Dead Poets Society (1989)
Film and TV - journal entry #4
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Director(s): Peter Weir
Runtime: 2h 8min
Awards:
Oscar (1990) - Best Original Script
BAFTA (1990) - Best Film
BAFTA (1990) - Best Original Film Score
Studio(s): Touchstone Pictures
Release date: June 1989
(bad) Synopsis
Those gay teens and their English teachers, man, I swear!
Notes/Opinion
I don’t aspire to say anything ground-breaking about this film, but there is a reason it’s so popular and beloved. It’s alright to love things that are ‘basic’, especially when their quality is undeniable.
Anyway, Dead Poets Society balances many things at once. For starters, it’s a blueprint to what would become the Dark Academia subculture. That’s no surprise either: the movie is a love letter to learning and education. Inspired by their teacher, it’s in their classes and reunions that these boys are able to discover a true love for life, an ache to live fully and on purpose.
Which leads me to another point: passion is contagious. Someone who values their own existence can lead others you follow suit, which is basically the moving incident of the story. This ends up being both a blessing and a curse. While I don’t necessarily blame Mr. Keating for Neil’s death, his teacher giving him a sense of purpose is a catalyst.
“But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.”
Dead Poets Society
Neil takes these words very seriously, perhaps more than everyone else. He internalizes them, he makes a path out of them. When his father wants to take all that away, as he perceives it, he concludes there is indeed nothing to stay alive for. In the future Neil is presented with there was no poetry, beauty, romance or love. So he violently severs himself from it by taking his own life.
It’s depressing and extreme, but in some way, it makes sense.
Academically, Dead Poets Society is a heartfelt thank-you note to all those teachers whose impact in our lives cannot be understated. I know I’ve had teachers at school (and then at college) who I grew to love. Not in a romantic way, obviously; it’s a very particular kind of endearment that occurs when you know this person wants you to learn, and you know they’re passionate about the subject in question.
Teachers are often underrated and underpaid, but a good teacher can literally affect the course of your life.
Lastly, I think the bond between the main group is very nice; they all have this very wholesome and supportive friendship. Granted, the plot is mostly concerned with male characters, but never in a way that makes women feel alienated. Does that make sense? Like, it’s not the kind of movie that is so blatantly made for men, it reduces your enjoyment if you aren’t one (and yes, some films are blatantly made for women).
In other words, Dead Poets Society is beautiful in more ways than one (the cinematography alone is lovely). Not only that, it’s necessary, and more likely than not it will continue to be relevant for decades, as it already has been.
Fun fact #1 - My class once made a bargain with a teacher: anyone who guessed what movie she’d watched recently could be spared from doing a class presentation. I guessed correctly, and the answer was DPS.
Fun fact #2 - This is allegedly one of the only movies that’s made my dad cry, when he first watched it.
Fun fact #3 - When I first introduced my younger sisters to DPS, they legit couldn’t sleep that night, they were so emotionally wrecked by the ending. I feel a bit bad for that, to be honest.
Sources: Google, Wikipedia, IMDB.
Great review, the fun facts at the end were a nice touch. Dead Poets Society is one of my favourites, and definitely agree with your point about teachers being under appreciated.
great review! i love this film!