Dead Poets Society

Director: Peter Weir
Writer: Tom Schulman
Released: June 1989
Featuring: Robin Williams
—

Imagine Good Will Hunting + Scent of a Woman… and with a touch of The Ron Clark Story. That pretty much gives you Dead Poet’s Society.

It is a great story about breaking the mould. Not being what your father wants you to be, not giving into the black and white versions of education, but finding the creativity in it and allowing your imagination to run riot.

Tradition. Honour. Discipline. Excellence.

Robin Williams plays John Keating who is an English teacher with unorthodox teaching methods in a private all boys school. The tradition and formality of the school keeps the students as a uniform with little individuality. But Keating is able to bring out the strengths in them and encourage creativity.

Travesty. Horror. Decadence. Excrement.

My favourite scene is Keating’s explanation of conformity. The usually rigid teachings became a hands on experiment. Check it out:

Look at things from a different perspective.

I thoroughly enjoy these philosophical films, especially with the quirky Robin Williams whose improvisation skills are beyond any I have seen. He is amazing.

His character is everybody’s favourite teacher. Somebody who recognises the students weakness and strengths and getting the best out of them using methods that are best for them, even though they may not be necessarily typical of a prep school environment.

Dead Poets Society is uplifting and inspiring but also shocking and morose.

Jodie’s Rating: 8.5/10

Advertisements