Reading Post # 3: Poitier -- Robeson Revisited?

In Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?, Sidney Poitier portrays a character that installs him as a 1960s Paul Robeson, what Richard Dyer describes as a “crossover star:” someone who through his character traits and abilities is appealing as a star to both white and black audiences. Indeed, as if audiences did not already revere Poitier enough for his seemingly more well-rounded depictions of his race (as both intellectual and defiant, yet belonging firmly within, not outside society), this image of him as a trail-blazing African-American star was cemented when he was awarded an Honorary Oscar for his “extraordinary performances” the same year Denzel Washington and Halle Berry won top acting awards and Whoopi Goldberg hosted the ceremony. I doubt producers could’ve planned a more perfect evening in terms of making themselves and Hollywood appear “tolerant” and “forward-looking.” However, though Poitier was arguably the most famous black star of his time and is still revered by both white and black audiences today, the character of Dr. John Wade Prentice illustrates the problematic nature of his star persona.
As Dr. Prentice, Poitier plays a highly intellectual man who through his achievements in the medical field has clearly established himself as a well-respected and elite member of his profession. Though Robeson became an actor/singer, Poitier’s character in the film hearkens back to this earlier conception of “cross-over” star through his links with Robeson’s own educational background as an intellectual and graduate of Columbia Law School. Additionally, it situates Poitier within this conception of “the ‘good’ African with whom the whites can work” (Dyer, 93). Thus, Poitier’s links with Robeson establish him as acceptable as “cross-over” star, and therefore, perhaps acceptable in his “cross-over” in his wanting to marry a white woman. As Baldwin elucidates in The Devil Finds Work, it is clear that the only reason this is even a possibility is because Dr. Prentice is such an educated, over-achieving anomaly (among all men, not merely those of his race).
Furthermore, not only do Dr. Prentice’s achievements present him as an exceptional “Negro,” but the character further places Poitier in line with Robeson and white approval of the African-American as subservient and one who defers to the wants/needs of white society. So, though Prentice seemingly “transcends race” through his education and his respected position, he reassures his fiancée’s parents that he is not seeking to rise above his station in a sense. That is, he will not marry their daughter without their, aka white, approval. Thus, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? erases any success it may have at a progressive worldview with this implication of Poitier as the black man who will not do anything against the white man’s wishes. Indeed, this point is further reinforced in casting – as Spencer Tracy, a white icon of old Hollywood and the classic studio system, is given final power over the decision overshadowing any power Poitier, a symbol of new Hollywood and contemporary America, may have gained through his high-level education and the prospect of interracial marriage. By forcing Poitier’s character to seek approval from the parents, Stanley Kramer diminished the strides Poitier might have been making as a “cross-over” star and as a symbol of strong, exceptional black men, reducing him to a contemporary version of Paul Robeson. Robeson was made more palatable to white audiences as his educational background was obscured by his tendency to play more primitive, simple, and charming characters, “the representative of blackness” (Dyer, 69). Similarly, it is Dr. Prentice’s education undercut by his subservient nature that made this plot line and Poitier’s actions acceptable to a 1967 audience. Though Poitier had garnered success for playing strong, defiant black men (evidenced by his immortal line: “They call me Mr. Tibbs”), this film diminished his star power in his own right (playing second fiddle on and off-screen to the Hepburn/Tracy match-up) – though playing a man of dignity and education, his deferral to white preferences seemed to suggest that this was, ultimately, what Poitier the star symbolized as well – a black man seeking approval on the terms of whites as a marker of success.

1) Had Poitier played against less famous people in the film or more contemporary stars would it have changed the film’s interpretation of his persona and stardom? How big a difference does having Tracy and Hepburn in the roles make?
2) Was this film probably more representative of Poitier’s career in general or did other roles contradict the relatively mealy-mouthed fortitude of Dr. Prentice? How did this role fit into Poitier’s persona? Additionally, do you think white audiences of 1967 read Poitier’s blackness as non-threatening for the reasons discussed above? Could Poitier have played the role with drastically different character traits and achieved the same success?
3) In the recent remake of the film, Guess Who?, the races were reversed with Bernie Mac playing the patriarch and Ashton Kutcher the questionable future spouse. How do the personas of these actors affect the reading of the film? And in what ways might this race reversal change the meaning/message and effect of the film?