Spielberg's misguided adaptationThe Color Purple is a feminist novel by Alice Walker, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the 1982 National Book Award, which focuses on the relationships between black women in the 1920s and their ongoing battles with racial issues. and patriarchy. Stephen Spielberg's film adaptation of this book turns a modern noir feminist novel into a blockbuster that people will enjoy, in part because of its discomfort with some of the key topics of gender and sexuality. The major changes due to Spielberg's discomfort concern the interactions between female and other characters, mainly around the character of Shug Avery and his relationships: spiritual, sexual and platonic. As The Color Purple is one of the first and most widely acclaimed black feminist novels, it is important for the reader to gain context and insight into the period in which it was written, the conservative period of the 1980s. The 1980s were a time of third wave feminism and a time when, after many years, black feminists began to come out of the woodwork. Although "a few articles on black feminism reaching the mainstream press lament the lack of formal black feminist organizations" or "question the necessity of feminism in the lives of black women", some scholars such as Joan Morgan argue that “strong black women” need to be recognized in a good light (Springer 7). The term “strong black woman” means “the transformation of a [negative] stereotype into an accepted and recognizable identity trait for black women” (Springer 12). In The Color Purple, Walker highlights the need for strong black women through the characters of Shug and Sofia, who refuse to accept anything below their high standards. Sofia and Shug are strong women and Celie depends on the middle of paper. .....-Hollywood film to audience” (Digby 161). Without the direction of a great Hollywood director like Stephen Spielberg, many people would not have seen this film. Walker knew this when choosing a director for the adaptation and was willing to sacrifice some crucial scenes in order to convey the book's main messages to a wider audience. While this is true and the film reached a wide audience, the film adaptation also loses the real feminist issues and experiences explored in the novel. The addition of Shug's search for happiness through the predominantly white, patriarchal church, Mister's additional screen time, the loss of Celie's trip to Memphis with Shug, and the downplaying of Celie's intimate relationship and Shug hindered Spielberg's adaptation. Due to this obstacle, Spielberg's film version of The Color Purple is not a successful adaptation..