The Measure of a Man

I read The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier despite it being an Oprah Book Club pick. (She is taking over the world!) Sidney Poitier has always had such a presence and a peace about him that I was intrigued what he would have to say.

I really enjoyed the first half, which described how Mr. Poitier grew up. It was incredibly interesting since he grew up on Cat Island in the Bahamas. There was no electricity or any modern conveniences and he did not leave the island until he was 15 years old. How many of us grow up like this in modern times?! Due to his unusual youth, he has a unique perspective, insights and reactions to our modern lives. It made me take a second look at what I expose my children to and what my children need from me.

The second half of the book was a little slower for me since he was writing about him breaking into the film industry, which didn't interest me much. He also frankly discussed how he cheated on his first wife and how his children felt completely betrayed. While I do admire his forthrightness, I can't help but get turned off by that part of the story.

All in all, I thought it was an insightful and honest autobiography that didn't shy away from the blemishes that inevitably occur in life.

Some of my favorite quotes:

"Poverty notwithstanding, I was lucky... I wasn't bombarded with contravening images and influences that really didn't have any direst connection to my nurturing. I didn't have to digest television..." p.5

"These kind of simulations come at today's American kids on a daily basis, but the mental and emotional apparatus for sifting through them, for processing them, for dealing with them in some meaningful way, simply isn't there."

"But children still have to try to make some sense of everything they're bombarded with. They have to assume something, correctly or incorrectly, factual of otherwise. They have to encode all these distractions into the self that they're slowly, day by day, building." p.6

"We put our kids through fifteen years of quick-cut advertising, passive television watching, and sadistic video games, and we expect to see emerge a new generation of calm, compassionate, and engaged human beings?" p.6-7

"We're going to have to decide for ourselves what we are and what we're not. Create our own image of ourselves. And nurture it and feed it till it can stand on its own." p.78