Fantasia Barrino-Taylor on the Pain (and Joy) of ‘The Color Purple’

In the movie, Celie’s self-awareness and confidence builds steadily within the presence of Shug Avery (Taraji P. Henson), the free-spirited, native movie star and, later, Celie’s lover and buddy. While nonetheless struggling at dwelling, Celie comes into her personal a lot prior to within the unique movie. She’s snug sporting sequins and lipstick, and her bond with Shug is extra pronounced.

Bazawule’s intention was to oscillate between pleasure and ache, a really human method, he stated. “We never wallow in just pain. Certainly, a people who have birthed such beautiful manifestations to this world, there’s no way that Black people just deal with pain. It’s impossible,” he stated. “When you hear gospel, when you hear jazz, when you hear all these things, that’s turning pain into power.”

He defined that the pain-joy method “gave us a much fuller picture of her struggles. It was also the back and forth between her reality and her fantasies, and that is also a very important place, a refuge, in a way, for someone like her who was dealing with an external abuser. She could create a world in which she was more powerful than her abuser.”

Celie experiences bliss partially via dance. However, Barrino-Taylor, recognized for gospel and R&B ballads, wasn’t used to up-tempo motion.

“When they first said I had to learn how to tap dance, I thought everybody was crazy,” she stated, laughing. “I literally laughed, I cried, I laughed, I cried. I was terrified. I didn’t even think my feet were going to move.”

The course of was difficult, however Barrino-Taylor caught with it. After a full day of capturing on location in Georgia, she dragged herself into her storage, armed with a pair of faucet footwear and set to work. “We wouldn’t get home until, like, 6, 7 o’clock in the morning. But I would go in there, put my tights on, and I would practice. Because I knew on the day when we filmed, I needed to allow Celie to take over, not be thinking 1-2-3-4, ba-ba-ba-ba, ba-ba-ba-ba,” she rhythmed.