The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Challenge
In their Shoes
I've always been blown away by Sidney Poitier's acting. He dominates the screen and emotes so much intelligence and dignity. So I was excited to read his book and learn more about the person behind the persona. As the title says, this is a spiritual autobiogrpahy, so Poitier mostly tells about the events in his life that helped him develop certain values and philosopies about life. I was disappointed not to learn more about his life and the people close to him, but he does share some details especially about growing up in poverty on Cat Island in the Bahamas. This humble beginning gave him fearlessness, imagination, a sense of self and his place in the world. He feels that is why he refused to be pigeoned-holed as a less-worthy member of society because of his color when he finally arrived in Miami. He was always striving to become better as a person and an actor. He seems to be a deeply religious man but not in the conventional sense, believing in a consciousness that permeates the universe but not necessarily God as most of us know Him. I found his chapter where he discusses racial inequality and how he dealt with his understandable rage very relevant. "This injustice of the world inspires a rage so intense that to express it fully would require homicidal action; it's self-destructive, destroy-the-world rage. Simply put, I've learned that I must find a way to channel that anger to the positive, and the highest positive is forgiveness." Poitier acknowledges that he was not one of the brave people who put themselves in harm's way physically to forward the civil rights movement. Many African-Americans condemned him for this attitude, but he felt an obligation to participate only in those films which would help improve the human condition and bring attention to those issues that needed to be corrected. He discusses several of his movies and what he wanted to accomplish with each one. Another chapter of the book explains its title. Poitier's father always told him, "The measure of a man is how he cares for his children." He describes the intense guilt he felt when his first marriage failed because of his infidelity and how hard he worked to remain a key player in his daughters' lives. He talks about other things that are a measure of a man throughout the book. The book ends with these lines: "So what we do is we stay within the context of what's practical, what's real, what dreams can be fashioned into reality, what values can send us to bed comfortably and make us courageous enough to face our end with character. That's what we're seeking. That's what it's all about, you know? We're all of us a little greedy. (Some of us are plenty greedy.) We're all somewhat courageous, and we're all considerably cowardly. We're all imperfect, and life is simply a perpetual, unending struggle against those imperfections."
As always, I'm sobered when I read about our society from the point of view of an African-American. And I appreciate Poitier's quest for excellence. I didn't agree with a lot of his philosophies, but how he reached them made for intersting reading. However, I did founder a bit when he discusses those views at length. I wonder if I will ever develop into a thoughtful reader.
Rating: 3.5
Posted by Framed at 8:14 PM

4 comments:
Carrie K. said...
I also enjoyed this. I listened to it on audiobook, read by Poitier himself - his voice is wonderful. I was hoping for a little more insight into his career and personal life, too, but still enjoyed it.
7/13/2008 10:03 PM
Tristi Pinkston said...
Your e-mail address still hates me. You wouldn't happen to have a third one, would you? :) I'm trying to answer your questions about J Scott Savage and about my book tour, and it keeps coming back. Would you mind if I left you the information in a blog comment?
7/14/2008 9:37 PM
Tristi Pinkston said...
Oops, forgot to sign up for follow up comments. So now I'm signing up! :)
7/14/2008 9:37 PM
Tristi Pinkston said...
It's me again . . . I gave you an award. Come get it!http://tristipinkston.blogspot.com/2008/07/ive-been-awarded.html