THE COLOR PURPLE

http://www.filmeducation.org/secondary/TheColorPurple/

DIRECTOR: Steven Spielberg
CAST: Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Margaret Avery, Adolph Caesar, Oprah Winfrey
CERTIFICATE: 15
RUNNING TIME: 154 minutes

SYNOPSIS: This film is an adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer prize-winning novel, directed by Steven Spielberg. It tells the story of a black girl's life and hard times in the Southern states of America, spanning some forty years from 1909; a sprawling saga of characters both frustrated and fullfilled, and at the centre a survivor.

TEACHERS' NOTES

This study guide has been written for use in English and Media Studies GCSE, Standard Grade and Intermediate 2 courses. The main theme of this study guide is the question of adaptation from book to film, and the difference between the experience of understanding a story through reading a book and seeing a film. It is therefore important that the students have read the book and have seen the film. This study guide also looks at themes within the film such as stereotyping, oppression and liberation.

STUDY GUIDE CREDITS Written by Velma Bryan and Stephen Kruger Edited by Ian Wall ©Warner Bros. 1985