Dead Poets Society

           Yesterday afternoon I was a in my house searching for something to watch on the TV, and I ran into this movie. “Dead Poets Society” is a 1989 movie directed by Peter Weir. It is set in Vermont, United States, at the Welton Academy campus. This is an isolated campus, thus the students should not have any contact with the outside world, according to the Academy rules. The movie occurs during the 1950’s, when the American society was very conservative. There, a group of seven students take an English course which is now being taught by professor John Keating (who also attended Welton during his youth), and his ways of teaching make his student’s views about life change.

The main character, Neil Perry, is an excellent student who lives under the constant pressure of his father to become a medicine doctor. But what Neil really desires is to become an actor, regardless of this father’s opinions. On the other hand, Todd Anderson just joined the Academy that year, and he is immediately compared to his older brother, who went there some years ago. He is a very shy person, and is afraid of speaking in public due to a stuttering problem.

Since the first day of the class, professor Keating shows that he is a different kind of teacher. He goes by the motto of “carpe diem” or “seize the day”. This concept goes deeply into his students minds. He challenges them to think by themselves, instead of following the conservative ideas of Welton. Neil takes the words of professor Keating seriously, especially when he finds in an old annual Keating’s picture with the words “dead poets society” under it. He does some research and discovers that the professor and a group of his classmates used to get together in a cave, where they would read poetry and talk about their hopes and dreams.

The seven boys, Neil, Todd, Knox, Charlie, Richard, Meeks and Pitts, go to the Indian cave, where they would get together during the following weeks, to read poetry, play music and have fun. The cave is a space where they can be themselves, express their own thoughts, and share with the group what is happening on their lives. They are very supportive of each other. Neil tells his partners that he will be acting on a Shakespeare play (he forged his father’s signature to join the cast), and he is very excited about it. The day of the presentation, he delivers a great performance, but his father gets very angry and decides to take him home to send him to a military school the very next day. Saddened by this, Neil takes his own life that same night.

During this confusing period after Neil’s death, the Academy leaders, which always disapproved professor Keating’s teaching methods, use him as a scapegoat and blame him for putting ideas into Neil’s mind, which eventually led him to his death. Mr. Keating is removed from his position as English teacher, but the group of students showed their support until the end. At the end of the movie, Todd becomes a new person; he is no longer shy and afraid of expressing his opinions publicly.

The movie shows how important the role of a teacher is to his students. The teaching methods of Mr. Keating challenged his students to think out of the box, to take the extra mile, and free themselves from the conservative ways of Welton. If a teacher does not take advantage of this position to influence positively his students, then his work is not complete. Taking chances on new ideas and methods is a commitment which all teachers must embrace, and it is guaranteed that his students will always be grateful for this decision.

by Andres Brenes