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Some of the best book to film adaptations have become Hollywood classics.
However, shockingly enough, there has been much controversy surrounding movies based on literary works for quite a while now. Although most jump at the idea of seeing the characters of their favorite novel on the big screen, others have debated whether certain motion-picture versions of the storylines are necessary.
If you didn’t know, many scripts that derive from publications contain altered plots. From switched-around roles to even left-out scenes, titles can change once they go to TV.
All that aside, we’ve put together our ‘Top 5’ African-American reads that iconically came to life… literally!
A Black & Timeless List of the Best Book to Film Adaptations
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
In 1982, author Alice Walker officially released her third novel, The Color Purple. The project–written in letters–followed Celie, an underprivileged, Black girl living in backwoods Georgia during the 1900s.
The youngster is battling a broken home and finds refuge in penning essays to God. Through the passages, she details enduring incestual rape at the hands of her father and conceiving two of his children. Soon after, the kids are taken away and she’s forced to marry a man named Mister, with whom she experiences years of abuse and oppression. The piece also explores an array of other taboo topics, including generational trauma, predatory behavior, and homosexuality.
A year after its debut, in 1983, Walker became the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Color Purple. By 1985, the literary phenomenon had been adapted into a screenplay by Menno Meyjes, with Steven Spielberg directing. Whoopi Goldberg (Celie), Danny Glover (Mister), Oprah Winfrey (Sofia), and Margaret Avery (Shug) starred in the drama.
Waiting to Exhale by Terry McMillan
Award-winning writer Terry McMillan’s acclaimed novel, Waiting to Exhale, hit the market in 1992. The romance drama focused on four African-American friends in their 30s: Savannah, Bernadine, Gloria, and Robin.
From loving married men and being the wife he left for someone else to discovering that your union was built on lies and struggling to find healing amid the hurt, these ladies take the readers on a journey of self-awareness and emotional bravery. Through trial and error of life, love, and everything in between, they quickly realize that… He’s NOT a good man, Savannah, and what they deserve is on the other end of letting go of what they’ve been desiring.
In 1995, the Forest Whitaker-directed film adaptation of Waiting to Exhale premiered in theaters. Angela Bassett (Bernadine), Whitney Houston (Savannah), Loretta Devine (Gloria), and Lela Rochon (Robin) made up the all-star cast.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Young adult novelist Angie Thomas unleashed her debut work, The Hate U Give, in 2017. The plot derived from a short story she’d written in college after hearing of the tragic 2009 death of Oscar Grant, a Black man murdered by a police officer in California.
Thomas built the narrative around a 16-year-old girl named Starr Carter from a poverty-stricken neighborhood. The teenager is a student at a (nearly) all-white private school in the affluent part of the city. After she witnesses a white cop shoot and kill her childhood friend, the incident reaches the national news, and a community uproar ensues. The coming-of-age tale explores key elements of modern-day racism and brutality.
A little while after its publication, Audrey Wells (Guinevere) wrote the screenplay The Hate U Give, which broke out in 2018. The film saw Starr’s role filled by Amandla Stenberg, alongside Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, Lamar Johnson, Common, and Anthony Mackie.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Authored by Kathryn Stockett, The Help was published in 2009. It took Stockett five years to complete the novel, which served as her first and ultimately became a New York Times Bestseller.
Set in the 1960s Jackson, Mississippi, The Help chronicles an aspiring journalist named Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, who recently graduated from the University of Mississippi and landed a job with the Jackson Journal. While writing a housekeeping advice column, Skeeter enlists her friend’s maid, Aibileen Clark, to provide insight for the project, and the two begin to form a close bond. After getting to know each other, Skeeter later mentions the idea of a whole project examining the lives of African-American housekeepers in the South and how their experiences differ from their paler counterparts.
While uncovering facts about her childhood maid/nanny Constantine’s disappearance, Skeeter simultaneously delves into the deep-rooted racism and mistreatment against caregivers of color in the backwoods of the Bible Belt. Along with Skeeter, the novel heavily focuses on the point of view of Aibileen and Minny Jackson, who’s also a domestic servant.
In 2011, Stockett’s longtime friend, Tate Taylor (Get On Up), wrote and directed the blockbuster version of the book. Emma Stone (Skeeter), Viola Davis (Aibileen), Octavia Spencer (Minny), Cicely Tyson, Bryce Dallas Howard (Hilly), and Sissy Spacek were at the forefront of the cast.
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
In 2001, author Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees was unveiled. Plotted in 1964, the story introduces 14-year-old Lily Owens, who’s living in the fictitious town of Sylvan, South Carolina.
After the demise of her mother, Lily lives with her abusive father and their African-American maid, Rosaleen. Upon escaping the area, Lily and Rosaleen find themselves at the Boatwright residence, a Black family that owns a honey-making business. There, Lily and Rosaleen are introduced to a new lifestyle vastly different from the one they knew back home. Throughout their time with the Boatwrights, Lily unravels some groundbreaking information about her mother and her death.
In 2008, The Secret Life of Bees movie, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Disappearing Acts), debuted. Queen Latifah (August), Jennifer Hudson (Rosaleen), and Alicia Keys (June) starred alongside Dakota Fanning, who played Lily.
Which do you think are the best book to film adaptations? Let us know below!