Sample Illustration 2 - Standpoint Theory

Another illustration from a former Com 103 student.

The Color Purple - Celie Liberation Scene (8:33)



The Color Purple, directed by Steven Spielberg exemplifies some of the important aspects of Standpoint Theory. From 1909 to 1946, Celie Johnson, an African American woman’s live was illustrated. Celie is ridiculed, mistreated, and subordinated by her master, also known as her husband. She, however, during the liberation scene, finds the courage to stand up to him and decides to leave and go live with her good friend, Shug. Everyone seated at the dinner table is astonished with Celie’s ability to finally speak up and acquire freedom from enslaved situation.

Standpoint Theory assumes that ”all standpoints are partial, but those of the ruling class can actually harm those of the subordinate group” (West & Turner, 2007, p. 503). Most women from an early age are told that they have to be dainty, dependent on a man, and submissive to men, a father or husband mostly. Obtaining such characteristics would make them more appealing to men. Because women often felt inferior to men, they were and sometimes are mentally harmed. They allow themselves to continually be oppressed by the dominant species- men. In this scene from The Color Purple, however, Celie challenged the norm and liberated herself.

Standpoint Theory also argues that people on the lower rungs of the social hierarchy see more than their own position. In other words, “the lower positions on the hierarchy posses the greatest accuracy in their standpoints, where accuracy refers to the ability to transcend the limits of partial vision and see beyond one’s own specific social location” (West & Turner, 2007, p. 507). In the course of the liberation scene, Celie’s father-in-law directs his son to control his wife. The father-in-law is appalled by Celie’s behavior. As Celie departs from the house, her husband shouts how she will never make it on her own because she is Black, poor, ugly, and a woman. Her husband never attained accuracy. He was never capable of seeing things from her perspective or social location.