Oprah called and Shelia Cobb listened.
The call came from Oprah, the philanthropist, media mogul and, to some, a goddess, in a video to support her new musical film, “The Color Purple,” which will be released in theaters on Christmas.
Cobb felt that Oprah’s appeal was not about money. Oprah, one of the producers of this film, has a lot going for her. It was about the appeal of the 1982 literary masterpiece on which the film is based. It’s about how a female protagonist overcomes sexism, racism, and abuse. It’s about believing, as one character, after being told she’s nothing, declares, “I’m beautiful and here I am.”
Cobb worked with friends of the sisters at Norfolk’s Grace Episcopal Church to organize Saturday’s pre-screening. As she planned, she also encouraged African American churches, sororities, and service organizations in the region and around the country to organize “The Color Purple with a Purpose” events and viewing parties based on the film, as well as women’s I learned that they are planning an empowerment rally.
Cobb said he would have been grateful if he had sold 30 or 50 tickets. The Regal Columbus Theater they rent in Virginia Beach is nearly full, with more than 100 tickets gone.
From books to Broadway to movies, storylines include fascinating universal themes.
“I think this movie is about sisterhood,” said Cobb, a fan of Alice Walker’s books. “I don’t care if it’s a man’s world. Women really run everything!”
The novel was an instant controversial hit and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983. The story is set in his impoverished rural corner of Georgia in the early 1900s. It depicts the struggles and triumphs of several women, especially her sisters Celie and Nettie. This book also contains sexual content, including physical abuse, explicit language, rape and incest. The book has the distinction of being one of the most banned and contested books in the country since its release.
Oprah has spoken in numerous interviews about reading the book and how she related to Celie, a sexually abused teenager at the time the story begins. Oprah liked it so much that he bought copies to give out to strangers.She later received an Oscar nomination for playing Sophia in the 1985 Steven Spielberg film adaptation.. She also produced the original 2005 Broadway musical and the 2015 revival.
The upcoming film is an adaptation of the Broadway show and will include several songs from the Broadway show and new music, including work by Portsmouth native Missy Elliott.
Oprah said in a video about the film that the film was “a solid foundation of spiritual and emotional power for me.”
“For all the women and men who have been invisible, all the women and men who have felt unseen and unvalued, this is their story.”
The cast currently includes some of the biggest names in show business and music, including Fantasia Barrino and Danielle Brooks from the Broadway show. Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson. Colman Domingo and Corey Hawkins. and Harry Bailey in Disney’s 2023 live-action hit The Little Mermaid.
Cobb said it was natural to plan spiritual gatherings around movies. Since one of the themes is self-love, the church is holding a “Skin of Color Winter Care” health fair at the theater and distributing skin care products.
Several organizations are sponsoring Saturday’s performance, including the Newport News-based Social Butterfly Foundation. The foundation uses events at Hampton theaters to raise money for clients suffering from lupus and fibromyalgia. Regal Columbus will be busy with several events, including one by the Virginia Beach NAACP and the Chesapeake and Virginia Beach alumni chapters of Delta Sigma Theta, an African American sorority. The event includes a post-movie discussion and asks people to come dressed in red, the sorority’s signature color, or purple from the movie.
Cobb’s group also urges people to come dressed in swinging 1920s attire, flapper dresses, feathered headdresses and wide-brimmed hats seen in some of the jazzy movie clips. .
“This is about ‘Yes, I can’, self-care and uplifting,” Cobb said of the film and the church’s plans. Several tickets are available and anyone can attend. People don’t need to be involved with the church, she said.
“Everyone is open to uplifting things.”