Dead Poets Society (1989)
“Fight to be alive”: A review of an American drama film Dead Poets Society
Dead Poets Society is an American drama film in 1989 with tremendous box office success. Set at an elite private preparatory school Welton Academy in the northeast United States in 1959, it presents a story about an unorthodox English teacher Mr. John Keating and several inspired students including Neil Perry, Todd Anderson, Knox Overstreet, Charlie Dalton, etc. The film written by Tom Schulman won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the BAFTA award for Best Film.
The film starred Robin Williams as Mr. Keating, who was one of the best stand-up comedians known for his improvisational skills. When shot for the film, he was stiff in portrayal of the role until the director Peter Weir suggested him to improvise. His improvisation made him a gifted and lively teacher in the performance and even endowed the film with exceptional effects.
The story is loosely modeled on Schulman’s own experiences. In the film, John Keating harnesses the power of literature to inspire students to find their own voice by conducting unconventional teaching activities. Several enlightened students then establish a literary club named Dead Poets Society reading poems, telling stories and playing music occasionally at night in a cave. Each student’s own story is depicted and interwoven with Mr. Keating’s class such as Knox’s passionate love affair, shy Todd’s first poem recitation, Charlie’s bold prank, Meeks and Pitts’ self-made radio. Neil, one of the best students, discovers his love and enthusiasm for acting, which is totally objected by his father. His drama performance pushes the film to the climax. And the film ends tragically with Neil’s suicide, disbandment of Dead Poets Society and Mr. Keating resignation.
This review explores the theme “Fight” in the film. “Fight” here will be interpreted from the perspective of its figurative meaning “struggle” and spiritual source of achieving rather than refer to physical brawls. It starts by summarizing a set of “fight” reflected in the film and explaining how they are interrelated. It moves on to discuss how and why “fight” is highlighted and finishes by personal reflection.
“Fight” in the film
Fight as a theme is multi-layered and demonstrated through many characters in this film. It is carried in their actions, speech, mental states and even facial expressions as the plot unfolds. Fight is essential to the development of the plot and characters. In this section, four “fights” will be analyzed in detail whose true nature is revealed at the end.
Fight with tradition
Mr. Keating seems to be out of tune with the period in which he lives. To be exact, he is a nonconformist and a pioneer, fighting with tradition in his own way. It may be a bit disappointed that he is not a revolutionist who criticizes the traditional way fiercely in public and advocates to reform the education system. However what he does perhaps is a wiser way taking the realistic aspect into consideration — his strength is still insignificant at that time and hence he needs to survive and enlighten more people. Mr. Keating’s conflict with tradition lies in the educational idea. He believes that one of the goals of education for young people is to learn independent thinking and think for themselves, against the orthodoxy in school that to learn is to get into colleges like Harvard and “the rest will take care of itself”(said by Mr. Nolan in original screenplay). Should everyone in this school blindly follow such a seemingly glorious and expected path designed for them? Mr. Keating doubts. He is an alumnus of this school and he comes back because he knows things need to change at Welton.
The conflict is consolidated through the teaching methods along with the educational idea. His fight is reflected in practicing and persisting his creative and unique way of teaching even though the headmaster questions him. Instead of physical punishment and rigid way of teaching, which is the norm of school at that time, his teaching takes place in corridor, courtyard, sport field in form of various activities. Every English class surprises the students, leaving me deep impressions as well. Rather than walk in the classroom authoritatively with students standing to attention, he begins his first lesson by summoning them out into the corridor with whistles. By showing black-and-white photos of old classes in the cabinet, he introduces the idea of “seize the day and make your life extraordinary”. By inviting students to stand on desks, he encourages them to look at the things in a different way. By demonstrating the unified marching, he raises their awareness of conformity. He said, “Now in this class you can either call me Mr. Keating, or if you are slightly more daring, ‘Oh Captain, my Captain’.” It shows he is not only a teacher, but aspires to be a captain who pilots them to be in the right course in their life by finding their own voices. This is what he fights for.
Fight with weaknesses
Inspired by Mr. Keating, students also have their “fights” in different forms.
Todd Anderson fights with his own weakness with the help of Mr. Keating and the influence of his roommate Neil. At the beginning of the film, he is so shy and introverted that he remains silent when other boys laugh at him. He does not know how to communicate with others and finds a so-called compromised way of living by just taking care of himself. And he is even not able to finish the assignment of reading a poem in front of others. In a scene of the English class, Mr. Keating pushes him to the limit and tries to release the “barbarian” in him. Under Keating’s pressure and guidance, he finally reads a poem of his own with eyes closed in front of the class. When his eyes are open, he is welcomed by applause and recognition from Mr. Keating. This is an awakening moment that he gains the confidence and realizes his own unknown strength. He hears his own voice for the first time through an improvised poem. From then on, he starts the ‘fight’ and gradually is capable of expressing himself.
Fight for dreams
Neil Perry, a pioneer in the story, fights for his own dream of being an actor. Neil is portrayed as a perfect student in the first part of the film. He, active and outgoing, gets straight As. He has the ability to lead others and the Dead Poets Society rebuilds under his call. He actively gets involved in extracurricular activities with a bunch of friends surrounded. It is natural for such an excellent and active-minded student to figure out what he wants for his life. However his dream, different from his father’s, brings trouble to the boy. His conflict with father indicates obstacles on the road to dreams. Having listened to his father again and again, the imprisoned soul is desperate for embracing a dream where passion lies. He fights for his dream by trying out an unauthorized audition. He fights for his dream by being willing to pressurize himself by managing both the study and drama.
Fight for individual freedom
Neil’s story can also be interpreted as fighting for his individual freedom. His father is a static and flat character in the film. Always unyielding and authoritative, he never cares Neil’s thought. He arranges extra classes for Neil’s summer and intervenes Neil’s school life by forcing him to quit the extracurricular activities even if his study has been one of the best. He condemns Neil’s dream as meaningless and imposes his dream on him. Most surprisingly, he is not touched by Neil’s outstanding acting performance when nearly all the audience applauds and acclaims. He is blind to Neil’s talents and passion in the drama. Such a suffocating way of parenting paves the way for the tragedy. The dramatized restraints from father reinforce the need of individual freedom. Neil is like a kite, flying high but being pulled all the time, while he longs for being a free bird. He fights by pretending to obey his father and composing a fake letter from his father in order to acquire consent to perform. His fights are pale compared to his father’s manipulation. But his death utters the necessity of individual freedom, without which we may not be alive.
Fight with death - to be alive
A new door of life opens for Todd as he fights with his weakness and knows himself better. A new stream of blood is injected in Neil’s body as he fights for what he loves. A new impetus is gained in life for Mr. Keating as he decides to inspire those trapped young souls. Ironically, students in the dead poets society who feel bored and confined to live in the stately and civilized building of Welton, try to live harder and search for essential facts in their life in a primitive and earthy cave. Dead poets’ legacy as follows ripples and resonates in their heart and makes them feel more “alive” than ever before:
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. …I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life…”(Thoreau, 1854).
Even though those poets are dead, their spirit of searching for the meaning of life is alive again in many young souls’ mind. The essence of “Fight” is to pursue a more meaningful and dynamic life in which both our body and mind reside. We fight to be “alive” physically by seizing the day and spiritually by creating our own meaning including fighting for progress, love, dreams, freedom, etc. All forms of fight are merged into the fight to be “alive” eventually, fighting with death that takes all the meanings away.
Tactics of bring out “Fight”
In this section, tactics used to bring out “fight” are probed into. Four aspects including setting, characters as symbols, character development and camera work will be discussed accordingly.
The film sets in a private elite preparatory school, which is particularly and appropriately chosen to reflect the themes. The opening scenes of the new semester assembly present the embedded culture of the school, i.e. tradition, honor, discipline and excellence, setting a context that prompts the “fights”. The above four pillars are demonstrated through lots of elements. The bagpipes and flags imply the retention of the religious Scottish and Irish tradition. The boys are dressed in the identical uniform in similar haircuts, through which their individuality is minimized. In the opening address of the headmaster, he emphasized the honor they have earned, i.e. seventy-five percent students’ admissions to the Ivy League, to reinforce their authority and impose a same dream on students. In school, students learn Latin to connect with the tradition. Sports such as Football and baseball are played instead of tennis with a heightened aim to cultivate teamwork and collective spirit. At the beginning the film uses montage to present snapshots of traditional ways of teaching of other teachers, as foils for Mr. Keating. Such an elite school tends to be the most conservative compared to other public schools. It is the oppressive and collective norms that contrast and highlight Mr. Keating’s vitality and each student’ s individual characteristics. It is in the stiff and calcified setting that intangibly imprisons each free soul and thus comes the “fights”.
Characters in the film are depicted differently. Some characters portrayed to be static and flat are symbols in the film. Mr. Nolan and Richard Cameron are symbols of tradition, the major obstacle in the course of fight. Mr. Nolan, the headmaster of the school, carries on the tradition of the school and repulses new things such as Mr. Keating’s unconventional teaching methods. The last scenes of the film are that Mr. Nolan takes over the English class and starts teaching by reading out the introduction on textbook, contrasting sharply with Mr. Keating who instead becomes a symbol of creativity in terms of education. Cameron is always the most reluctant one in the Dead Poets Society. Close-up shots have been given to Cameron when given the wired instruction of ripping the book. He also tries to take down everything said by the teacher in class. He is a good student in the traditional sense, aligning with Mr. Nolan. It is within our expectation that he is the weakest link who “betrays” the Dead Poets Society. He Contrasts with Charlie who never gives out the names in the society even if beaten by Mr. Nolan. In the end, Cameron is the only member in the society remaining seated when their captain Keating is leaving. He symbolizes tradition among students, a product of Mr. Nolan’s educating system.
The other characters, such as Neil Perry and Todd Anderson, have gone through changes as the plot unravels. They, as major characters among the students, are dynamic and round. The development of those characters reveals the themes. Neil and Todd, though with different personality, are akin to each other in some aspects. Their similarities imply that they are foil to each other. Their parents who do not know their sons well are shown in the film, suggesting their common family pressure. Todd’s brother has been the most outstanding student at Welton and the headmaster has the same expectation of him. Given Neil’s present excellent grades, they are both considered as the most promising students at Welton, which highlights the pressure from the school. As Neil frees himself in a drama dream, Todd gradually opens his mind. In the end, Todd’s grief for Neil’s death is demonstrated in his crazy running in a snowy day, disparate from the previous quiet Todd. He is transformed into someone who resembles Neil. It is the shy Todd who leads other students in telling the truth and standing on the desks bravely showing their support and trust to captain Keating in Mr. Nolan’s class. Such an ending blurs the tragic aura brought by death and indicates the spirit and hope are still alive.
Apart from the setting and characters, the wise use of camera angles helps to bring forward the themes. For example, low camera angles are given to Mr. Nolan in the scene of the opening assembly to accentuate his authority. All the students seated on pews are filmed from high angles to show them in an identical and powerless image. To the contrary, in the final scenes students who stand on the desks are filmed from low angles to highlight their courage and living spirit, while high angles of Mr. Nolan emphasize his white hairs, implying that he, together with his idea, is old and going to lose control.
Reasons for highlighting “Fight”
The theme of “fight” aligns with some macro-themes in the films of the United States such as the change of era emphasizing tensions between the old and new and individualism focusing on liberation and self-realization of individuals. It is highlighted as part of the American culture.
The highlight of “fight” also conforms to the historical trends. This film, screened in 1989, has its significance and implications in the field of education. The message that school should be a place for advancement of knowledge as well as cultivating the independent thinking and the pursuit of life is increasingly appreciated. Reforming education was strongly voiced out in 1970s in the US. And the Women’s Educational Equity Act enacted in 1974 is a milestone in the development of the education (Madigan, 2009). In the film, Charlie publishes an article on school newspaper on girls’ admission at Welton, which is described as “profane and unauthorized” by the headmaster. From the perspective of history, Charlie instead can be considered as visionary, ahead of the times whereas traditional headmaster is ignorant. Tradition in this film is portrayed stereotypically and derogatorily in order to heighten the significance of creativity and openness in education.
This film conveys and passes on a timeless spirit—fight for life with meanings, to be “alive”. When the students stand on the desks and wave goodbye to Mr. Keating by saying “O captain my captain”, their determined and enlightened minds are displayed. In his “fight” against tradition at the school, Mr. Keating does not lose even though he has to leave.
This film resonates with me when I reflect on my own experience in a famous high school. Getting into a high-ranking university is emphasized repeatedly and constantly by my teachers. It seems to become the only goal to fight for and the only criteria for others to judge you. Nowadays in my surroundings, many students’ dreams are obscurely synchronized to getting in a famous university, finding a good job after graduation, etc. When it is time to choose major and career, they feel lost and frustrated because they have never thought about what they want. Should the education prepare us to think of and pursue our own life? Apart from learning knowledge from the past, we should be able to think about our own meaningful life. The pursuit of life may take in form of self-breakthrough, achieving dreams, contributing to the society, etc. Most importantly, such pursuit endows us passion and power, and essentially makes us alive and feel the weight of being.
Reference
Tom Schulman. “Film scripts of Dead Poets Society”.
Madigan, J. C. (2009). The education of girls and women in the United States: A historical perspective. Advances in Gender and Education 1, 11-13.
Thoreau, H. D. (1854). Walden. Boston: Ticknor and Fields.
