My father was a certain kind of man - I saw how he treated my mother and his family and how he treated strangers. And I vowed I would never make a film that would not reflect properly on my father's name.
Sidney PoitierRead
I did not go into the film business to be symbolized as someone else's vision of me.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of individuality and authenticity in one's career and artistic expression.
Sidney Poitierβs quote reflects a strong stance on personal identity and the desire to create oneβs own narrative rather than conforming to others' perceptions or expectations. He conveys the idea that entering a creative industry like film should be driven by one's own vision and values, urging others to prioritize their true selves over societal or external pressures.
Themes
AuthenticityIdentityIndividualityCareerSelf-Expression
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about pursuing dreams, one might use this quote to inspire others to follow their own paths.
More from Sidney Poitier
All quotes βMy father was the quintessential husband and dad.
Sidney PoitierRead
I wanted to explore the values that are at work, underpinning my life.
Sidney PoitierRead
We suffer pain, we hang tight to hope, we nurture expectations, we are plagued occasionally by fears, we are haunted by defeats and unrealized hopes . . . The hoplessness of which I speak is not limited.
Sidney PoitierRead
We're all imperfect, and life is simply a perpetual, unending struggle against those imperfections.
Sidney PoitierRead
I was the only Black person on the set. It was unusual for me to be in a circumstance in which every move I made was tantamount to representation of 18 million people.
Sidney PoitierRead
Similar quotes
I'm a Method actor. I spent years training for the drinking and carousing I had to do in this film.
George ClooneyRead
If we look at the works of JS Bach ... on each page we discover things which we thought were born only yesterday, from delightful arabesques to an overflowing of religious feeling greater than anything we have since discovered.
Claude DebussyRead
Ladies bathed before noon, after their three o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum.
Harper LeeRead
Mention the gothic, and many readers will probably picture gloomy castles and an assortment of sinister Victoriana. However, the truth is that the gothic genre has continued to flourish and evolve since the days of Bram Stoker, producing some of its most interesting and accomplished examples in the 20th century - in literature, film and beyond.
Carlos Ruiz ZafonRead
By the time I am nearing the end of a story, the first part will have been reread and altered and corrected at least one hundred and fifty times. I am suspicious of both facility and speed. Good writing is essentially rewriting. I am positive of this.
Roald DahlRead
Photography, sculpture, and painting were wielded as cultural weapons over the course of generations to substantiate the idea that black people were inherently subordinate beings; they were used to make slavery acceptable and to make black subjugation more palatable.
Clint SmithRead