Preview

Movie Review. Dead Poets' Society

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
623 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Movie Review. Dead Poets' Society
Dead Poets' Society is an inspiring movie, with truly memorable quotes, and great acting. John Keating is a teacher who believes in more then just teaching about what is in the book, he believes in teaching about life, to live each day to your fullest and to follow your dreams. The English teacher stretches his students minds, when he lectures he actively engages them as he discusses new concepts and gain new understandings from each other's perspectives. His unorthodox methods of teaching makes everyone realize the importance of taking charge of your life and make a stand for what you believe. The overarching principle of the Mr. Keating's teaching philosophy is “Carpe Diem”, usually translated as “seize the day”. Carpe diem is an emphasis on the value of each moment, expressing appreciation for the opportunities found in every day’s life. Mr. Keating tells his class that he wants them to learn to think for themselves. Marcus Aurelius would say “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts; therefore guard accordingly”.
With Mr.Keating poetry has nothing to do with rhyming: poetry becomes pure artistic expression, freedom of expression. When he says “let go, just say what comes into your head” the student suddenly becomes able to magically create great poetry. The spirit of poetry is in their souls, it is the spirit of carpe diem, it is like a candle in some boys and fire in others. The young boys had been taught to conform to some one else's plan, and put their beliefs aside. The brave English teacher brings passion, warmth, and humor into his students’ life, to stand up for their convictions throughout their lives no matter how hard it may prove, and how much the opposing forces deny the basic truth. His encouragement of individualism leads to dramatic consequences for one of his students. Neil Perry learns to follow his own dreams and ambitions. He disregard his father's authority, and decides to act in a

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Neil Perry is challenged with pursuing his desire to act in a play in fear of his father’s reaction. Both his parents and Welton think it’s unorthodox for…

    • 725 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He uses their actions against them and praises every inch an English teacher moves. He ends his letter with “sincerely”, though it was not as sincere as it was confrontational. Pat Conroy takes a firm stand in his side with English teachers by using his own experiences with his own favorite, Eugene Norris, who he kept along with all his life, until his death. He expresses his joy that comes from great teachers and books, and hopes to reach the reasonable side of the suppressors.…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Moreover, he told his students, "Make your lives extraordinary." In other words, he wants them to make the most of their lives - to seize the day before it is too late. Additionally, he encourages his students to form their own opinions by saying, "When you read, don't just consider what the author thinks, consider what you think." Thus, John Keating always believed in himself and he also inspired his students to do…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There can be several meanings and lessons take from the monologue said by John Keating. Keating is portrayed by Robin Williams and he does a wonderful job. He starts off by saying that poetry isn’t written just to be cute. It has a deeper meaning. It can stand for so many things. John takes time to discuss the necessities of the human race. We need medicine to heal us, laws to keep us in order, business to keep us off the coach and engineering to advance us. He is saying that we stay alive for “poetry, beauty, romance [and] love.” John quotes one of Walt Whitman’s poems “O me! O life” to gather further meaning to what he was saying to the students. It’s almost like John is saying the answer to our lives and why we’re still going is poetry.…

    • 308 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Catcher in the Rye

    • 9055 Words
    • 37 Pages

    What kind of teacher is John Keating? 10. How does John Keating demonstrate the school’s four principles? Imaginative Writing: Four Days in Holden’s Shoes…

    • 9055 Words
    • 37 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the film Dead Poets Society, this is displayed effectively in the teacher-student relationship, through which Mr Keating encourages his students to break out of the conformed nature of the school and develop their own individual way of thinking. Keating teaches his students the phrase “Carpe Diem,” meaning “seize the day,” urging them use every opportunity that life presents to them. Its repetition throughout the film highlights its significance in influencing the viewpoints and actions of the students. He constantly stresses to them to formulate an individual view on their learning and the world, for example, when he states “The world looks different from up here… Come see for yourself! ...you have to look at it in another way.” He expresses this idea through the symbolism of standing on a desk to see the classroom from a different perspective. Another key idea in his teachings is revealed through the quote, “Swim against the stream,” underlining the concept of breaking out of conformity. This idea is clearly revealed through the scene in which he asks the students to rip out the introduction of a textbook which teaches them how to read poetry, a direct representation of liberation from the school’s traditionalism. Keating’s influence proved to have challenged the student’s way of thinking, however, results in both positive and negative consequences. Todd ultimately finds his own voice in the final scene when he stands on his desk to support Mr Keating, whereas Charlie finds himself expelled due to his impulsive, rash actions. Thus a relationship in which one is influenced by a challenge of the conventional definitely gives rise to a new sense of…

    • 1373 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Neil Perry really wants to join a drama play in his school since he has not join in any extra curriculum activities. Mr. Keating teaches his students about Carpe Diem, which means “seize the day”. Mr. Keating is encouraging his students to take a chance in their lifetime and follow their dreams. Neil then applies it to a real life situation, which is asking his father if he can join the drama at school. Mr. Keating tried to give Neil advices: “I know this sounds impossible, but you have to talk to him. You have to talk to him. You have to show him who you are, what your heart is” (Weir). Mr. Keating told Neil to take a risk and go to ask his dad for the permission to join the play. Neil trusted Mr. Keating’s lesson about Carpe Diem. Neil shows independence by making his decision to go and ask his father permission and that he believed his father would say yes. Both books and characters shared the similar theme and both concluded with similar consequences for all the…

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dead Poets Society, a drama film directed by Peter Weir, tells the fictional story of Mr. Keating and how he inspires the students of Welton Academy by advising them to carpe diem, or seize the day, and encouraging them to restart the Dead Poets Society, a club not only for reading poetry, but for learning to take risks in order to create positive modifications and exciting experiences. Embracing their teacher’s unorthodox ideas, each boy finds his own voice and takes a stand against his parents, the people who make major life decisions on his behalf without consent. Therefore, Mr. Keating’s insightful lessons, notwithstanding the mayhem they cause, ignite a fire in the boys’ hearts and change their lives forever.…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The low angles typically used during discussions between Neil and his dad; indicates the power Mr Perry has over his son. He pressures Neil to conform to his standards and invest years of his life to become a doctor rather than an actor. As a result, he becomes a symbol of tradition and conformity, more so than Welton Academy. Mr Perry’s high placement in the stands at the theatre during Neil’s play, further establishes his supremacy and control over Neil’s life. Shortly after, Neil’s father was depicted as having authority via a low angle shot, which also displayed Mr. Perry’s stern facial expression. This use of film technique also demonstrated Neil’s inability to stand up for himself and challenge his father’s views. Alternatively, Neil’s suicide represented him breaking free of conformity by having governance over his own life, rather than his father. To Neil, his father only represented conformity, authority, and tradition, with no emotional attachment that would be experienced in a regular father-son relationship. Weir has utilised the film techniques of camera angles and symbolism to convey the role of…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Dead Poet’s Society, John Keating, an english teacher, believes completely in the transcendental lifestyle. He feels standing up for what one believes in and challenging everyday life allows for a better life. During one of Keating’s teachings, he stands on his desk to show his class that “we must constantly look at things in a different way" (Weir). Keating explains that going along with society allows for no change, that we need to go against the normal and think outside of the box. Looking at things in various ways helps people learn and discover new ideas.…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    ‘Carpe Diem!’, literally translating to seize the day, is a concept most in the film Dead Poets Society attempt to adhere to. Set in 1959, the boys take this latin mantra to heart after being first introduced to it by Mr Keating. This then becomes the prime factor of motivation for most, if not all, of their actions in the film. Although the outcomes are positive on occasion, with an unbiased mind, their physical actions and choices would easily be seen as selfish and naive. As an example, throughout the entire film, Neil Perry endeavours to follow his dreams of acting against his father’s will.…

    • 799 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This movie showed how too much pressure on one person can lead to a breakdown, and from that point there is seemingly no going back. Once someone has reached that state, they are permanently damaged. When Neil was told he couldn’t pursue drama anymore and he would have to leave Welton, his entire world was crashing down. Everything he knew and loved was being taken from him. Mr. Perry was placing a huge boulder on Neil’s shoulders to become a doctor and go through a rigorous medical school where he would be miserable. This was all for the sake of his future. Mr. Perry was living his life through Neil, even stating during their heated argument after the play, “You have opportunities that I never even dreamt of and I am not going to let you waste them.” His statement proves that he was living the life he wished he had through his child, Neil, as most parents who put pressure on their kids tend to…

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A rhyme is defined as a verse or poetry having correspondence in the terminal sounds of the lines. One of the best examples of a poet that mastered rhyming beautifully was Robert Frost. Robert Frost was one of the best poets of the twentieth century. He is highly admired for his work about rural life and command for the English language. While many poets like to free verse their poetry, Robert Frost normally does not. One of the main characteristics that contribute to why Robert Frost is such a good poet is his ability to develop rhyme schemes and the sense of rhythm it creates throughout his poetry.…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The movie, Dead Poet’ Society, is about a group of young boys who attend Welton Academy, a very strict and traditional school. Mr Keating, a well respected teacher, by the students at Welton Academy is looked upon as a bad influence on the students by the school's principal. The principal believed that Mr Keating’s teaching methods are unconventional and he was not following the schools 4 pillars, tradition, discipline, honour and excellence. Mr Keating uses fragments of poems to teach and make his points. When Mr Keating uses these fragments, the meaning of the poem is often misrepresented.…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In his composition "Boring from Within: The Art of the Freshman Essay," Wayne C. Booth makes an enlightening proclamation about teenage language in America by describing his heartfelt frustrations as an English teacher. His choice for this career path has put him in a difficult position within society, creating distraught situations for him to endure. This composition is an analysis of the freshman essay from a teacher’s perspective.…

    • 683 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays