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Henderson 1 

Lily Henderson  English 1250W Courtney Brown October 30, 2017  Can an   Adaptation   Claim Fame?  How Tyler   Perry Transforms Shange’s   For   Colored   Girls 

Ntozake Shange’s   For  C  olored G  irls  W  ho H  ave C  onsidered  S uicide W  hen t he R  ainbow

 nuf  q uite literally transcends is E   the   page; the choreopoem has been adapted into numerous theatrical performances and films. Not only are Shange’s words brought to life through these different performances and movies, but they are interpreted in multiple ways, giving her poems a broad audience and a relatable voice. Both Oz Scott’s 1982 and Tyler Perry’s 2010 film

 olored G  irls capture Shange’s original message of her poems but in adaptations of For  C antithetical ways.   Oz   Scott’s   movie   adaptation   remains   true   to   nearly   the   exact   words   Shange wrote on   the page;   although it adds scenery and elaborates on   the context of the monologues and  dialogues, not much is added or taken away in the movie that wasn’t in the original text.  Contrastingly, Perry’s version diverges from simply using Shange’s words, as Perry adds dialogue, characters, and   narrative   to   the   original   choreopoem. Although Scott’s adaptation  remains a  more   literal   translation   of   Shange’s   original   text,   Perry’s   adaptation   of   choreopoem   to motion picture   is   ultimately   more   relatable   through   its   robust   characterization   of   the   women   and even men in   the   movie;   Perry’s   adaptation   gives   more meaning   to the words Shange has written. Despite some   creative   changes   made   to   Shange’s   original   text, Oz Scott’s 1982 

 olored G  irls  accurately   captures the original intentions Shange’s words have adaptation of For  C for the   choreopoem. In   the text, Shange does not give names to her characters but simply refers  to them   as   “lady   in   purple”   or   “lady   in   brown.”   Scott   honors   Shange’s   decision   to   keep   the 

Henderson 2 

women anonymous, making them representative of colored women as a whole, rather than individuals and indicating which lady is speaking based on   a band of color that crosses the screen  between scenes.   However, Scott   does   add   the   presence   of   men   in   the   movie;   although   they   do   not talk, the men are visible on   screen, whereas the text has no   ekphrasis indicating the addition of men in   the   poems.   Scott   made   an   intentional   choice to place men in the context of a completely  female dominated   dialogue.   This change to Shange’s work adds dimension to the poems. In “somebody almost walked off wid   alla   my   stuff,”   the   lady   in   green   speaks   her   monologue  directly to   the   man   she   is   presumably   complaining   about. As soon as the man grabs her arm,   not  uttering a word, simply making physical contact the lady in green loses the urgency of her words,  and instead   of   standing up   against a man who has taken all of her stuff, she submits to him, giving him a kiss and ceasing her monologue. The decision to add a man in this scene emphasizes the   points Shange illuminates in the text of  “somebody almost walked off wid   alla  my stuff.”   In   this   poem   Shange   speaks   for   the   women   who are manipulated by the men in their  lives, who feel as though they have inherent authority over women, so much so that the lady in  green accuses   her   man   of   stealing   her   identity.   The   lady   in   green   says,   “hey   man/this   is   not   your perogative/ i gotta have me in my pocket” (65),   asserting her need for independence but also  implying her   reliance   on   this   man.   The   addition   of   a  literal   male   figure   who   persuades   the   lady   in  green to submit to him despite what her words accuse him of,   highlights the manipulation men have over women. Additionally Scott makes other changes to Shange’s original work, such   as  adding or excluding certain poems, and this makes this adaptation unique, however not extremely so. 

Henderson 3 

Overall, just   as   Scott   keeps   the   women   in the poem anonymous, only identified by   colors  rather than   names,   he   also   honors   Shange’s   words   in   other   forms   of   accuracy   to   the   text.   The opening scene of the film features a woman holding her child and wondering aloud how to pass  her experience as a colored woman onto the next generation. This woman is actually Ntozake

 olored G  irls.  In Shange herself and this opening scene portrays the purpose of her work, For  C the introduction of her text she gives background to her motivations for writing; Shange wanted  “the personal   story   of   a  woman   [to   become]   every   woman”   (10)   with the   intention of   acting   as   a voice “to empower us all” (11). By putting   this   opening   monologue in the literal voice of Shange, the author of the poems that will soon be recited, Scott could not give a more accurate voice to explain the purpose behind the work. Furthermore, most of the film is verbatim from the  text, including the vernacular Shange uses to enhance her poetic voice. Shange also admits in her  introduction that   she   supported   Oz Scott’s work,   proving   it to be an accurate representation of  her voice, “a natural leap, physicalizing the image, giving the rainbow a human form” (2-3). Although Scott adds scenery and male actors to   Shange’s   words,   his   adaptation   of   the   film remains true   to Shange’s original intentions for the performance. Contrastingly, Tyler Perry’s film diverges   from Shange’s words, using   them merely   as   a skeleton for a more   complex   narrative about a group of colored women in New York City. In Shange’s text,   as   above   mentioned,   there   is   no   reference   to   an   intended   presence   of   men.   Scott’s version adds male figures,   who engage physically with the women but don’t have developed characters or   voice, leaving the main focal point on the colored women Shange’s text celebrates.  However, Perry’s version develops the roles of the men; Beau Willie is Crystal’s abusive husband, but underneath his anger and violence, an inner struggle emerges and his obvious fight

Henderson 4 

against addiction, influenced by   PTSD from the war,   makes the audience sympathize with this  cruel man.   The   audience   is   able   to   see   why   Crystal   stays   with   her   husband despite   his   abuse.  This complexity   adds a realness to Shange’s   words- the   audience can now experience the  dilemma Crystal   deals   with   because   both   sides   of   the   situation,   male   and   female,   are   fleshed   out.  Although Shange explains how Beau deals with PTSD, he is presented in a somewhat one sided  perspective; in   Shange’s   words   he   is   “crazy   as   hell”   (80)   and   characterized   by his   constant   threat  to Crystal   of   “I’ll kill   you”   (83).   Similarly, the audience is also given more positive male characters that can’t be found   in Shange’s text. Donald, a police officer who is Kelly’s wife, a social worker   who   attempts to   help   Crystal,   is   consoling   and   supportive,   a perspective on   men  that isn’t   seen   in   the   text   alone.   After   visiting   the   fertility   doctor   with   Kelly and learning she may  not be able to have kids as a result of an STD, Donald is not angry about her sexual past, but rather comforts   her, kneeling on   the ground   holding Kelly’s hands as she cries about the news. Perry’s adaptation adds dimension to the male characters compared to Shange’s original text. Perry’s adaptation   also develops   narrative further than both Shange’s text and Scott’s film. In   Shange’s   text,   the poem about abortion is brought up once and never revisited- the reader is unable   to know the long term effect the abortion had on   this colored woman. Scott similarly  shows the   abortion, adding drama and emotion to Shange’s text but again does not wrestle with  the idea of   the impact an abortion   could have on   a woman later on; the poem is contained within one scene and one monologue. Opposingly, Perry follows the   story of   Nyla   Rose,   a  senior   in highschool who must deal with terminating her pregnancy in a cheap and furtive way. By providing a narrative that gives context of Nyla’s situation, with her overbearing, pious mother and jealous older sister, the audience sees not only how scary the abortion is- performed by   a

Henderson 5 

drunk colored women in her home with tools sterilized by whiskey- but also the implications getting an abortion alone at such   a young   age   has   on Nyla. She   must   be taken to the hospital  where she   lies   in   sterile   bed   shivering   and   unable   to   make   eye   contact   with   her   mother.   This  depiction makes the audience feel the weight of Nyla’s pain, and her pain becomes relatable because the   viewer   can   sympathize   further   with   her   than   in   Scott’s   adaptation   or   Shange’s   text. Similarly, Perry gives   the   audience   a  narrative   around   the poem “latent rapists” (31-35), adding weighted meaning to the effects rape has on   Yasmine, a single dance teacher. Shange’s poem  implies that   a  colored   woman   was   raped   by a man   she   knew, which   complicates   her   accusations of rape, as   people   dismiss her claims because   “if you   know   him/you   must have wanted it” (31). Perry goes into this dilemma in more depth. When Yasmine is raped it is not the first time that the audience   meets   her   rapist.   Yasmine   first   goes   on   a  dinner   date   with   him,   and   even   as   a viewer, her   rapist seems charismatic   and   even   romantic;   throughout   dinner she laughs at his jokes and even ends up inviting him over to her house for dinner another night. Thus, by the time  it is   the   scene   where   this   seemingly   charming   man actually rapes   Yasmine,   not only is Yasmine  caught off guard, but the audience also experiences this feeling of shock.   Since the audience even feels deceived by their first perceptions of this rapist as likeable, they can sympathize with Yasmine and   truly   feel her   pain.   Throughout the film Perry   is able to play with the viewers  sympathy and emotion through this development of context, narrative, and character. Perry’s adaptation   is more   successful   because   of this development of plot and of both  male and female characters.   Perry transforms   “lady   in   brown”   into   Crystal,   a  mother   who struggles to protect   her children and herself from her abusive husband.   “Lady in Purple” becomes Nyla,   a  teenage   girl   with   hopes   of   being   a  first   generation   college   student,   who   must 

Henderson 6 

deal with   terminating   an   unwanted   pregnancy.   “Lady   in   Yellow”   becomes   Yasmine,   a  dance  teacher extremely   invested   in   her   students   well being,   but destroyed by   a rape that she fights   to

 olored G  irls stays overcome. Although Scott’s adaptation of Shange’s For  C   true   to   Shange’s   text  despite small elaborations to context, Perry’s adaptation gives Shange’s work more meaning  through the depth of its narrative which causes the viewer to sympathize with the pain characters like Crystal, Nyla   and   Yasmine   experience   more than they would   if   they   just   heard   Shange’s 

 olored  G  irls into his own   adaptation, Perry gets closer to words. Ironically, by   developing For  C the main message   Shange   wishes   to   portray   through   her work. Shange wants to give a voice to  colored women who have dealt with abuse and misogyny and hopes that “by sharing with each  other, we have   strength to go on” (3). By providing context to the voices of the women, Perry gives them more   power   because   they automatically become more applicable to modern reality,  not just performance. Thus,   Perry   is able   to   inspire   the   strength   that Shange mentions is her hope  for this   work   because   he   is   able   to   stir   emotion   in   the   viewer.   Ultimately,   Perry’s   adaptation makes one   wonder   whether   an original   work, being Shange’s text, always deserves the claim of  originality and creative genius or if an adaptation can reframe an original work in   a  more  successful way.

Henderson 7 

Works Cited

 olored G  irls .  Tyler Perry. For C   Lionsgate, 2010. For C  olored G  irls  W  ho H  ave C  onsidered  S uicide, W  hen  t he  R  ainbow  I s E  nuf .  Oz Scott. WNET-TV, 1982. Shange, Ntozake. For C  olored G  irls W  ho H  ave  C  onsidered S uicide,  W  hen  t he R  ainbow  I s  E  nuf. Scribner, 1975. ...