Awesome breakdown of the film that played a true role in the breaking down of a culture of color! As always, I enjoyed and was further educated on how we got to this place we call now! I've viewed a lot of your content and for sure....again well done! Outside of this, my two favorites are why men left the today's church and Gordon Parks The Learning Tree. Just awesome Laymon Journal keep with the great content. You found a great supporter in me of your content! Peace and plenty of blessings to you and your from me no doubt!!!!

I never realized how much of a blind spot I had for this movie until now. This movie was so quotable that I never paid attention. I had no plans to see the new one and still don't. I hope that we can normalize healthy families in the black community again. I wish that we could heal together

The only "tender and loving, sensual" moment in the entire movie was between 2 women.

i've learned that the source of the narrative is more significant than the narrative itself. thanks Layman

Dr. T. Hassan Johnson also has an awesome breakdown of this movie as a character study.

Whoever played young celie was a phenomenal actress

I've been saying for years, largely to deaf ears, how much damage this movie has done to the Black Community. I put this movie in the same category as the 1915 Klan propaganda movie "Birth of a Nation". The overall intent and message of the movie becomes obvious, especially when you consider that Alice Walker is a feminist and a lesbian.

You hit the nail on the head. When I read the title I said, of that's a good movie, but I was like 7 lol. So I understood most of the story, but lacked the fundamentals to understand the connotation of the whole movie. It really did make it seemed like it was an normal way of life for black people. This video was such an eye opener.

I was 14 when the Color Purple came out. I didn't see it at the movies. It wasn't until I was at Prairie View A&M University I would finally see the movie. I was deep in the conscious community and very active on campus. I encountered sistas from all over the country. Almost to a fault any conscious sista that read the book were feminists and, at a minimum bisexual. They all took the book/movie as a historical fact. Luckily for me, my mother's own activism prepared me for these women. As an activist, she realized quickly that these new black female activists weren't heterosexual and hated black men. Alice Walker was their defacto leader. This was the time that Shahrazad Ali had come out with her book breaking down how out of pocket black women had become. Fast forward 30 years and ish is 100 times worse and The Color Purple was a catalyst for the modern gender war.

I just realized something for the first time. Kathleen Kennedy was listed as producer for the Colored Purple. Is this the same Kathleen who took over the Stars Wars franchise?

You’re right about a child’s mind. There were Television shows And movies I use to enjoy as a child…but once in look back at them as an adult. I realize we’ve all been indoctrinated to believe in feminism and other ideas that are detrimental to our community

It’s not an exaggeration. Minister Farrakhan’s video on this says 60% of black women identified with the characters in this movie. What about the unfiltered stories channel, this is happening today. Of course, the men were also victims. God knows what’s happened to Mister and Alphonso as children. It’s just a horrific cycle of abuse that needs to be addressed.

I was 42 when I first saw this movie and thought it was great. I cried at the parts I thought were touching. Maybe a year or two later I watch it again and asked myself what was I thinking. I saw it for the trash that it was. the rainbow relationship had no place in the story if it was supposed to be a teachable story. I could not relate to any of those people and I thank God I didn't. This movie shows what good cinematography and good acting can do.

The creepiness of all these characters, and i mean ALL, reminds me of a Jordan Peele movie. Even their smiles are off putting cuz as the viewer i know fucked up shit is about to happen and their smiling like a bunch of mental patients with no clue

I saw it, hated it then, hated it now.

There is not one positive male character arch in this film… not one!

Excellent breakdown. I never saw the movie and I think that was done intentionally by mother, judging how others moms seemed to force them to watch it

I was telling my father earlier today. F THE COLOR PURPLE and the remake. And this was articulated well.

Brother, you are spot on as usual in your videos. Very good work. I seen the color purple movie when I was a kid and thought nothing of it then. My mom, sister and aunts always "Amened" the movie as being truth about black men. I watched the movie for the first time in years in 2021. I came to the conclusion that this movie has done more damage to the black community then I realized. Most black women I know uses this movie as a reference point for reality for black men today. I hate to think this movie brainwashed my generation of black women to think this is how black men really are!

I agree. This movie made black men look terrible. Danny Glover played that role so damn good, I actually hated him, I had to remember he was a character. That's how much of a monster his character was, but I think it actually attacks the Christian religion more. Think about it, Celia prays and talks to God, hoping he would free her from all the horror she is going through for years but it seems like nothing changes. The pastor in the flim openly marries these young girls off to these older men and sells their children if asked. The flim shows homsexuaity very lightly, which we all know how many Christians feel about this and when her sister goes off to Africa she learn a different religion. In interviews, the author herself talks about this.

I'm sooo glad you made the clear distinction between the Bible, and the Female dominated and controlled pagan religion of Modern Christianity.

Color Purple was a truthful look at the times. There were plenty of old men with teenage brides. You were considered an Old Maid if you weren't married by 25. Sophia saying "a girl child ain't safe in a house full of men" still rings true today. If you can't take the movie, don't read the book. Celie father told Mister, you don't even have to feed or cloth her and she'll do whatever you like. Also Celie father new wife was 13 not 15, she was younger than Celie.

Its a hard pill to swallow but the reality was this was what life was for many young black girls growing up in the rural south during that time, even a lot of yt women had similar experiences during that time.

I can say with certainty that Sophia's being taken down by the mob is probably the first movie scene to ever put mortal fear into me. Its triggering to the point where I can't even rewatch it today

the memory thing is stupid- because all memories are in context - who would show a 10 year old this movie????

I was in my mid thirties when I watched this film in 1985. That means like you, I am old enough to have some insight as to the overall character of men and marriage in the previous two generations. To be sure, what we see in The Color Purple was not anywhere near the general truth. Any one of the horrors of movie would have been a singularity in those communities. This is kind of like "Hawaii 5O," where they pack more murders in one episode than the state of Hawaii actually has all year. If the feminist fantasy of universal wife-beating and male infidelity had been true, I'd have seen it within male circles. It would have been common in the barber shop conversation for a man to say, "Yeah, I shagged a 15-year-old last week" or "I slapped my wife so hard she couldn't spit for two days." But, no, you didn't hear that kind of talk among men. Maybe it happened here and there, but the fact that men didn't talk about it indicates that it was not an accepted norm among men. There is this: In the attempt to adhere to "A Man's Home Is His Castle," you would not have seen men actually intrude into another man's home affairs. But within the community of men, a "wifebeater" would have faced a definite level of shunning. He wouldn't be the guy invited to play dominos with other men. A man who was known to target young girls (who were other men's daughters!) would not have been acceptable in male company. My father did not beat my mother. My grandfather did not beat my grandmother. My father-in-law did not beat my mother-in-law. Yet, the common "truth" circulated among feminists (both black and white) is that nearly all women were suffering beatings all the time. As absurd as that sounds, that's what they believe today, and they believe it continues...that even Millennial men are constantly beating their wives. That's their answer to the fact that 80% of divorces are initiated by the wife. If you start that conversation with women today, they immediately throw up wife-beating as the reason...even for divorces today. They believe 80% of wives are being beaten by their millennial husbands. This movie was the beginning of a representation of black men by black feminists that continues to this day, such as "The Woman King." In that movie, the man this movie strives to make us despise most is not the white slaver, but a black man whose role was totally invented for the movie. The same was true of "Tubman." In that movie, the primary antagonist was not the white slave owner but the black slave catcher (another role totally invented for the movie...a free, armed black man roaming the south telling crude jokes about sex with white women could not have even existed in reality). In both cases, black men were presented in the vilest manners possible while the white slavers were presented as...mostly nice guys.

I was 17 when it came out. I noticed then that all the male characters were horrible and Harpo was a simp. It wasn't until about 5 years later I watch it again realized that it was a feminist masterpiece. I asked my father who was born in 1921, was black family life like that. He said absolutely not in his experience and he was from the deep south. A lot of modern black females point to this movie as an excuse to be uncooperative and combative to black men. I have had some quote lines to me verbatim. Luckily there are ladies who see right through this feminist fiction. Whoppi Goldberg still is the beacon for feminist nonsense. And of course, Hollyweird had to have a lesbian encounter thrown in there.

Good analysis, great video. Dr. T Hasan Johnson brought me here.

Quincy Jones is connected to Steven Spielberg. That's where Oprah comes into the picture.

Everything bad that could happen to a Black woman happened in this movie. It brought me down, But it never caused me to hate Black men. What bothers me is that Black women love the movie.

This shows you how blind we are. This movie was sweet icing on a sh....t cake.

F.Y.I: the color purple has been remade with an all new star-studded cast. It's set to release in Dec 2023.. Staring: Taraji Henson, Fantasia & Hailie Bailey.. Why is this being remade? Of all the novels out there, why this one?

Precious and monsters ball

Outstanding analysis. Keep up the good work.

As a young Black boy growing up in the 90s, I always wondered why so many Black Women LOVED this movie, SO MUCH !😕 NO OTHER MOVIE promoted the concept of "Ni66as aint sh**", more than "The Color Purple🟣" ! 😡 And now theyre gonna put out a remake that NO ONE asked for, to re-program the Gen-Z Black girls with Feminism & Misandry ! 😔

It was not lies. Mister was my father and some of my exes. Some men aint worth two cents, including some black men. And, the same can be said about some women. It's just true. It does not define all black men or all men in general. The culture was already broken down and is in that sense. The Color Purple just shed light on stories about those who lived it.

I was lucky to have an aunt who made me read the book before seeing the movie. While the book has its own set of issues, they are nothing like the ones in the movie.

I've asked black male reviewers of The Colour Purple to see the film from the perspective of a decent black man. I say a decent black man would focus on the portrayal of black men. They would either say the portrayal was unrealistic or they would ask why are they're so many crazy black men. I get no answer at all from them.

this was one of my favorite movies growing up I only saw it in this light after a man I was dating of who's opinion I deeply trusted brought it to my attention

Wow wonderful work Brother. I recently rewatched the movie from when I was a child and was deeply disturbed by this movie. It gave me a Precious vibe. Thanks for that breakdown.

I hate this movie 🎬.. sad part they made it worst than the book .... They PURPOSELY made the movie more violent and dysfunctional than what it was..

O wow, this was an incredible video. When I was a kid my parents would watch this movie when it played but me on the other hand; i could never finish it. It was just cringe to watch and fam, u explained it in detail. Great video

Love the video. I love your work. But can you slow down with the shaky laptop thing. It's making it hard to watch and enjoy your work.

You’re doing good work.

Thank you for this breakdown, def subscribing

produced by kathleen kennedy? she killed off luke skywalker and ruined star wars. it fuqin makes sense now. 🤯

This movie by no means part of our culture

Wow...............and bravo. Talk about having the scales removed from your eyes to see clearly.

I agree with you layman, Rosewood is the reality movie we should praise and incorporate into our collective black consciousness instead of this movie

That's the problem with these movies they made it seem like it was a cultural practice and it was not.

Understand that Nettie and Celiy are not minors according to this period in time. It was normal for women to be married and or pregnant in their teens. Federal and state Laws regarding of legal age didn't come into existence unit maybe after the wwII or Vietnam war

I was traumatized by this movie on Christmas Eve of the year it came out. I'm Gen X and still tryin to figure out why my mother thought this was an appropriate Holiday Movie Excursion (May she rest in Peace.). -I want a male version of "Color Purple"

Ngl times was different if u think this movie says all black men like this then u need to watch and listen again

You know what i realized, the women thats mad that men don't like this shit is the women that see themselves in Celie. Us not liking the imagery= the people they turned to for help that didnt do anything. So are we opening old wounds or the film? Im sorry to all the sisters that has to experience such atrocities but we got a right to not to like this shit. I pray for your healing my sister.

the book was written by Alice Walker a black woman. The screen play was written by Menno Meyjes

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and comments in this video.

I totally agree with this breakdown !!! Please do a video on “Women of Brewster Place”

people forget that the original movie adaption was so successful that The Color Purple went on to become a Tony Award winning Broadway musical. and now in 2023, the musical is being turned into a film. gotta keep the narrative going so no one forgets the "truth" and "history" of a complete work of fiction.

Damn!!! Your review of the Color Purple was masterfully done. Spot on!!!

Excellent video, intriguing perspective!

Great video! Agreed wholeheartedly with it from start to finish! 👍

Sounds like the movie is based on a white family🤔

Great expose. Brilliant. Yes I shared it

This makes me have even more disdain fot the Color Purple and it should make self respectful women think twice about how THEY are portrayed

My biggest problem with this movie is that many African American women believe that this movie represents the experiences of all black women who lived in that era. This movie was black feminist propaganda.

I remember certain scenes from the movie, but not seeing the entire film. Then again, I was 4 when it was released and was more interested in cartoons than “the serious” stuff watched by grown-ups. I think I’ll give it a watch tomorrow to see what people are talking about.

Your criticisms and opinion of the movie is valid, however I do find it a bit reductive in comparison to the entire story and that being the book. Yes, Alice Walker is a feminist, it was written during the 80's, and the story largely deals with sexism, racism, and abuse set during the years between 1910 through 1940. Without the comparison of the book, you miss out on the uplifting themes of the story such as perseverance, forgiveness, acceptance, and spirituality/faith through adversity and for both genders. For example, a significant amount of Albert/Mister's character development in the movie is cut. The way the video is posed though makes it seem that the whole story is about women triumph while men get left in the gutter, and if you or a majority of the viewers in the comments actually read the book you might have a different perspective. I'm not saying anyone has to like or appreciate the movie or the book, however I am saying that your essay would be more nuanced with the comparison, because the differences in the narrative and how it's presented between both works, the film and the book are quite different.

I appreciated that my mother mentioned about the movie. She told me some disdainful moments about Black Male Bashing. Quite interesting and very smfh moment. I am happy that my mother (God Bless Her) told me to watch out for that kind of women who abandoned, or bashing Black Males.

I watched this movie as a young girl in Nigeria and it trumertized me. I hate it and I don't why there was a need for the remake.

It’s so interesting. I was in this movie as a kid in the African scene and my mother worked on the headwraps on that same scene. I was older when I saw the film and I never really understood it until I got older. But once I got older and realize what the movie was all about, I always consider the movie as a horror movie, and one of the worst horror movies ever writtenseriously and I’m a horror movie connoisseur and it has all the ingredients of a horror movie. And they quoted all the time not really understanding how much damage this movie has done shoot I didn’t know how much damage this movie has done.

What's the name of the song playing in the background? (Fantastic breakdown of this film/ the book is even more explicit )(Found your channel through Dr. T Hassan Johnson)

In the book it says that mista and sugar Avery have 3 kids together! This whole time mista has been raising their children! That’s why he needed Celie! In the book it says that suge makes zero effort to check up or raise her children with mista! The movie makes zero mention of the three children suge has with mista! Or about suge abandoning her children even when she lives in the house! Suge is more interested in singing in the juke joint! And in the book she leaves her husband for a 19 year old guitar player in her traveling band! The movie skips over this detail too!!

They married females at that age back then. I know it's offensive by today's standards. Things were crazy in Black society back then like mothers kicking their teenage sons out cause they have a new man. You and I have a lot in common. The phrase shotgun wedding existed for a reason back then.

Awesome job

This is amazing! Wow! Thank you for this take!

They got to shape their own mens image in a negative light to the world. And people still don’t get it

Please do a video on the upcoming remake to The Color Purple. The trailer just dropped.

Also great review

It was a good movie as a child... but I NEVER saw it as anything but a nod to the sisterhood .

Respect. 🙏

My son doesn’t have to watch this movie 😂

I totally agree I hate this movie, when I would watch as a kid I thought it was the worse thing I had ever seen!!

The movie should've been about Fishburne and Rae Dawn Chong.

Incredible and impressive commentary on this film. Thank you for this. This movie has had an incredible influence of misandrist ideals in black American culture. Side note: I still know women to this day who actively hate Danny Glover for the role he played. They cannot disassociate him from Mister.

Great vid. I never perceived it this manner

The movie has become more of a comedy over the years. Unfortunately that is how most of us deal with trauma. We either laugh, do drugs, turn to religion, or simply gaslight ourselves in an attempt to escape reality.

Thank you sir.

This review is spot on. It was simultaneously well done & subliminally horrendous. I knew something wasn't right about the color purple, yet lacked the mindset to label it. After I was made aware of the misandrous nature of the color purple, I didn't need to rewatch to put together what slipped the cogs of my mental machinery. Harpo's cognitive twin no more.

I didn't read the book. Had no interest. However, I did see the movie, in college, in 1986. You can have the movie. I saw the depiction of Black men straight out the box. This was during an era of multiple Black women authors, such as Walker, Gloria Naylor, Toni Morrison and Terry McMillan. I even had a class in college with a professor whose curricula centered around those types of writers. Let's put it this way; it was open season on Black men. And, while defenders of authors like Walker would argue that the book is different, and that Spielberg arbitrarily took extra liberties with the story, the cold, hard fact was that no one checked Spielberg, at the time. As a result, this movie evolved into iconic status by reinforcing stereotypes; the impact that we, as a society, have never fully recovered!

Once they had the rights to the story spielberg changed a bunch of things from the book. The studio had more of an agenda than alive walker. She gave them the blueprint then spielberg expanded on it.

So very true

Even though this story is fiction, this was many women's experiences in the past. But you don't like the way it portrayed you, so you're offended. It's hilarious because in the same breath, we could say the same about Roots description of how slavery was back then because that story is also fiction. This wasn't a blk thing it was just what happened back then. I wish blk men were like that now, then what they are today

Interesting

I spent my entire life not really knowing the plot of this movie. I've seen short scenes and of course heard the quotes but I never seen the movie in it's entirety. I kinda regret watching this video, nothing against @Laymans Journal all of the work done on this video was excellent. I have a better understanding of what this movie is and how damaging it was when it came out. But now knowing who the characters are and their dynamics 🤮🤮🤮

I believe that this movie grossly oversimplifies CSA and its effects. It has a children’s movie approach to the topic

This was good

Thank you for taking the time and effort into breaking that movie down. I've must of watched that movie over 10 times throughout the years, but never picked up on what you spoke about. Well....I won't be watching that movie ever again.

The stories in this movie tell of how common some things were in the 1920's after slavery... I'm not sure why this movie offends black men - kinda like the Woman King struck nerves, but it may be due to some black men being unable to relate to some of things women or teenage girls have to endure or have had to endure after slavery(the movie's setting). And that's completely understandable. I mean grown men impregnating girls in the 1920s was very common, physical and verbal abuse - very common back then. Was it right? No. Was it every black family? No. And just because I watched Sophia slapping Harpo around doesn't mean in reality that is what I do - and I'm not offended by seeing that. When I watch movies, I watch to learn something new, I watch to be entertained, but mostly I watch to be inspired. This movie does not tell of how horrible black men were/are and how better black women are, but tells of some of the realities that have been faced and how we as a culture can overcome those things and end the cycle. During slavery black men (and women and children) were BRUTALIZED so as a result, "after" slavery, some black men (& women) passed on the traumas that they endured - physical, verbal, sexual abuse.

Well made video Insightful and critical

Didn’t Alice marry a white man ?