This documentary was so thought-provoking for me, about how mentally healthy perspectives at a young age can contribute to shaping a person's life. That might be an odd (partial) takeaway, given the richness of Sidney Poitier's life. But while watching the film, that is one of the aspects I heavily keyed into. While, clearly, not the only factor, I ruminated about how much of who he was stemmed from that one fact.
Naturally, there’s a lot that went into his life and the project, as he had an extensive career and life that touched many people. But there are a few moments that stood out to me the most.
When he talked about how he was raised and the fact that being considered “less than” was not a factor for him growing up because there were only two White people living on Cat Island, Bahamas, where he was raised before moving back to Florida at 15. People were just people. There were no Jim Crow laws, covert or overt racism influencing how he saw himself or how others saw him.
Though as a teen he was developing a habit if getting into trouble before moving to the US, it was interesting to see how the seeds of his later character were potentially already there. Of course, we know that both nature and nurture are factors in development, and that is also as clear in his case as in any other with different upbringings from his. But it was interesting to see how things developed for him without being born into and potentially heavily influenced by all the minutiae of systemic oppression of that time, even with being born into financial poverty.
So in coming to the United States, he didn’t understand the rules and conducted himself as such. I’ve often wondered about and talked about the ways in which some of the best parts of people’s core personalities develop without the influence of others and without oppression. While it is unquestionably possible to overcome damage done by oppression, as I watched the documentary I thought about how his persistence and good nature was a throughline, and how those natural inclinations were nurtured in his youth before arriving in the United States. (It was good to see how the joyful prediction given when he was a baby came to pass.)
And as an actor, he broke down barriers and contributed to showing the world it was possible for Black people to not only be considered equal, but also extraordinary. He was a man of respect and integrity, not out of a want for approval, but because that is how he saw himself and that is how those natural core aspects of himself were allowed to develop before he ever crossed paths with Jim Crow and other designs of racial oppression.
Not only did he have a natural talent, but he worked hard to cultivate his skills as an entertainer. One of the joys of the documentary is seeing the history of his friendships with other entertainers and actors like Harry Belafonte, and how they all persisted despite the racism thrown at them.
Overall, it's a grand historical piece of work and more than worth the watch.
Produced by Oprah Winfrey and
Derik Murray.
