Copyright 1995 ABC-CLIO. This review was taken from the ABC-CLIO Video Rating Guide for Libraries on CD-ROM, a 5-year compilation of over 8900 video titles and reviews, 1990-1994. For information regarding order VRGL CD-ROM, contact: ABC-CLIO, P.O. Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911; 805-968-1911

This following text has been included in the UCB Media Resources Center Web site with the kind permission of the publishers.

Alice Walker

Series: In Black and White

Rating: ****

Audience: Jr. High to Adult

Price: Public performance: $149.00

Date: Copyright 1992. Released 1992.

Descriptors: American literature. Walker, Alice (interview). Black authors. Authors. Women authors.

Production Information: Live action. Directed by Matteo Bellinelli. Color. Also available in 3/4 inch. Stereo. 31 min.

Production Company: RTSI (Switzerland) California Newsreel

Available from: California Newsreel 149 9th St., #420 San Francisco, CA 94103 (415)621-6196

Cataloging: 813.54 Walker, Alice, 1944-||Afro-American women authors - Biography||Authors, American - Biography

Print Entry #: 4:1039

Reviewer: Andrew A. Aros

Author and Pulitzer Prize-winner Alice Walker is the subject of this interview. She speaks very little about her writing habits and idiosyncrasies and more about her personal philosophy and influences.

Articulate and opinionated, Walker wastes very little time endearing herself to the viewer. Lacking a sense of humor, she is serious, a strong advocate of her agenda, and a stern apostle of a black feminist rage.

Starting with her rural roots, she discusses racism, her family, her yearnings to be an artist, and how all these factors contributed to her development as a writer. Walker defends her use of the dialect Black English in her best-known novel, The Color Purple, saying the language is a tribute to those who came before her, and a reminder for future generations to remember the past. Labeling herself a "womanist," Walker celebrates the emancipation of women who overcame the twin bonds of racism and sexism.

The live-action photography has enough variety in shots to keep the pace interesting. Music and narrative are well done, as are the questions posed by the interviewer.

This would make an excellent selection not only for black history month, but for American literature classes and women's studies groups. Recommended for junior high school students and above. This is a good selection for public and school libraries.

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