{"id":162295,"date":"2025-12-19T08:00:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T13:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=162295"},"modified":"2025-12-18T10:14:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T15:14:21","slug":"cecily-tyson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=162295","title":{"rendered":"“I sucked my fingers for 12 years. I never spoke … but I was a great observer.” — Cicely Tyson"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nIt’s her birthday today. <\/p>\n

One of my earliest memories seeing a movie – I had to be 7 or 8 – was watching Sounder<\/i> with my parents. I sat on the floor in front of the television. My parents sat on the couch behind me. They were probably both smoking. The movie made a vivid impression on me – so much so that when I finally re-watched it – maybe 20 years later – I remembered specific shots. But what I remember most of all is the “reunion scene”. It was overwhelming to me, but I was a child, and not quite sure what to do. I turned around to look at my mother. She sat there, with tears streaming down her face. Normally I would get alarmed if my mother cried. This time though I just felt: “Oh. Okay. Confirmation that what I am seeing is incredible.” I didn’t think exactly those things, but I remember the feeling of satisfaction in being confirmed in my own personal impression of a piece of art that my parents were letting me stay up and watch. <\/p>\n

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\nAs an adult, I can now watch Tyson’s performance and marvel at what she is doing. She has one moment that makes me weep every time, and it’s not a huge moment of catharsis. It’s very small. Her son, home from his time away at the country school, writes a letter to his beloved teacher and reads it out loud to his illiterate mother and his siblings. Tyson sits, listening, and then says, proudly, but with a little bit of awe, and also the warmth of a mother’s support, “That’s a fine letter.” You believe TOTALLY that Cicely Tyson is who she says she is in that character.<\/p>\n

Tyson was one of the great American actresses. She gives an all-time great performance – not just for her, but for anybody – in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman<\/i>. You can’t compare it to anything else because there isn’t anything else like it. Miss Jane Pittman<\/i> shattered barriers, raised the bar, gave voice to the silenced, and etc. and etc. and nobody but Tyson could have played the role the way she did.<\/p>\n

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