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
So much of life, it seems to me, is determined by pure randomness.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life is largely influenced by unpredictable events and chance occurrences.
Sidney Poitier's quote reflects the notion that many aspects of our lives are shaped by randomness rather than just our choices or efforts. This perspective encourages a recognition of the unpredictability inherent in life and suggests that despite our best planning, unforeseen events often play a critical role in the outcomes we experience.
Themes
RandomnessLifeChanceFateUnpredictability
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about resilience, one might quote this to highlight the role of chance in overcoming challenges.
More from Sidney Poitier
All quotes βMy father was the quintessential husband and dad.
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I wanted to explore the values that are at work, underpinning my life.
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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.
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We're all imperfect, and life is simply a perpetual, unending struggle against those imperfections.
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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.
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