An Indisputable Bond

Have you ever seen children play a game of patty cake? Could it be possible that the game meant more to them than just the words they where saying? The Color Purple, an award winning movie directed by Steven Spielberg, takes what would seem like a simple game and converts it into one of the most meaningful aspects of the film. From being a childish game played by two sisters to a symbolic bond that would last for over 30 years and would overcome numerous obstacles.

Although the words to the game where simple the symbolic meaning was not. In the beginning of the movie we see the sisters running through a field of purple flowers. They proceed to play the game and recite the lyrics, “Me and you, us never part. Makidada. Me and you, us have one heart. Makidada. Ain’t no ocean, ain’t no sea. Makidada. Keep my sister away from me.” These words provide us with a look into the future of the girls. The words represented a bond that would play out all the way through the movie. A bond that kept them together no matter the circumstance.

By the middle of the movie Celie and Nettie, the two sisters, are forced to separate physically. The bond, however, that was forged by playing the juvenile game is still present. By the time Celie and Nettie are reunited they are all too soon torn apart. The scene in which the sisters are torn apart once more is an intense element of the film. Nettie is being pushed away and stoned in to force her to leave the house in which she has been staying in with Celie. As Nettie was being sent away she turned and went on to play the game once more. Although, she and her sister where not close enough physically to clap their hands in enjoyment they both said the words and moved their hand as if they where still those children playing in the field of purple flowers. This is just a reminder that nothing would keep these sisters away from one another. A reminder that nothing could separate the bond that united them.

Celie and Nettie are separated for over 20 years. Yet, their bond never weakened. The last time we see them together is the last scene of the movie. Celie has been reunited not only with her sister but with the children that where taken away from her at birth. It is an emotional scene in which the sisters play the game for the last time. Although it is a slower rendition of the one that we watched in the beginning of the movie, it is still the same. The lyrics are the same and the motions are the same. The girls are older; their journeys are nearing their end, hence the slower performance. The bond that they shared, the promise that they made, lasted a lifetime. The last time we see them we see two women who are happy again.

They promised each other that they would never be apart. They promised each other that no ocean or sea would keep them away from one another. They promised each other that they would always share the same heart. These women went through more then most of us can imagine in their lives and yet, they kept the promises that where made when they where still young girls. They kept the promises made by that childish game. The bond that they shared never broke. “You and me, us never part”