New Film, The Color Purple, Confronts Generational Trauma and Healing Broken Bonds

“Not your mama’s ‘Color Purple,’ but your mama’s gonna love it, too,” – Oprah Winfrey

FANTASIA BARRINO as Celie and TARAJI P. HENSON as Shug Avery in Warner Bros. Pictures’ bold new take on a classic, “THE COLOR PURPLE,” a Warner Bros. Image by Ser Baffo

On Dec. 25, audiences will resonate with the soul-stirring melodies of a classic reborn. The Color Purple returns with a new twist as a musical that takes the meaning of storytelling to a new level. 

From Alice Walker’s novel to the iconic 1985 film, The Color Purple has been a classic tale for multiple generations. Known for its unwavering narrative depiction of African American history and culture, the new musical film invites the audience to a new tale that intertwines African culture along with the song and dance of the 1920s. 

At a virtual roundtable hosted by Warner Brothers, Director Blitz Bazawule and Actresses Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Fantasia, and Phylicia Mpasi offered a glimpse into the making of this new reinvention of the classic.

The Color Purple showcases the main character Celie who is separated from her sister and children and faces difficulties in her life. With the help and love around her Celie, along with many of the film’s classic characters, find the strength to stand up for themselves and show the indestructible connection between sisterhood.

Knowing the weight of the original novel and film, numerous actors felt the pressures of portraying the cherished characters. Singer and songwriter Fantasia Barinno and actress Taraji P. Henson mention their worries regarding the film.

Barinno, portraying Celie, shared her initial intimidation about acting, never having the experience before. 

“Well, I was intimidated with the acting, for singing is my thing. But they all helped me do it. And I did it.”

For Henson, portraying Shug Avery, her fear was the contrary.

“I was intimidated by the singing, for sure. Because I never had to sing in a way where, you know, I’ve never been in anything where I had to sing jazz, blues, and gospel. So that was quite intimidating,” said Henson. “But when I was cast in the role, I started working with my vocal coach here in LA, Stevie Mackey, two months before I started principal photography to get off of my jitters.”

This new musical aspect adds a whole new level to the classic film. Bazawule, a director known for co-directing Beyonce’s Black is King and feature debut The Burial of Kojo, says that the music was the most challenging part of creating the film.

Bazawule stated finding a way for the music come to life in the film took a lot of work. However, he still found the light in the situation, determined to create a one-of-a-kind film.

“I was always certain that if we could find a source for the music, we will have a great opportunity to immerse the audience in the musical,” said Bazawule, also giving credit to his choreographer and music team.

Danielle Brooks, the actress portraying Sofia, emphasized that the musical elements aren’t merely for the sake of singing; they serve to elevate the storytelling.

“You singing because that’s what you have to do is like as far as you can go with the words, and it taps into something else. And the beautiful thing about singing is that it’s in music is that it’s so universal,” said Brooks. “I think that’s what I’m excited about the most is that you know, yes, this is a story that is immersed in wrapped in Blackness and Black women.”

She believes the production of The Color Purple takes everything so much further for the world to see and relate.

“Music is a big part of Black culture,” Barinno also highlights, “and is found they used to get through a lot of horrible things. And so by putting that with a story that shows what we what we went through as as, as Black people and Black women.”

Bazawule also speaks on the sacredness and timelessness of Alice Walker’s text. 

“Well, I think that the Color Purple as conceived by Alice Walker is a text that is deeply sacred. And we can find that it is also evergreen,” said Bazawule. “The fact that, you know, we will always have people living on the margins, people who are discriminated against and people who are looking to go from unseen to seen will always make this text seminal and important.”

Knowing the legacy The Color Purple holds Bazawule envisions the film as a catalyst for conversations on important topics within the community.

“My hope is that it also opens up conversations amongst young people to talk about what generational trauma looks like and how, you know, trauma that is borrowed and that is carried on can be destructive. And I think that’s what this movie does a great job of showing that a lot of these problems far precede us.”

Phylicia Mpasi, the actress portraying young Celie, addresses the industry’s tendency to put Black work or art into the box, stripping its excellence. 

“I hope that this film really crosses that boundary and allows more Black work to be made, more work to our stories told by us, for us to really break those boundaries in the industry, because they are worthy of all the accolades,” said Mpasi. “They’re worthy of the prizes. And I hope that just continues to live on and create more space for more or less to tell our stories.”

The film is also known for talking about many important themes that still relate to society. One of them being the sisterhood aspect.

In the film, all the women stood up for Celie when she was being abused by her husband. In that moment, all the characters worked together to heal each other. Henson emphasizes the importance of sisterhood and how we should all stick together as Black women.

“We’re powerful in numbers and need each other because nobody else has our back. We all we got. We need each other to lift each other up,” said Henson.

Bazawule wanted to emphasize forgiveness and communal healing in the end, highlighting families that are dealing with challenges or are separated and torn apart. 

“I think what The Color Purple has always represented is radical forgiveness. And I think that seeing everybody coming together, even people who had done wrong at that table all hold hands, and engage in forgiveness, but also accountability because let’s not forget those two go hand in hand,” said Bazawule, accentuating his hope of families packing the theaters and wanting to repair broken bonds through healing.

A scene from Warner Bros. Pictures’ bold new take on a classic, “THE COLOR PURPLE,” a Warner Bros. Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

As The Color Purple is ready to hit the big screen once again, it will not only be a revival of the classic but a celebration of legacy, resilience, and the unbreakable ties of sisterhood. Be prepared to be moved, uplifted, and immersed in a cinematic experience of a lifetime.