This movie is old and famous, so it's too late to say bad things about it, but...

It's long and dreary. It stresses how a female is at the mercy of constant rape by a man, even her dad.

There is a line delivered by Oprah like, "Ain't no woman safe in a world where there is penises!"
The only comfort the main character, Celie, gets here comes from women. There is the love of her sister and the sexual touches of the lady who sings the song "Sister." Women are good here, and men are bad.

Celie is too shy to speak up for herself or take any action that would improve her life, until the last third of the movie, where it comes as a surprise. She is at the dinner table and suddenly starts giving a speech about how much she hates her husband.

Now, after all these long years and this very long movie, she is ready to make a change. It's like it was planned to happen just in time for the movie to end on something positive.
We see from two different female characters that there are opportunities for women to leave a bad situation for something better. The lady who sings "Sister" leaves her husband and goes on to have an entertainment career and enough success to come back driving a fancy car. Why she comes back, other than to show off, is not clear. Oprah's character leaves her husband but later gets too uppity, and society moves to put her in her place.

Unfortunately, for Celie, her path forward is really not that positive. She's a grown woman who goes into a field to play patty-cake with her long-lost sister, like they did when they were children. That is happiness for her.

Now it's time to say some crazy stuff...

This movie needs a sequel. One where Celie is a female avenger like Lorena Bobbitt. Going around killing men and chopping off their parts! Total Bad Ass!

She has money now and doesn't need anyone's permission to do anything she wants. "The Color Purple" can be a symbol of the pain she brings to all the men who she takes out her female revenge on!

Perhaps it's better if she just stays at home and keeps playing patty-cake, but I can see Whoopi and Oprah's characters going on a crazy man killing spree that is totally justified.... All the women in the town can join in.

"AINT NO PENIS SAFE IN A WORLD WHERE THERE IS A VAGINA!"

(Maybe Octavia Spencer's character in "Ma" is really Celie. This movie gets better when thought of as a hero origin story!!)