The Color Purple: Sisterhood and Survival

Brian McLaren discusses The Color Purple (Spielberg, 1985) and what he learned about redemption and forgiveness. The film is an adaptation from The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Originally published in 1982, the book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award. It’s a book of letters, from the main character Celie to God, as she tries to understand the brutality of her life. The trajectory of the film is to witness Celie’s growth from victim to survivor to a member of a thriving sisterhood. Brian McLaren is an author, activist, and public theologian. He is a faculty member with the Center for Action and Contemplation and a podcaster with the CAC’s podcast Learning How to See. He is a co-host of Southern Lights and has written more than 20 books, including his newest, The Last Voyage (2025), the first installment in a science fiction trilogy.