Poitier the philosopher

The Measure Of A Man By Sidney Poitier (Simon & Schuster, #16.99) Reviewed by Allan Hunter Almost 40 years after the event, Sidney Poitier remains the only black man to have won a Best Actor Oscar. A pioneer in post-war Hollywood, he challenged racial stereotypes, fought prejudice and blazed a trail that has been followed by Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding Jr, Laurence Fishburne and countless others.

In 1980, he published an autobiography charting his life from humble beginnings as a tomato farmer's son on Cat Island in the Bahamas to the world-renowned star of such meaningful movies as The Defiant Ones (1958), Guess Who's Coming To Dinner (1967) and In The Heat Of The Night (1967).This second book covers none of his professional accomplishments over the past 20 years and mentions virtually nothing of his life with second wife Joanna Shimkus. Instead, it is a more thoughtful, reflective volume in which he seeks to explain the meaning of his life. He also offers his thoughts on a modern world that seems to be inexorably drifting away from the values which he holds dear. Now in his 70s, Poitier laments an age in which material gain and scientific progress have made us lose sight of the more simple, spiritual elements of human existence. He rails against consumerism, sadistic video games and a passive, television- watching generation. He also wryly acknowledges that he risks sounding like a grumpy old man pining for an overly-romanticised past.

The book does include memories of those good-old days and is at its most involving when it reveals the way in which fiercely held values were shaped by personal experience. Raised in considerable poverty, he considers himself blessed to have grown up in the idyllic Bahamas, ruled by a father who taught him the importance of family, responsibility and respect. The lessons of his youth are a priceless legacy compared to the more questionable rewards of fame and riches he found in the film industry. His pride in being a father to six daughters easily eclipses any pleasure he may take in his career.

Over the decades, his choice of roles has defined the perception we have of him as a decent, even righteous man of honour. Unlike many movie actors, the image matches the reality. Vowing that his work should always convey his personal beliefs, he has rejected roles that failed to meet those standards and eagerly embraced those that have. "My work is who I am," he writes. "I decided way back at the beginning, back when I was still washing dishes in a barbecue joint in Harlem, that the work I did would never bring dishonour to my father's name."

It is impossible to overstate the significance of Poitier in the history of Hollywood and the decades of prejudice he almost single- handedly revoked. Humbly acknowledging his one man revolution, he is more forthcoming when discussing friends and idols like Paul Robeson, Rod Steiger, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela whom he played in a 1997 television drama.

An uneven volume, The Measure Of A Man grows rambling and repetitive as Poitier indulges himself as an amateur philosopher ruminating on the human condition and coming to the far from original conclusion that "life is a perpetual, unending struggle against our imperfections."

Not without merit, but diehard fans of Poitier the screen star might want to approach it with a degree of caution.

Copyright 2000
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