For Colored Girls
By P.S. Perkins
For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf…
More than a Movie…a Reawakening!
For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf was truly one of the seminal works influencing my journey into womanhood. The author of the choreopoem/play was Ntozake Shange. Her name was pronounced N-toe-sa-key Shan-gay, and this was the first lesson, to learn to say her name correctly with the honor it deserved. In the mid-seventies, Ms. Shange’s literary work woke us up by starkly, truthfully and bravely exposing the pain and triumphs of Black women through mini-tales of passion, sorrow and self-revelation.
Black women saw themselves as they had never been shared before. As a young and serious actor, For Colored Girls became a part of my performing repertoire. It became a ‘staple’, my answer to all the soliloquies and monologues that lacked my spirit, my identity, my life. I performed with other women of color who came forward to personify the pained and bold ladies of color. We cried the lady in Red and spat out the Lady in Blue. We wore the colors and breathed the characters lives…it was something all our own. Something our reality created – the good, the bad, the ugly. We explored empathetic spaces and places of Colored Girls and we grew up.
When I heard that Tyler Perry was going to bring the choreopoem to life…my heart fluttered and skipped a beat. The work of Ntozake Shange on the screen - the ladies in Purple, Orange, Yellow, Blue, Red, Green and Brown…all the colors of the emotional rainbow? Thirty-five years later, my story, our stories told from the mouths of modern day film icons: Janet, Loretta, Thandie, Whoopi and the rest of the rainbow! Truly there must be a God and we love Her! I decided to see the film with a few close friends. We cried, we cursed, we laughed, and we sighed. We left the theater exhausted but enlivened!
I could not wait to put my thoughts to paper. I travelled back to distant times, reliving the power of this piece on the stage. To understand the film, it would be helpful to have an understanding of how the original piece was written. It was formatted as a grouping of poems that read like poetic monologues. Every piece introduces different voices coming forth to poetically share their “heart” challenges. The language is shared in dialectic authenticity with words, rhythms, phrases that accurately represent the speaker’s reality. To read it is to read words that are moving to a medley of love songs…This was the challenge for Tyler Perry to bring to the screen!
The film moved us from one poem to the next in a complex tapestry of lives being interwoven as a result of close proximity and circumstance. Each woman unfolded her “heart problem” bringing forth each choreopoem as a personal narrative. The poems were so tightly woven and the characters so richly developed…if you had not read the poems you would hardly be able to tell when a poem was being recited versus dialogue that is naturally flowing during the course of events. I was consistently pleased and sometimes surprised to hear a poetic piece burst forth out of a scenario dramatically unfolding. It was very smoothly and almost seamlessly delivered. Remember, the original piece written on the heels of Vietnam, the Civil Rights Movement, and Roe versus Wade, the Women’s Movement, was a time when women’s issues were surging to the forefront of social reality. And yes, the Black male appears to be “thrown under the bus” once again, but a closer examination will have the viewer seeing through the “male bashing” to a connection between the Black males and females that “bears all things, believes all things and hopes all things”…even in the face of generational, social and personal complexities.
“Without any assistance or guidance from you, I have loved you assiduously for 8 months, two weeks and a day…” Lady in Red
“TOUSSAINT L’OUVERTURE became my secret lover at the age of 8…” Lady in Brown
“Somebody almost walked off with all of my stuff…” Lady in Green
“One thing I don’t need is anymore apologies….” Lady in Blue
This incredible film could not have happened with just a brilliant screen adaptation, but the giftedly chosen cast, breathed life into every intense, raw, and pain-filled scene. The tears, the pain, the hope, the resilience, the depth of love and sacrifice emanated from each character sharing some of the finest film work to date. The depth of the film captured my heart. I fell in love once again and once again became the Colored Girls I saw projected on the screen. through the tales of human love. I highly suggest you see the film and judge for yourself. This just may be the one film you do not want to miss – the brilliance of a Color Purple for our present times. Yes, “someone almost walked off with all of our stuff”, but Tyler Perry and the brilliant cast of For Colored Girls, brought it back!
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Meet P.S. Perkins
AABoomers.com's Newest Staff Writer
P.S. Perkins
Born: Durham, NC
Graduate of Hillside High School class of ‘77
Alumni: University Chapel Hill, New York University and Walden University
Currently resides in San Diego, CA
Founder and CEO Human Communication Institute, LLC, Founded in 2005
HCI, LLC is a national and international Communication Consulting Firm, specializing in communication effectiveness training for personal and organizational leadership development, using her highly acclaimed Communication Staircase Model™, www.hci-global.com.
Prior to opening the Human Communication Institute, PS was a full-time, tenured Professor and worked for a variety of institutions helping to build Speech Communication Departments and Programs. Teaching institutions included: San Diego City and Mesa Colleges (CA), Clark Atlanta University, Georgia Perimeter (Dekalb College) (GA), Bunker Hill College, Northeastern University, (MA) MiraCosta College and Southwestern College (CA). In addition, she worked as a professional actor, musician, choreographer and director of Community Theater for many years.
Published author specializing in Personal Development using WORD Power as her major focus of writing: Poetry, Short Stories, Business Articles, Scholarly articles and Books.
In addition, PS enjoys writing about historical and current issues relevant to African American personal and community social health and enrichment.
Authored Books:
The Art and Science of Communication: Tools for Effective Communication in the Workplace, John Wiley & Sons, 2008
The Laws of Communication, (contributor) John Wiley & Sons, 2009
Wake Up Women! (contributor) 2009
Hobbies include: Acting, dancing, reading, cooking, mentoring youth, caring for animals and the elderly, and international travel
Comments
After reading your heartfelt review and testimony, how can I not see the movie? In fact, you are inspiring me to read the original work. Thank you sister.
Love,
Colleen
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