My Le S
07/13/95

The notion of six degrees of separation is both compounding and confusing. How do we explain six degrees? Is it six degrees of separation from people you know, or people you don't know? Whatever the meaning, the idea is still this: People are more alike than they would think. For example, in the movie "Six Degrees of Separation," Paul, a person from the streets, learns the ways of the rich and enters their homes as an impersonator of their children's friend, and as the son of a famous film maker, Sydney Poitier. In entering their lives, Paul gives them an experience, and for one particular couple, opened the doors to a whole new dimension.

Ouisa and Flan are art dealers, thinking only of making money. They have a dinner guest, hoping to sell to him one of their paintings for two million dollars when a young, black male bursts through the door with a knife wound. At first, Flan and Ouisa have mixed feelings. They were both intrigued and scared of Paul, but when he tells them that he is the son of the famous film maker, Sydney Poitier, their doubts vanish. Paul tells them stories of him and his father. Paul's accent and vocabulary, along with his thoughts and ideas are so compounding that they sit and listen with amazement at this young man with such brilliant ingenuity. Paul cooks them dinner, and they invite him to stay overnight. In the middle of the night, Paul is caught sleeping with his homosexual friend and is thrown out the house. The next morning at a wedding reception, they tell their story to a room full of shocked listeners. They keep telling the story to different groups of people; art clients and at dinner parties as well. They go to the police and find that they aren't the only ones who were visited by Paul and as each family uncovers their story, they learn more things about Paul.

Flan is scared, and keeps repeating the phrase, "We could have been killed, throats slashed," when in reality, Paul didn't even try to hurt them. In Flan's eyes, the well behaved son of Sydney Poitier becomes just another hoodlum from the streets. Ouisa, on the other hand, is still very intrigued and concerned for Paul. Even though they are from two highly different worlds, Ouisa finds herself pulled to him.

As the stories unfold, we find that Paul wants to be the son of Flan and Ouisa because they are the only ones who stayed with him. He was looking for someone to care for him, and he found that in Ouisa. Ouisa found herself thinking more about Paul. He opened a door for her to see just what her life meant, and she found herself lacking. Once, she even said that, "He (Paul) had done for us that our children ever have." They found that they were both looking for the same thing in life, even though they were born in two different worlds. They enjoyed the same entertainment and searching for fulfillment and love in life.