The Color Purple (1985)

The written companion

Draft companion · Awaiting editorial review

The Color Purple: A Performance That Makes Matt Forget the Star

There is a moment in Dan and Matt's conversation when the praise becomes very simple. Matt says that while watching The Color Purple, he did not feel as though he was watching Whoopi Goldberg. He felt he was watching Celie, and he wanted her to smile. That is the emotional center of their episode: a performance that turns admiration into concern for a person.

Dan traces the importance of Celie's relationship with her sister. Amid abuse and relentless belittlement, that connection gives the story something to hold onto. He is especially attentive to the role of letters and literacy, and to the way a relationship can sustain someone even when the people around her are trying to make her feel insignificant.

Matt responds to the strength of the storytelling and performances without needing spectacle to carry them. Goldberg's expressions matter to him because the smallest change can feel hard-won. He also describes how forcefully Danny Glover's character provokes his dislike, a response that speaks to the emotional credibility of the world around Celie.

Their conversation is admiring, but its value is in the specifics of that admiration. They are discussing the difficulty of watching people mistreated, the relief of seeing tenderness, and the way the film makes those shifts count. Matt sees love and beauty as essential to its meaning, rather than as decoration laid over suffering.

Within their journey through films they ought to have seen, this is one that gives Dan a reason to be glad they started. The discovery is not just another title checked off a list. It is the experience of finding a story that leaves something to talk about afterward.

Which relationship gives The Color Purple its strongest emotional pull for you? And was there a small expression or moment of joy that stayed with you more than a major speech?

Watch their Color Purple discussion ↗

Based on auto-generated captions. The episode discusses abuse and major plot events; this companion addresses those themes without retelling the ending.