Not suitable under 13; parental guidance to 13 (violence, adult themes)
This topic contains:
Children under 13 | Not suitable due to violence and adult themes. |
Children aged 13 | Parental guidance recommended due to violence and adult themes. |
Children aged 14 and over | Ok for this age group. |
This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.
Name of movie: | The Color Purple |
Classification: | M |
Consumer advice lines: | Mature themes and violence |
Length: | 141 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Set in the first half of the 20th century, Celie (Fantasia Barrino) is a young, unmarried woman, about to give birth to her second child. She lives with her abusive father Alfonso (Deon Cole) and sister Nettie (Halle Bailey). Celie’s baby is immediately taken away from her and given up for adoption. Celie is bereft and finds solace in Nettie, the only person in the world who loves her. Nettie is clever and attractive and draws the attention of Mister (Colman Domingo) who asks her father for his permission to marry her. Alfonso refuses and gives him Celie instead. Celie moves from one abusive relationship to another, where she is expected to raise Mister’s three children, cook, clean and have sex with him when required.
Celie is also separated from Nettie who goes to Africa as a nanny. She writes frequently to Celie but her letters are never received as Mister keeps them a secret. Celie is influenced by Sofia (Danielle Brooks), who marries Mister’s oldest son Harpo (Corey Hawkins). Sofia is defiant, strong and brave at a time when women had no rights. Celie is also greatly affected by the appearance of Shug Avery (Taraji P. Hanson), Mister’s glamourous lover. Shug, a well-known singer, takes a liking to Celie and the two become lovers. Shug teaches Celie a lot about her own sexuality and to have confidence in herself. The two eventually leave Mister and go to Memphis to live, although Shug has married musician Grady (Jon Batiste) by this time. Life finally takes a better turn for Celie, who goes on to have a rewarding and fulfilled life.
Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.
Incest; Women’s rights; Abuse and neglect; Forced adoption; Racism; Redemption and forgiveness.
Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.
Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.
There is some violence in this movie, including:
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:
Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.
In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:
Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.
In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged eight to thirteen, including the following:
Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.
There are some sexual references in this movie, including:
There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
There is some coarse language in this movie, including:
The Color Purple is a musical drama, adapted from the stage show and based on the classic, Pulitzer prize-winning book by Alice Walker. The dance/music scenes are quite spectacular and the cast is first class. The film covers some deep subjects, such as the lack of women’s rights back in the early 20th century and the abuse and neglect suffered by women, particularly in 'Black America'. Therefore, it is not suitable for under 13’s and more suited to older teens and adults.
The main messages from this movie are to stand up for yourself and to have confidence in who you are and not be brought down by others.
Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:
This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:
Tip: Leave out the first A, An or The
Selecting an age will provide a list of movies with content suitable for this age group. Children may also enjoy movies selected via a lower age.
Content is age appropriate for children this age
Some content may not be appropriate for children this age. Parental guidance recommended
Content is not age appropriate for children this age
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