Purple Rain?

Tonight I watched Purple Rain for the umpteenth time. And it was on this umpteenth time that I discovered the domestic violence theme in this movie.

Not that Purple Rain is about domestic violence, but it surely wasn't that hard to miss. I can't believe I'm just looking at it in this light--This movie is over 20 years old!!! The main things that resonate in my mind about the movie are the sexy Prince, the sexy Apollonio, and the phenomenal soundtrack.

In the movie, the Kid (played by Prince) sees his mother getting physically abused by his father (played by Clarence Williams III). There is a scene where his father slaps his mother to the ground and the Kid tries to intervene (as a teenage boy would) and gets knocked down as well. The mother says,

You don't ever let me have any fun.

And the father says,

If only you'd just believe in me. I would die for you.

In subsequent scene, the Kid finds his mother outside the house on the street, apparently having recently suffered by the hands of his father. He asks his father about it later, and his father tell him,

Never get married.

As expected, the Kid emulates the behavior of his father and slaps his girlfriend/love interest (played by Apollonia) to the floor. You can see the remorse in his facial expression but it was in the heat of the moment, almost automatic.

Later, while Apollonia lies on the ground seemingly pinned by the Kid, he raises his hand to strike her. She invites him to do so, and this time he retracts his hand. Lesson learned.

I suppose it never mattered to me before because the notion of domestic violence wasn't salient. I knew what was portrayed in the film was harmful, but I never realized the implications.

Well, the movie's on for the second time, I guess I'll go now...LOL!!