Case Studies of Film Adaptation
text: The Color Purple (Walker, 1983)
Since Alice Walker's version of The Color Purple features an epistolary format, one of the main challenges that Spielberg faced was altering the point of view of the film. Like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the film adaptation eliminates the first person perspective, thereby shifting the emphasis from one character. In The Color Purple, this change precipitates a deeper understanding of the character of Mr.________. He is no longer as fearsome and imposing as in Celie's letters, because he is real and dimensional. The viewer understands Mr.________'s character through his/her own eyes rather than simply through Celie's words.
Spielberg makes Celie's letters secondary to the third person narrative, but he sometimes uses the cinematography to invoke sympathy on her behalf. Tilt shots of Mr.________ imply a towering presence that looms over her. His shadow eclipses her. Even if Celie does not articulate her fear, the visual contrast between Mr.________'s figure and her own serves a similar function. Thus, even though the point of view is different in the film, Spielberg exploits the assets of his medium to communicate a similar idea.
In the film, Celie's religion is not nearly as significant to her discover of self as it is in the book Part of this discrepancy results from the difficulties in transforming an epistolary novel into a film format, which will necessarily exclude some insights into the narrator's thoughts. Prior to the first letter of the epistolary novel, Celie's Pa warns her, "You better not never tell nobody but God. It'd kill your mammy." She heeds the warning, addressing that letter and every subsequent letter for the first two-thirds of the book: "Dear God." Rather than dwelling on her spiritual awakening, Spielberg emphasizes how Celie evolves as a result of the influence of strong female role models, including Shug and Sophia.
Like Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead and Lolita, the author of the original text of The Color Purple had a role in adapting it for the screen. While Walker retained some control, writing one draft of the screenplay and serving as a consultant, Spielberg altered many of the original ideas in the book and was criticized for not preserving the feminist mood of Walker's text.
SECONDARY SOURCES:
Internet
Movie Database Site
Bridget Robin Pool, "'Buy It, Read It .
. . and Then You can Go to the Movie and Point Out All the Things They Did Wrong':
Changes in The Color Purple," 1993.
This paper discusses Alice Walker's belief that selling the
film rights of her novel The Color Purple was worthwhile because the possibility of
widespread exposure and reception of her message outweighed the probability that the
necessary changes in the work would be detrimental to the themes of the original.
The paper concludes that the film fulfilled the author's stated intent in authorizing the
adaptation: Spielberg's film provides a beautiful visualization of Walker's basic
story that is more widely accessible than the novel.
Part of Northern Virginia Community College's Dogwood Project.
This page is copyright © 2000, Bridget Robin Pool.
Last Modified Monday, January 29, 2001