, I thought that the changes they showed in the film were to drastic and really seemed to change the story.
     The main reason I think that the film makers made this change was because otherwise the film may be too graphic or too depressing that they audience would be limited.  I also think that if the men were portrayed the way they were in the book, many men would not want to watch the movie or may feel that is what an attack on men as a whole.  The changes also made the film not as depressing in a way because Albert was in some ways "kinder".  As a viewer the change would still have shown Celie as a strong women that in in some respects had helped to better her life with the help of Shug and to make Albert a less abusive man.
     I thought that the film was overall very good.  The movie was filled with strong emotions and life changes for all of the characters and really drew the viewer into the story.  Although there were differences between the novel and the film it is virtually impossible to keep everything the same.  The changes in the way the men were portrayed was frustrating but all in all it may have been a good move for the viewers.  Both the book and movie were hard to take in at some points but I am very glad that I had the opportunity to experience them.