Oscar Got It Wrong!: Best Adapted Screenplay 1985

The Contenders:

The Color Purple
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Out of Africa (winner)
Prizzi’s Honor
The Trip to Bountiful

Oscar Got It Wrong!: Best Actress 1985

The Contenders:

Anne Bancroft: Agnes of God
Whoopie Goldberg: The Color Purple
Meryl Streep: Out of Africa
Jessica Lange: Sweet Dreams
Geraldine Page: The Trip to Bountiful (winner)

Oscar Got It Wrong!: Best Picture 1985

The Contenders:
The Color Purple
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Out of Africa (winner)
Prizzi’s Honor
Witness

Men are Bad

Film: The Color Purple
Format: DVD from Northern Illinois University Founders Memorial Library on Sue’s Mother’s Day present.

When I wrote up the end of June, I mentioned that there were several films that I was dreading and that I should do my best to get through a few of them sooner rather than later. Behold, The Color Purple, a film that I knew was going to be a rough ride for me, not only because of its length. Spielberg, for all his acclaim, is a director who goes too far into some territory for me. When he’s on, there are few people better. When he gets a particular idea, though, he worries it to death, hammering home his message with as much force as he can. He’s not a subtle director (see War Horse for a more recent example). And with The Color Purple being an “important” film, I knew there was great danger of Spielberg spending 150 minutes on a pulpit.

Here’s the nutshell version. If you are the possessor of a penis, The Color Purple thinks you are a bad person. It doesn’t matter how much you think you’re a good person or even if anyone else thinks you’re a good person. No, in the world of this film, men are all melodrama villains who live only to oppress women. Got that? If you’re male, you’re evil. Deal with it. In fact, the film says, if you are not sexually or physically abusive, you are a weakling.