Through writing the letters, however, she gains a
means of expression and eventually strength. The
arrival of her husband’s former wife signals a new
life for Celie; the ex-wife, Shug, is a free spirit who
shows Celie how to control her own destiny rather
than be a passive victim of others. Eventually, the two
women form a close spiritual and sexual bond.
Mr.____ is left alone and desolate, cursed to live a
rootless and loveless existence until he repents for
his extreme mental and physical cruelty. Once he re-
pents, his character is referred to as “Albert” and no
longer functions as a nameless symbol of oppressive
men. Throughout the novel, female friendship is
characterized as a means of rising above oppression,
patriarchy, racism, and violence. God is seen as a
force rather than a being and as such provides real
and spiritual comfort.
Impact The multilayered gendered, racial, social,
and religious aspects ofThe Color Purplemade it one
of the most controversial and widely dissected books
of the 1980’s. A new dialogue on women’s issues—
particularly African American women’s issues—was
brought to public attention, causing a cultural focus
on domestic violence, sexism, racism, and same-sex
relationships. The book gained an even wider audi-
ence in 1985, when it was adapted into a movie by
Steven Spielberg.Further Reading
Bloom, Harold, ed.Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple.”
Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2000.
Dieke, Ikenna.Critical Essays on Alice Walker.West-
port, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1999.
Light, Alison.Fear of the Happy Ending: “The Color
Purple,” Reading, and Racism. London: Chelsea
House, 1987.
Twyla R. WellsSee also African Americans; Book publishing; Do-
mestic violence; Feminism; Homosexuality and gay
rights; Literature in the United States; Multicultural-
ism in education; Rape; Women’s rights.Colorization of black-and-white
films
Definition A process to add color to black-and-
white, sepia, or monochrome motion-picture
imagesColorizing film tediously by hand was possible even for the
earliest filmmakers of the 1890’s. By the 1980’s, however,
computers made it possible to add color to entire films far
more efficiently. The process was seen as a profitable way to
attract television audiences to the many old black-and-
white films to which television networks owned broadcast
rights. Critics, film historians, and movie purists loudly de-
nounced the practice, however, creating a long-running
controversy.Colorization by computer is a process invented by
Wilson Markle. After striking a new film print from
the original black-and-white negative, a videotape
copy is then made from that print. Then, using a
computer, color is added to each object in each
frame of the print. As the original colors of complex-
ions, hair, clothes, furniture, and other visible ob-228 Colorization of black-and-white films The Eighties in America
Writer Alice Walker in 1983, after winning the Pulitzer Prize for
The Color Purple.(AP/Wide World Photos)