A Look at Dead Poets Society

THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO AVOID THIS MOVIE BEING SPOILED, TURN BACK NOW.

Yes, that's right. I had never seen Dead Poets Society before last night, despite one of my English professors playing a small role in its creation, which made me want to see the movie even more over the past 5 years. He taught an Introduction to British Literature class during my junior year of college. He was one of three English teachers who worked at the private school where the movie was filmed at the time, and he was the 'standing on the desk' guy. I know what you're thinking, yes, he stood on the desk during both the first and last class we had with him. He was also a wonderful professor. I thought it was so cool because even though I hadn't seen the movie, I had heard about it, and I loved Robin Williams. For anyone wondering, he said Robin was a fantastic, down-to-earth man.

This movie was not what I expected. I knew absolutely nothing about it, for which I am grateful because it's often difficult to know nothing about a piece of media decades after its release. And like I said, if you haven't seen this movie yet, and would like to continue knowing nothing about it, please turn back because I'm going to be diving into major plot points and talking about them.

The beginning of the movie does a good job of foreshadowing and setting up what's yet to come. It's 1959, and it's the start of a new semester at Welton Academy. In cult-like fashion, a bag-pipe is blaring, and some of the school boys are carrying banners that read: "Tradition," "Honor," "Discipline," "Excellence." The "light of knowledge" is carried by an older gentleman and that flame is transferred to a young student, who then transfers the flame to the student next to him, and we can assume this candlelight continues to the last available pupil. The irony here is that this school is all about conformity, which is antithetical to the pursuit of knowledge. We see that conformity when Headmaster Nolan asks the students what the four pillars of education at Welton Academy are, and they chant the four words in unison. (Aside from Todd, who's new to the school and still unsure what he's meant to do, but we'll get to that later.)

Headmaster Nolan, on many occasions, discounts the youth and their ability to be freethinkers and be successful in that free thought. He's a very by-the-book character and is always questioning the teaching methods of Mr. Keating, if not out loud, in his judgemental stares during his unorthodox classes. The irony is, Headmaster Nolan used to be an English teacher himself, which is revealed later in the film. I think he's resentful of Mr. Keating. I think he wishes he was as much of an out-of-the-box thinker, but he's so resigned to conformity, he refuses to acknowledge his negative thoughts come as a form of self-loathing.

There are a number of boys who act as protagonists, as we watch their lives intermingle with one another and separately. And I could write an essay on each of them, but today I'll be discussing primarily Todd and Neil, as I found them to have the most interesting storylines of the bunch. Todd and Neil love each other, more than friends do. Whether or not that love developed romantically off-screen or not doesn't matter to me, it's clear that their characters' relationship with each other is meant to represent repressed homosexuality in a time when homosexuality was severely frowned upon. This adds a deeper layer to Todd's shy nature and Neil's unwillingness to confront his father about his desires.

Todd is just joining the academy and he has "big shoes to fill" as his older brother was a star at Welton. That in itself is nerve-wracking for any teenager, as people are all individuals, and it's difficult to live up to the expectations of a sibling that is not yourself. However, thanks to Mr. Keating's teaching and his friendship with Neil, Todd begins to find himself and open up.

Mr. Keating is an adventurous, free-thinking, English teacher who marches to the rhythm of his own drum. On the first day of class, he has the boys rip out the tedious introduction to their poetry textbooks. He denounces the analysis of poetry in such a mathematical way as rubbish, and proceeds to have the students throw the ripped-out pages into a trash bin. The schoolboys hesitate, but that hesitation is soon filled with laughter and joy as they rip the pages clean and see their teacher in a different light. They recognize he's not like the other staff at Welton, and that intrigues them. Whether or not Mr. Keating knows it, he affects these boys outside of class while he's not there, potentially even more than he does in class. His famous line, "Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary." Echoes throughout the entirety of the rest of the movie through the boys' actions and decisions.

The boys were so enamored with that first class that they did some digging on John Keating, they were aware he was a past student, so they find his yearbook, and lo and behold, they find gold: The Dead Poets Society. The boys question Mr. Keating in the schoolyard about the yearbook entry mentioning this secret club, and while Mr. Keating encourages them not to act on it, he does tell them exactly what it was. As an artist at heart himself, Neil is inspired by his teacher's way of thought and artistic nature, and he suggests to his friends that they, themselves, should reinstate the Dead Poets Society, and they do. As they prepare for the inaugural night of their newly reinstated DPS club, Neil stumbled upon the book Five Centuries of Verse. In it, are John Keating's original opening lines to his Dead Poets Society, and they have everything they need to start anew.

Neil, in my mind, is the main character of this movie. He welcomes Todd, his new roommate, in with open arms. He acknowledges Todd's apprehension beginning of the new school year, and he introduces Todd to all of his friends, who welcome Todd to their pack without an issue. On the night of the first DPS meeting, Todd says he doesn't want to go. He won't be able to speak in front of others. Neil encourages Todd that he's willing to bend the rules if that means Todd shows up, and Todd obliges. This shyness happens again when it comes time for the boys to write their own poems for Mr. Keating's class. Todd tries, he really does, throwing pieces of crumpled paper around his bed, he just can't find the right words to say. Much like Neil tries to, Mr. Keating pushes Todd. He makes Todd stand in front of the class with no material, and Todd is able to improvise a beautiful, compelling, original poem with nothing else but his brain. In that moment, it's almost as if Todd is in his own world. He no longer fears public speaking in front of his classmates, and he discovers his voice thanks to the help of his friend and his teacher.

Neil is incredibly confident in front of his peers. He gets straight As and participates in a myriad of extracurricular activities that suit his fancy. There's just one problem: he has an overbearing father. His father has made it clear to Neil that he is to focus on his studies, go to Harvard, and become a doctor. There is no other option for the boy. In the scene where Todd is introduced to all of Neil's friends, Mr. Perry interrupts the boys to confront his son. He tells Neil he is not allowed to be assistant editor of the school annual. Neil, in a sense, fights back in the best way he knows how: stating the unfairness in front of his friends. This upsets Mr. Perry deeply, and Mr. Perry has much harsher words for his son once they reconvene privately in the hallway. This foreshadows the most intense moment of the movie that comes towards the end of the 2-hour, 8-minute finale. There is a clear dichotomy between the Neil we see in front of his friends and the Neil we see in front of his father. He's a natural-born leader, an artist, and a sensitive soul. In front of his father, he conforms. He bends the knee. He follows authority, up until the very end, when he breaks free from that grasp.

Thanks to Mr. Keating's influence, the boys begin to branch out. While other members of the DPS also show growth in their own ways, it's again Todd and Neil who retain my focus. Neil tries out for a play, and he gets the lead. He confides in Mr. Keating, saying his father, who found out Neil has done this behind his back, wants Neil to drop the performance. Mr. Keating encourages Neil to have an honest conversation with his father about his dreams and desires. Neil seems to look at Mr. Keating as a father figure, but he doesn't listen to his teacher's advice. He instead, lies and tells Mr. Keating his father is out of town but willing to let him perform. Mr. Keating is thrilled and proud of his pupil, and he drives all of Neil's friends, save Knox (who just so happened to win a date with the girl of his dreams who drives him) to the show. His friends and Mr. Keating watch on, cheering for their friend's successes. Mr. Perry happens to step into the theater midway through, and with a grimace on his face, he watches his son perform to the best of his ability in spite of his father's disdain.

Mr. Perry is not proud of his son's accomplishments, instead, he berates him in the car ride home and in front of his mother. Neil tries to reason, but he's resigned by the end of the conversation, and he gives up. When his parents are in bed, Neil strips naked. He wears his crown from the play he just acted in, and stares out an open window into the dead of winter. He leaves the window open with the crown on the sill before sneaking into his father's office for his father's gun. His last act of defiance; his release into oblivious freedom. I think he chooses to do it naked because even the clothes on his back are suffocating for him. His whole life, he's been a shadow of his parents, who have chosen everything for him. When he does get the choice to choose, those choices are taken away, time and time again, though he does his best to juggle them behind his parents' backs. He goes out of this world the same way he was brought in, naked, bloody, and vulnerable.

The fallout from Neil's final act further solidifies the idea that he and Todd had romantic feelings for each other. While all the boys are grieving, it is Todd who acts out more than the others. He is lost. He has lost one person who made him feel he could do more than he ever dreamed, and he's about to lose another person important to his growth, Mr. Keating, who's on his way out of Welton for his "role" in Neil's suicide. It is Todd at the end of the movie who shows the final act of defiance by standing on the classroom desk shouting "Oh, Captain, my Captain," while Mr. Keating bids his final adieu to his classroom. The rest of the boys then join in on this act, Todd taking on the role of leader, doing what Neil would have wanted.

I acknowledge Neil's suicide is a touchy subject, but for the school administration and parents to blame it on Mr. Keating's teachings is just outright absurd. Mr. Keating is the light of knowledge in these boys' lives. He shows them other ways of doing things. He, himself, was a student at Welton, and he's still been able to forge his own path and live life by his own rules, despite his upbringing at Welton. He shows the kids there is no one right way to live but to do what their heart desires, as he has always done what he loves. There is a scene in which Neil comments that the picture of a woman on Mr. Keating's desk is beautiful. He acknowledges such and notes that it's a shame she's in France. Neil asks why Mr. Keating would want to be at Welton when he could be there in France, with her. Mr. Keating's answer is simple; he loves teaching. He followed his heart's desire to inspire children, and despite the way it ended, he did that.

It wasn't free thinking that killed Neil, it was conformity. His father states: "You make it sound like a prison sentence" when Neil mentions his distaste for the time it will take to be a doctor, something he has no real interest in. The thing is, for Neil, it was. It was a prison sentence. He was going to be forced to live a life he didn't want to live, which simply was not worth living. He was unable to be himself, and he felt being dead, being free, was better than conformity. Do I want to say it's his father's fault? Of course, I do, but at the end of the day, it was Neil's decision. Though I wish he didn't make the decision he did, I understand why he did it.

All in all, Dead Poets Society was not what I expected, but it was still an excellent movie. I'm glad I went in blind, but oh boy, was I sad by the ending. There is so much more I could say, but it seems I've rambled on for quite a bit, so here's a TLDR: It's not Mr. Keating's fault Neil committed suicide, Mr. Keating is the light of knowledge referenced at the beginning of the movie. Todd and Neil represent repressed homosexuality through their intense relationship with one another. Neil is the catalyst that breaks Todd out of his shell. Neil's suicide was the ultimate act of freedom, and he was a martyr for the negative effects that conformity brings upon an individual.

If you haven't seen this movie in a while, give it a rewatch! Let me know if you agree or disagree with anything I've said, I'd love to open up a conversation. Thanks for reading!