Ladies of ‘The Color Purple’ talk surrendering to God’s dreams, forgiving like Jesus
Actresses starring in a musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel The Color Purple recently shared how God impacted their lives while filming the movie that will be in theatres nationwide on Christmas Day.
This is yet another remake following the 1985 Steven Spielberg-directed film starring Oprah Winfrey in the role of Sofia and Broadway adaptations in 2015 and 2005.
The new version stars Fantasia Barrino as Celie, Danielle Brooks as Sofia and other A-list celebrities, including Taraji P. Henson, Halle Bailey and Louis Gossett Jr.
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In a recent interview moderated by preacher and filmmaker DeVon Franklin, the ladies of the cast and Oprah share how the film impacted them spiritually.
"I would like to hope and pray that people know and understand that we don't have space for cancel culture in humanity,” Henson said when asked how the film will bless viewers. “Because if Mister was a real man today and all of what he did to Celie was blasted all over Instagram, he’d be canceled!”
“What a horrible ending for him, because then there's no time for him to redeem himself, for him to own up to what he did wrong and make amends," she added.
"How can we judge people? Who are we to say one sin is worse than the other? How do I throw a stone and I'm living in a glass house? We all live in glass houses! If Jesus can forgive, what makes you think you can't?”
According to the film's synopsis, the new adaptation shows "the life-long struggles of an African American woman living in the South during the early 1900s."
The movie promises to be a "bold new take on the beloved classic" about "the extraordinary sisterhood of three women who share one unbreakable bond."
Oprah said the original movie, released around 40 years ago, taught her to no longer look to her own dreams but instead to look out for God's dreams.
During Franklin's interview, Oprah, Henson, Barrino and Brooks all broke out in worship as the mogul recalled singing when she received the call to star in the 1985 classic.
“I Surrender All,” they belted out. "I was praying that song, singing that song,” Oprah told Franklin in the clip shared with The Christian Post.
“When I finally let it go, the woman runs out and she says, ‘There's a phone call for you.’ It was Steven Spielberg calling to let me know that I should get off the weight loss forum and come to the Amblin offices.”
“That moment of surrendering taught me that you do the work, you wish, you pray, and then you let it go. You just surrender all, and God can dream a bigger dream for you than you could ever dream for yourself,” she declared.
"What 'The Color Purple' taught me is to hand my dreams over to God,” Oprah said. "I actually stopped dreaming. I stopped dreaming. And I said, 'God, you tell me what the dream you have for me. What you want that dream to be, and I will just live the dream,'” she added. "So if you asked me how am I doing right now, I'm living in God's dream.”
Oprah has said in the past that Jesus and the Bible are her primary sources of faith. However, she has heavily promoted universalism and New Age thinkers, and once said there are many ways to Heaven that are not through faith in Jesus Christ.
Jeannie Ortega Law is a reporter for The Christian Post. Reach her at: [email protected] She's also the author of the book, What Is Happening to Me? How to Defeat Your Unseen Enemy Follow her on Twitter: @jlawcp Facebook: JeannieOMusic
