| Ryan, are much deeper in scope, heavier in emotional content and more darkly dramatic than the early Spielberg. Very simply, Spielberg made a shift from the heights of spirit to the depth of soul. This transformation is paralleled in a major transit to Spielberg's birthchart.(see chart) As transiting Uranus ended its seven year stay in Spielberg's planet-rich fifth house-the house of creativity-in 1984, Pluto entered the same house for a much longer sojourn. The "Uranus period," a period of dazzling spectacle, soaring heights, heroic journeys, and cutting edge technique, can be contrasted with the serious tragedy, mournful loss, and power-charged confrontations of the "Pluto" dramas from 1984 onward. The Color Purple was the first full manifestation of this change. Slight hints at Spielberg's transforming aesthetic could be seen in 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The memorable ritual scenes of a Kali sect in "deepest India" could not be considered lightweight fare for all audiences and earned the film the newly-instated, controversial rating of PG-13.
The Color Purple, however, more markedly delineates the transition as Spielberg left the popcorn universe of extra-terrestrial fantasy and action epics for the gritty realism of human relationships with their attendant corruption, immorality, and cruelty-the "fallen state" of earthbound reality.
In an interview in 1985, a prescient Spielberg noted his own shifting interests, "It's as if I've been swimming in water up to my waist all my life-and I'm great at it-but now I'm going into the deep section of the pool."13 The depths he is referring to is Pluto.
With The Color Purple, many critics believed that Spielberg was entering into a domain reserved for more serious directors. As an established director in action-adventure, fantasy, and suspense, Spielberg, they believed, had no business delving into the realm of a tight human drama. Even the confident Spielberg had some trepidation. Agreeing that he was a director of "Big Movies. Movies about out there," Spielberg admitted that, "I didn't know if the time was right to do a movie that was about in here [tapping his chest]." 14 However the timing was right, as the "in there" was being intensified and deepened by a Pluto transit to his natal Moon.
On its most literal level, the Moon represents the feminine aspects of the psyche, and, fittingly, The Color Purple has been the only feature film he has directed to not only feature multiple female protagonists but is his only film from the female characters perspective. The Pluto-Moon complex can represent someone who is witness and privy to powerful emotional states; abusive, enmeshed, affairs; and transformative, soulful relationships. A Color Purple centers principally around the journey of Celie, a woman who is brought up in a abusive situation only to repeat the pattern later on as an adult. First and foremost, however, those with the Pluto-Moon constellation are survivors and their journeys are journeys of emotional fortitude, strength, and wisdom. Principally, The Color Purple is not a movie of abusive relationships but is a journey of the heart and emotional transformation through the survival of racism and abuse.
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