February 23rd 2024.
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, the talented actress who portrayed Mama in the 2023 adaptation of The Color Purple, recently shared her disappointment with the way the film handled the queer love story between the two main characters. In an interview with BuzzFeed on February 16th, she spoke out against the filmmakers for "sanitizing" the romantic relationship between Celie and Shug Avery, as depicted in Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
Ellis-Taylor emphasized that The Color Purple is a book about Black lesbians, and regardless of the filmmakers' choice to focus on this aspect or not, it is still a fundamental part of the story. "Whether the choice was made to focus on that or not in the cinematic iterations of The Color Purple, it's still a movie about Black lesbians," she stated.
For those unfamiliar with the story, Celie is the protagonist who endures horrific sexual and domestic abuse at the hands of her husband. However, her life takes a dramatic turn when she meets Shug Avery, her husband's lover. Celie is immediately drawn to Shug, and their relationship evolves into a deep love. In the 1985 film adaptation, their romance is only briefly implied in a single kiss, without any further exploration. The more recent adaptation delves deeper into Celie and Shug's relationship, but Ellis-Taylor believes it still falls short of Walker's original vision.
"Alice Walker wrote The Color Purple with intention because she was writing about herself," Ellis-Taylor explained. "I just want that part of the book to be portrayed in the films with intention instead of being incidental. I want people to walk away from The Color Purple thinking, 'I just saw a movie about Black lesbians.' I don't think that has happened."
As a bisexual woman herself, Ellis-Taylor is a strong advocate for LGBTQ+ representation in the film industry. She hopes that her role in The Color Purple will open doors for more diverse and authentic storytelling. In fact, she revealed that she has plans to create a project about Fannie Lou Hamer, a civil rights activist, where she will shine a light on the queer activists who supported her.
In conclusion, Ellis-Taylor's passionate stance on the portrayal of Celie and Shug's relationship in The Color Purple serves as a reminder of the importance of accurate representation in media. It is a call to action for Hollywood to do better and to give a voice to marginalized communities, both on and off-screen.
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