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“I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way.”
Life passes us by as we try to go from one day to another sticking to our rigid schedules. Do we work to live or live to work? Amidst the haste to make a comfortable living that ensues us from all fronts and tackles us into a life bereft of passion and happiness, maybe it’s time we looked at the world with a new set of eyes.
Movie Name - Dead Poets Society (1989)
Directed by - Peter Weir
Written by - Tom Schulman
Starring - Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, Josh Charles, Gale Hansen, Dylan Kussman, Allelon Ruggiero, James Waterston
Duration - 2h 8min
Genre - Teen Drama
Language - English
Plot (Spoiler Alert!)
Dead Poets Society begins with Todd Anderson, a timid student who starts his senior year in the autumn of 1959, at Welton Academy. From the next day, he too becomes a part of the herd which operates according to a rigid routine, which stands and sits as per the orders, their thinking and reading restricted to just their syllabus and nothing beyond that - basically turning them into nothing less than machines.
Then enters John Keating (Robin Williams), their new English teacher. Students are startled by Keating during their first class, because of his unconventional teaching methods. He tells his students "make your lives extraordinary" a sentiment he encapsulates with the Latin phrase ‘Carpe Diem’, which means "seize the day."
In the lessons which follow, they are instructed to take turns standing on their desks to illustrate various perspectives of looking at life, to tear out the introduction to their poetry books which explain a mechanical and theoretical method for evaluating poetry.
While the education system imparts them with information which is enough to get a well-paid job, Keating tells the students that there's more to life than the pursuit of a good job. “We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion.
And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for” he tells his students. He makes them realize how vital art is to our lives and how it is very much intertwined with every phase and moment of our lives.
Themes Involved
Dead Poets Society has retained its resonance with the youth. Its understanding of vulnerable young minds breaking free from the mechanical mundane routine which they are trained to follow, spans generations.
The rigid education system which demands perfection, has time and again failed to understand that it is human to be imperfect and to make mistakes.
John Keating’s words hit like a bell and echoes within you for a truly long time. According to him, art cannot be restricted to theories, methods and formulas, for art is ever-evolving. Career and money are important concerns but art makes us human; during our darkest times art is where we take refuge.
Dead Poets Society talks about breaking free from the shackles of societal norms, thinking beyond the obvious, making mistakes and questioning whatever and whomever you feel is wrong.
Director’s Inspiration
Tom Schulman wrote the original script based on his experiences at Nashville's Montgomery Bell Academy, especially with his inspiring teacher Samuel Pickering. Keating had been sick, slowly dying of Hodgkin lymphoma in Schulman's manuscript, with a scene showing him on his deathbed in the hospital.
Weir removed it because he thought it was needless, arguing that it would draw attention to Keating's condition rather than what he stood for.
Critical Reception
Though Dead Poets Society has an 84 percent approval rate and a 7.28/10 average rating on Rotten Tomatoes, over the years, it has become a cult classic. Celebrated critic Roger Ebert gave the film two out of four stars in his review. He wrote in his review “ I was so moved, I wanted to throw up.”
He criticized Williams for occasionally veering into his onstage comedian's character, ruining an otherwise commendable dramatic performance.
The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay went to Dead Poets Society (Tom Schulman). The film was nominated for Best Picture of 1989, and Peter Weir received a nomination for Best Director.
Robin Williams recieved his second Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and it is generally regarded as one of the actor/ comedian's best performances. The film was also nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Famous Quotes
“O captain, my captain.”
“Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.”
“You must strive to find your own voice because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are going to find it at all.”
“I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life. To put to rout all that was not life; and not, when I had come to die, discover that I had not lived.”
“Tune in. turn on, and drop dead.”
“There's a time for daring and there's a time for caution, and a wise man understands which is called for.”
The Bottom Line
“No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.”
The movie tells you that it’s okay to not have it figured out, no one else has it figured out either, maybe the whole of life is an act of finding a conclusion, maybe what matters is the journey to the conclusion more than the conclusion. Carpe Diem, kids!
My Ratings for the movie - 5 on 5
Stream online on Disney Hotstar - Dead Poets Society
Written By - Kristi Mazumdar
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