That title sure got your attention, huh Mr. P?
You thought this was gonna be about Walt Whitman?
You're only sort of mistaken.
BEHOLD!!
DEAD POETS SOCIETY!!!
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| You came to the wrong neighborhood from: |
Short teaser thing:
So we've got all these boys that go to this really elite boarding school called Welton Academy. All of their parents want them to grow up to be doctors and lawyers and go to Ivy league colleges and stuff. These boys have been stuck in boring but 'useful' classes like Latin and trigonometry all their lives. Suddenly, they find themselves in a poetry class taught by a notoriously nutty teacher named Mr. Keating.
Keating was a student at Welton Academy, and was a member of the long forgotten Dead Poets Society. The Dead Poets Society was basically a club that would sneak out of the school at night, go to a cave in the woods, read poetry, and try to get girls to join them. The boys reconvene the Dead Poets Society, and start their arpe diem fueled adventures.
Characters:
((I'm doing spoilers here since a lot of the big stuff is with each character, so as the usual warning: Spoilerific from here on out))
Neil Perry: Neil is the perfect son. His dad REALLY wants him to become a doctor, and is determined to do anything to get him there. He justifies his actions like making Neil take extra math classes instead of working on the school paper, as 'giving you more opportunities than I had'(but honestly it borders on emotional abuse). In Keating's class, he finds out that he loves poetry, and it becomes his gateway to self expression. He is the one that revitalizes the Dead Poets Society, and embraces the carpe diem philosophy by trying out for A Midsummer Nights Dream, and getting the part as Puck. Of course, he couldn't tell his dad, as his dad would freak the freak out. He completely and totally rocks the role (even while wearing atrocious twig gloves), but his father is obviously not happy about it when he finds out about it the day before the play. His dad immediately takes him out of Welton as soon as the play is over, and says he'll send him to military school, which will put a stop to this 'nonsense'. Seeing no other way out of his dads controlling ways, Neil kills himself.
Todd Anderson: Todd is the new kid at school. His brother was a top student at Welton, and Todd has no chance of coming out of his brothers shadow, as Todd is very shy and awkward. He's Neil's roommate, which is how he gets into the group in the first place, and is also part of Keating's poetry class. At first, he refuses to speak to pretty much everyone except for a few close people. One day, he has to recite a poem that he wrote for class, and with a BARBARIC YOP, he overcomes his anxiety, and is more confident. He's very loyal to his friends.
Knox Overstreet: Knox is the romantic. While he's at dinner with his parent's friends, he meets their daughter Chris, who he falls head over heels for. He writes poetry for here, gives her flowers, and sort of half stalks her(?). Unfortunately, she's dating a big football player who goes to her school, so dorky Knox doesn't have much of a chance. One night, he's at a party that she invited him to, and he's kind of drunk, and tries to put 'the moves' on a sleeping Chris (note for any guys that read this: DON'T DO THAT. I DON'T CARE HOW DRUNK YOU ARE, THAT IS CREEPY AS FRICK), and gets beat up by her boyfriend. Knox goes to her school the next day, gives her flowers and reads her a poem, and then gets kicked out. However, it apparently worked since they go to watch Neil's play together, and presumably live happily ever after.
Charlie Dalton: He's the clown. He's pretty much there just for comic relief, and honestly I can't remember anything that would add depth to his character besides his jokes.
John Keating: This guy is the freaky poetry teacher everyone is talking about. In Christian boarding school terms, he's very eccentric. He has his students rip up their textbooks, stands on his desk a lot, has his students call him 'captain', and encourages underground clubs that breaks nearly every school rule. He really emphasizes free thinking, and creativity. His motto is carpe diem, which is latin for sieze the day. Basically he's the cool English teacher that everyone loves. Unfortunately, he's also very irresponsible. Though he has good intentions, he is extremely irresponsible. I think he was really in love with the idea of his students having a freedom that he never got, and was too carried away with it to see the repercussions of his actions. Neil's death wasn't entirely his fault (not even mostly his fault), but it was partially his fault, and he got fired because of it (in the scene which is pictured above, and butchered with a pathetic joke :). He's also played by Robin Williams, which automatically makes him a great character.
There are a bunch of other students, but I can't really remember much about them to constitute a long enough bio, so you're just gonna have to watch the movie if you're curious about them.
Reaction:
Besides the atrocious 80's music and Neil Perry's weird as shit Puck gloves, this movie is absolute cinematic GOLD.
The weird thing about this movie, is that I'd seen the beginning of it twice in different classes, but we never got much farther than when Niel throws Todd's desk set off the bridge. So basically, I never saw the end.
OH GOSH THE END MADE ME SO SAD.
BUT IT'S TOTALLY WORTH IT, and if you read the spoilerific parts (which you shouldn't if you want to watch the movie), don't let anything sad deter you from watching the movie.
I'm at a point where I can really relate to a lot of things in this movie, like wanting to go against what your parents want, and having really awesome friends to help and help you through stuff, and how awesome poetry is and a bunch of the other major themes. I'm sure that any of the teens that read this can find something in that movie that reaches out to them.
This movie is really worth it guys. Watch it, and you're sure to love it.
((Quick side note. I don't think I've ever apologized for my atrocious run on sentences. I am truly sorry, but the ranty breathless feeling you get from them is what I'm trying to convey)).
(((Quick side note 2: I don't think Mr. P made it this far, but if he did (or anyone in Honors English did), then you should watch this neat little video about The Odyssey))).
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