Kaela Danenberger
M12 – 12 o’clock class
Mrs. Haynes
November 2, 2011
Word Count: 1157

For Colored Girls is a film adapted from Ntozake Shange’s stage play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf. It tells the tale of nine women who try to survive life as women of color. At first they do not know each other but become interconnected through out their struggles. Each woman symbolizes a color, which in turn stands for her type of struggle and is depicted through out the movie. In the beginning of the story, you meet Crystal. She is surprised to find a woman named Kelly at her stoop, claiming she is from child welfare and is there on the behalf of the children. Before she could ask the children any questions, Kelly is forced out by Crystal’s husband, Beau Willie. He seems drunk, pushing Crystal around and ripping papers out of Kelly’s hands as he claims that he has been trying to receive benefits from the Veteran’s Affair Office since he got back from war. His aggression turns into anger as he insists that the city is against him due to the fact that they send people to his home to investigate lies but do not get him the benefits he deserves. Next you meet Juanita, a perky, ambitious woman who uses her interest in nursing as a way of reaching out to women about relationships that involve sexual intercourse and how to stay safe. She comes to speak with Jo, a very successful woman who works hard for her money, about donating anything she can to her organization at the local community center. Juanita explains to Jo that her organization’s goal is to reach out to women of all ages to come and educate themselves about safe sex. Jo does not let Juanita get three words in before she rushes her out, claiming she is wasting her time. Kelly and her husband are at the doctor’s office where she is told she cannot conceive children due to an untreated sexually transmitted disease from her past. It seems obvious that her husband was unaware of this when Kelly storms out of the office, disgusted with herself. Her husband pleads for her to tell him the story behind it all, but Kelly insists that she explain it later that night. Before parting ways, they both exchange an “I love you” portraying romantic love. The next day at work, Jo asks her assistant, who is also Crystal, to find a list of partners that are involved in her company. When looking for the document, Crystal realizes that she must have left the document at her house, stating that she took it home the night before. She explains the scenario to Jo and says she will catch a train home to retrieve it but Jo explains she can not wait that long and takes Crystal herself. Arriving at her house, Beau Willie looks outside to see his Crystal get out of a car that seems to belong to another man. When asked whom the man was, Crystal tries to explain that the man driving is her boss’ driver. Beau Willie, who is blatantly drunk, does not believe this story and accuses Crystal of having an affair. His alcoholism takes over and the abuse begins. After he decided she had enough, he walks next door to Mrs. Gilda’s house, the babysitter, and takes Crystal’s children. It is obvious that Beau Willie has PSTD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and his addiction to alcohol made his PTSD symptoms worse. Crystal never thought he’d hurt her children but when she tried to take them away from Beau, he took a turn for the worse. He opened up the window of their fifth story apartment and held her children by their wrists out the window. Begging for him to bring them inside, Crystal tried with everything she had to get Beau to bring them back in. In the mists of all this commotion, Mrs. Gilda is hearing all of the abuse and screams happening in the next room and rushes down the stairs, screaming for someone to help Crystal. When Mrs. Gilda reaches the outside world, she finds people in the street and pleads for someone to help. Pointing up, Mrs. Gilda is