dead poets society film essay

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, dead poets society.

Now streaming on:

"Dead Poets Society" is a collection of pious platitudes masquerading as a courageous stand in favor of something: doing your own thing, I think. It's about an inspirational, unconventional English teacher and his students at "the best prep school in America" and how he challenges them to question conventional views by such techniques as standing on their desks. It is, of course, inevitable that the brilliant teacher will eventually be fired from the school, and when his students stood on their desks to protest his dismissal, I was so moved, I wanted to throw up.

Peter Weir's film makes much noise about poetry, and there are brief quotations from Tennyson, Herrick, Whitman and even Vachel Lindsay, as well as a brave excursion into prose that takes us as far as Thoreau's Walden. None of these writers are studied, however, in a spirit that would lend respect to their language; they're simply plundered for slogans to exort the students toward more personal freedom. At the end of a great teacher's course in poetry, the students would love poetry; at the end of this teacher's semester, all they really love is the teacher.

The movie stars Robin Williams as the mercurial John Keating, teacher of English at the exclusive Welton Academy in Vermont. The performance is a delicate balancing act between restraint and schtick.

For much of the time, Williams does a good job of playing an intelligent, quick-witted, well-read young man. But then there are scenes in which his stage persona punctures the character - as when he does impressions of Marlon Brando and John Wayne doing Shakespeare.

There is also a curious lack of depth to his character compared with such other great movie teachers as Miss Jean Brodie and Professor Kingsfield. Keating is more of a plot device than a human being.

The story is also old stuff, recycled out of the novel and movie " A Separate Peace " and other stories in which the good die young and the old simmer in their neurotic and hateful repressions. The key conflict in the movie is between Neil ( Robert Sean Leonard ), a student who dreams of being an actor, and his father ( Kurtwood Smith ), who orders his son to become a doctor and forbids him to go onstage. The father is a strict, unyielding taskmaster, and the son, lacking the will to defy him, kills himself. His death would have had a greater impact for me if it had seemed like a spontaneous human cry of despair, rather than like a meticulously written and photographed set piece.

Other elements in the movie also seem to have been chosen for their place in the artificial jigsaw puzzle. A teenage romance between one of the Welton students and a local girl is given so little screen time, so arbitrarily, that it seems like a distraction. And I squirmed through the meetings of the "Dead Poets Society," a self-consciously bohemian group of students who hold secret meetings in the dead of night in a cave near the campus.

The society was founded by Keating when he was an undergraduate, but in its reincarnate form it never generates any sense of mystery, rebellion or daring. The society's meetings have been badly written and are dramatically shapeless, featuring a dance line to Lindsay's "The Congo" and various attempts to impress girls with random lines of poetry. The movie is set in 1959, but none of these would-be bohemians have heard of Kerouac, Ginsberg or indeed of the beatnik movement.

One scene in particular indicates the distance between the movie's manipulative instincts and what it claims to be about. When Keating is being railroaded by the school administration (which makes him the scapegoat for his student's suicide), one of the students acts as a fink and tells the old fogies what they want to hear. Later, confronted by his peers, he makes a hateful speech of which not one word is plausible except as an awkward attempt to supply him with a villain's dialogue. Then one of the other boys hits him in the jaw, to great applause from the audience. The whole scene is utterly false and seems to exist only so that the violence can resolve a situation that the screenplay is otherwise unwilling to handle.

"Dead Poets Society" is not the worst of the countless recent movies about good kids and hidebound, authoritatian older people. It may, however, be the most shameless in its attempt to pander to an adolescent audience. The movie pays lip service to qualities and values that, on the evidence of the screenplay itself, it is cheerfully willing to abandon. If you are going to evoke Henry David Thoreau as the patron saint of your movie, then you had better make a movie he would have admired. Here is one of my favorite sentences from Thoreau's Walden, which I recommend for serious study by the authors of this film: " . . . instead of studying how to make it worth men's while to buy my baskets, I studied rather how to avoid the necessity of selling them." Think about it.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

Now playing

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Glenn kenny.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Matt zoller seitz.

Clint Worthington

Brian Tallerico

Riddle of Fire

Robert daniels.

Sasquatch Sunset

Monica castillo, film credits.

Dead Poets Society (1989)

130 minutes

Robert Sean Leonard as Neil Perry

Josh Charles as Knox Overstreet

Dylan Kussman as Richard Cameron

Ethan Hawke as Todd Anderson

Robin Williams as John Keating

Gale Hansen as Charlie Dalton

Directed by

Tom Schulman

Photography by

Produced by.

Steven Haft
Tony Thomas
Paul Junger Witt
Maurice Jarre
William Anderson

Latest blog posts

Facets to Honor Academy Museum President Jacqueline Stewart at the 2024 Screen Gems Benefit

How The Phantom Menace Predicted Hollywood’s Prequel Future

No Easy Answers: On the Power of The Teachers' Lounge

No Therapy: The Primordial Commitment of The Northman

Dead Poets Society

By peter weir, dead poets society essay questions.

What do you think about Mr Keating's teaching methods? Is it a good way to teach the boys, considering their age and apparent immaturity?

Mr Keating's teaching methods are very unusual and go against the conventional values at that time. They encourages the students to think for themselves. His methods are also risky, as they're experimental and untested when he applies them to the boys' education. However, only time can tell if it is a suitable way to teach the boys. Sadly, Keating is expelled too soon. The results are mixed: the boys have clearly been inspired, and yet they run into trouble, in Neil's case deadly trouble. The film thus leaves this crucial question unanswered.

The viewer is constantly reminded of the motto carpe diem . Is Neil's interpretation of these words correct or not?

The motto carpe diem may be slightly misguiding—literally it means "seize the day". The immature mind may become harsh in his/her judgement. Neil's interpretation is very radical, and this displays how dangerous language can be when not used correctly.

As mentioned in an exchange between Mr. Keating and another teacher of the school, there are "realists" and there are "artists." What is the difference between them?

A realist is more pragmatic and more attuned to the current situation of society. An artist is relatively more idealistic, independent and unfettered.

Discuss how the themes of discipline and rebellion interact in Dead Poets Society.

Welton prides itself on adherence to strict tradition and rules, and those who fail to adhere to them properly face punishment. Thus, the threat of discipline is present in every aspect of the Welton boys' lives, from being out of bed after hours to leaving the campus without permission. This threat is not formidable enough to stop them, however, once they decide to form the Dead Poets Society and meet in the old Indian cave nearby, as their desire to "live deliberately," according to the Thoreau quote, outweighs their fear of getting caught. Thus, despite the natural initial apprehension on the part of a few of them, they all engage in a little rebellion to make the Society a reality.

How would you characterize the tone of Dead Poets Society, broadly and at specific moments?

The overarching tone of the film is a serious one; at few points are you made to laugh aloud, and indeed, nowhere is comedy the film's end goal. Even with a famously comedic actor like Robin Williams playing Keating, his character is portrayed as wise and insightful, with moments of theatrics meant to humor the students on screen, less so the viewers watching them. The subject matter of the film, too, indicates a serious tone, including elements of coming of age drama, family discord, and suicide. While certain scenes boast a more joyous air, like when Meeks and Pitts dance to their radio on the school roof, or when the boys lift Keating into the air while Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" plays over the scene, the general tone of the film remains mature and, ultimately, rather somber.

Explore Keating's influence on his students and how his encouragement of originality and "carpe diem" affect them.

Keating's enchantment of the boys is apparent from his very first lesson, when he encourages them to "make their lives extraordinary." It isn't long into the term that the boys begin acting uncharacteristically courageously and, at times, defiantly in pursuit of what makes them passionate. Knox, for example, gathers up the courage to call Chris Noel, and eventually to woo her when he otherwise might have been too hesitant. Neil is inspired to audition for A Midsummer Night's Dream despite his father's warden-like hold over him. And the boys as a whole are encouraged by Mr. Keating's example to form the Dead Poets Society, the meetings for which entail breaking multiple school rules, a fact which isn't lost on even the more naturally rebellious among them, like Charlie. That they are all willing to defy the administration and form the club against their better judgement is testament to the incredible influence that Keating had on them.

Discuss the Thoreau quote that the boys invoke at the start of each Society meeting and how it relates to their own experience.

The Thoreau quote comes from his 1854 book Walden , which details his more than two years spent alone in a small cabin by Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. The quote refers to living simply and with purpose, and reflects what the boys themselves do through the Dead Poets Society: going to the woods to recite poetry to one another, and eventually to express themselves in other ways, including storytelling, dancing, and playing the saxophone. Many of the boys feel that the academic shackles that hold them are unjust, and some, especially Neil, fear that when it's their time to die and begin "fertilizing daffodils," as Mr. Keating glibly put it, that they will "discover that [they] had not lived." The quote therefore highlights a parallel between the boys' and Thoreau's own desire to be self-reliant and deliberate about their lives.

Discuss the Walt Whitman quote "O Captain! My Captain!" and its use as a reference to Mr. Keating.

Mr. Keating himself dares the boys to refer to him by the above Whitman quote. Whitman wrote "O Captain! My Captain!" about President Abraham Lincoln following his assassination in 1865. The poem, one of the most well-known poems ever written, is classified as an elegy to the late president. That the students use it to refer to Mr. Keating, particularly in the iconic final scene of the film in which they proclaim it as they stand on their desks, draws a direct parallel between Lincoln and Keating as revered men gone too soon—in Lincoln's case, referring to his death, and in Keating's, to his being fired.

GradeSaver will pay $15 for your literature essays

Dead Poets Society Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Dead Poets Society is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

What’s the theme of dead poets society rip it out

Do you mean the scene where Keeting asks his class to rip out the Pritchard text? He wants them to avoid conformity by ripping a text that treats poetry like a math equation.

Explore Keating's influence on his students and how his encouragement of originality and "carpe diem" affect them.

I can't write your essay for you but can make a general comment. One of Keating’s main, overarching lessons for the boys is the idea of “seizing the day”—that is, making the most of the time they have now and taking advantage of the opportunities...

According to Pitts, all of the girls go for “jerks”. Do you agree with his assessment? Why or why not?

Well, this is a pretty subjective answer from personal experience. Many many years ago I was captain of the chess team in high school. Lets just say girls were not clamouring to wear my jacket. The hockey players,they used to throw pucks at our...

Study Guide for Dead Poets Society

Dead Poets Society study guide contains a biography of director Peter Weir, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

About Dead Poets Society
Dead Poets Society Summary
Character List
Director's Influence

Essays for Dead Poets Society

Dead Poets Society literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of the film Dead Poets Society directed by Peter Weir.

Authority Against Individualism: Dead Poets Society and The Rabbits
Dead Poets Society: The Powerful Thought of Individuality
Identity in Dead Poets Society and Frost's Poetry
Exploring Transitions: Educating Rita and Dead Poets Society

Wikipedia Entries for Dead Poets Society

Introduction

Cast & crew
User reviews

Dead Poets Society

Maverick teacher John Keating returns in 1959 to the prestigious New England boys' boarding school where he was once a star student, using poetry to embolden his pupils to new heights of sel... Read all Maverick teacher John Keating returns in 1959 to the prestigious New England boys' boarding school where he was once a star student, using poetry to embolden his pupils to new heights of self-expression. Maverick teacher John Keating returns in 1959 to the prestigious New England boys' boarding school where he was once a star student, using poetry to embolden his pupils to new heights of self-expression.

Tom Schulman
Robin Williams
Robert Sean Leonard
Ethan Hawke
824 User reviews
125 Critic reviews
79 Metascore
20 wins & 19 nominations total

John Keating

Todd Anderson

Knox Overstreet

Charlie Dalton

Richard Cameron

Steven Meeks

Gerard Pitts

Chemistry Teacher

Joe Danburry
Mrs. Danburry

Ginny Danburry
(scenes deleted)
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

Trivia What attracted Robin Williams to the role of John Keating more than anything else was that he was the type of teacher he, in his school days, always wished he had.
Goofs Keating's impression of Marlon Brando is not an anachronistic reference to The Godfather (1972) but to his role as Mark Antony in Julius Caesar (1953) .

McAllister : "Show me the heart unfettered by foolish dreams and I'll show you a happy man."

John Keating : "But only in their dreams can men be truly free. 'Twas always thus, and always thus will be."

McAllister : Tennyson?

John Keating : No, Keating.

Alternate versions TV version shown on USA Network (and released on laserdisc) includes 14 minutes of extra footage not included in the original theatrical release.
Connections Edited into Everything Wrong with...: Everything Wrong with Battle Los Angeles in 18 Minutes or Less (2017)
Soundtracks 'Water Music': Suite III in D 'Allegro' Music by George Frideric Handel Performed by Stuttgarter Kammerorchester (as The Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra) Conducted by Karl Münchinger Courtesy of London Records A Division of PolyGram Classics

User reviews 824

blissfulmitch
Feb 4, 2005
when does this story take place?Fall and Winter of the 1959-1960 The Dead Poets Meet in a Cave, Where John Keating and The Original Dead Poets Met. They spend Time taking Turns Quoting Poetry. After Neil Perry Commits Suicide, It's Snowing So Winter and The Film Opens on a New School Term So Fall, and Miss October 1959 is in a Playboy Magazine in one of the cave Scenes.
June 9, 1989 (United States)
United States
Der Club der toten Dichter
St. Andrew's School - 350 Noxontown Road, Middletown, Delaware, USA (school)
Touchstone Pictures
Silver Screen Partners IV
A Steven Haft Production
See more company credits at IMDbPro
$16,400,000 (estimated)
$95,860,116
Jun 4, 1989
$235,860,116

Technical specs

Runtime 2 hours 8 minutes

More to explore

Dead Poets Society

N. h. kleinbaum, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on N. H. Kleinbaum's Dead Poets Society . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Dead Poets Society: Introduction

Dead poets society: plot summary, dead poets society: detailed summary & analysis, dead poets society: themes, dead poets society: quotes, dead poets society: characters, dead poets society: symbols, dead poets society: theme wheel, brief biography of n. h. kleinbaum.

Historical Context of Dead Poets Society

Other books related to dead poets society.

Full Title: Dead Poets Society
When Written: 1988-89
Where Written: Los Angeles, California
When Published: Fall 1989
Literary Period: It’s especially hard to classify the novel as belonging to any literary period, since it’s a novelization of a film. However, it’s interesting to note that the Dead Poets Society novelization fits in with the decade-long “wave” of novelizations and other movie tie-ins. Throughout the 1980s, film studios invested more money in marketing movie tie-ins, from board games to toys to books. To the extent that Kleinbaum’s novel fits in with any artistic era, perhaps that “era” is the movie tie-in boom of the 1980s.
Genre: Coming-of-age novel, period piece, boarding school novel
Setting: Welton Academy, Vermont, 1959
Climax: Neil’s death
Antagonist: Headmaster Nolan, Richard Cameron, Mr. Perry, and the abstract spirit of conformity that dominates Welton Academy itself could each be considered the novel’s main antagonist.
Point of View: Third person omniscient

Extra Credit for Dead Poets Society

Novelization Nancy. Dead Poets Society isn’t the only novelization Kleinbaum wrote—she’s also penned novelizations of such 80s films as Dirty Dancing and D.A.R.Y.L.

Seize the day! The most famous line, both from the Dead Poets Society film and Kleinbaum’s novelization, is “Seize the day, lads. Make your lives extraordinary.” Twenty-five years later, the line is still widely quoted, inspiring all sorts of people to take risks and be great.

Dead Poets Society

53 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-5

Chapters 6-10

Chapters 11-15

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Summary and Study Guide

Introduction

N. H. Kleinbaum’s Dead Poets Society is a 1989 novel based on the motion picture written by Tom Schulman. The novel was released as a companion piece to the wildly popular film—also titled Dead Poets Society and released in 1989— which starred famous actors such as Robin Williams as Mr. Keating, and Ethan Hawke as Todd Anderson . The film scored high with critics, winning the Oscar in 1990 for Best Original Screenplay and receiving nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (Williams), and Best Director (Peter Weir).

Get access to this full Study Guide and much more!

7,550+ In-Depth Study Guides
4,850+ Quick-Read Plot Summaries
Downloadable PDFs

The novel, like the film, follows a group of boys at an isolated preparatory school in Vermont, where excellence and uniformity are not just expected but commanded of them. Their worlds are changed when the new English teacher, Mr. Keating, arrives, bringing with him his unconventional methods of instruction. He teaches the boys to seize the day and make their lives extraordinary.

This guide is based on the original 1989 Hyperion copy of the novel, published for Touchstone Pictures.

The SuperSummary difference

8x more resources than SparkNotes and CliffsNotes combined
Study Guides you won ' t find anywhere else
100+ new titles every month

Content Warning: This book contains references to death by suicide and sexual assault, and uses outdated and culturally appropriative terminology that is reproduced only in direct quotes.

Plot Summary

Tucked away in the hills of Vermont is a preparatory school designed to produce some of America’s best and brightest young male students: Welton Academy . The novel begins at the start of the fall term, when newcomer Todd Anderson is being inducted into the school. Todd is shy and fearful, always walking unnoticed in the shadow of his older brother, a legacy student at Welton. Other characters introduced in the convocation ceremony are future lawyer Knox Overstreet and future banker Charlie Dalton , both of whom are following in their fathers’ respective footsteps. Neil Perry , whose family is less wealthy than the others at Welton, is also present with his father, who is ever hard to please. Finally, the headmaster introduces the students and their parents to Welton’s newest addition to their staff: Mr. John Keating , the new English teacher.

Todd is set to room with Neil, a popular boy who is involved with several extracurriculars, including the school paper. While Todd is settling in, a number of Neil’s friends drop by and introduce themselves. Amidst the excitement, Neil’s father, Mr. Perry , enters and asks to speak with Neil. He tells him that he worries Neil is overloaded with extracurriculars and demands that he resign from the school paper. Neil begins to argue back, since he is the editor, but his father won’t hear any more of it, and Neil concedes. Neil’s friends tease him for being a pushover, but he reminds them that they all act the same way with their own fathers.

Welton (nicknamed “Hellton” by the students) proves to be even more challenging than Todd expected, and he finds himself struggling to keep up with the high expectations the school sets for its students. The teachers in Latin, trig, and other subjects begin the semester with mountains of homework assignments. It isn’t until the boys find themselves in Mr. Keating’s class that they feel they can breathe for a moment.

Mr. Keating, a young man in his thirties, sits in the classroom, staring out the window. Finally, he introduces himself and asks to either be addressed as Mr. Keating, or “O Captain! My Captain!”, in reference to the Walt Whitman poem. Then, he gets up and leads the boys to a hallway that is lined with photographs of students from the past several decades. He asks them to lean in closer and see that they aren’t much different from the students at Welton today. He asks them to consider how many of them actually followed their dreams and how many followed the path life seemed to have carved out for them. He encourages the boys to remember a particular Latin phrase: “carpe diem,” which translates to “seize the day.”

That night, Knox has to decline the boys’ offer to have a group study session. He has been instructed to have dinner with the Danburrys, his father’s friends. Knox initially dreads the appointment, but his attitude changes when he is greeted at the door by a beautiful girl named Chris. Knox is immediately enraptured with the pretty cheerleader but is crushed to discover that she is dating Chet Danburry, the son of his father’s friends. He returns to the boys that night with the tragic news: He’s met the most beautiful girl, but she’s taken.

The following morning, Mr. Keating’s class again proves to be unconventional. Mr. Keating asks his students to read the introduction to their assigned poetry book aloud. The introduction, authored by Dr. J. Evan Pritchard, claims that poetry can be ranked in a type of mathematical scale, one that accounts for a poem’s technical skill and its importance to the world at large. After deducting these two figures, one will arrive at a measurement of a poem’s greatness. Mr. Keating, after demonstrating this graph, turns to the class and declares the entire formula to be absurd. This is no such way to measure a poem’s greatness, as if a thing could be measured at all.

He commands his students to rip out the entire introduction and throw it away. They will be studying poetry differently in this class, and have no need for Dr. J. Evan Pritchard. The boys are hesitant at first, unsure of why they could be asked to destroy the book. Eventually, one by one, they rip the pages gleefully. They lean on the edge of their seats as Mr. Keating talks about the beauty and romance of poetry—both of which are essential to their understanding as members of the human race.

In the dining hall later that day, Mr. Keating is joined at his table by McAllister, the Scottish Latin teacher. McAllister inquires about the odd scene he happened to witness earlier that morning: He had seen the students ripping out the introduction to the book. He warns Mr. Keating against encouraging the boys to be artists. Mr. Keating replies that he isn’t trying to create artists but free thinkers. McAllister scoffs slightly at the idea but overall is charmed by Keating’s enthusiasm and lets the topic rest.

Meanwhile, Neil has found something of interest at his own lunch table. He shows the boys a school annual from the year Mr. Keating graduated. Under his picture, he is listed as the founder of the Dead Poets Society. After lunch, they follow Mr. Keating outside and ask him what the Dead Poets Society was. Mr. Keating tells them it was a group of boys who met in an old cave near the school grounds and took turns reading poetry aloud.

When they return to their dorms, Neil finds an old book of poems on his desk, presumably left there by Mr. Keating, with an inscription next to a Henry David Thoreau quote, saying that this was to be read at the first meeting of the Dead Poets Society. Neil gathers a group of boys and gets them to agree to meet in the cave that night and bring back the Dead Poets Society. The group consists of Knox, Charlie, and three other boys: Cameron (albeit unwillingly at first, for he is afraid to break the rules), Pitts, and Meeks.

Finally, Neil asks Todd to join. Todd tells Neil he can’t because he’s too afraid to speak in front of the others, and the whole point of the Society is for them to take turns reading aloud to each other. Neil leaves to ask the others if Todd can listen instead and still be involved. His request is granted, and Todd is in the club. They plan to leave that night and sneak out for the cave.

As the Dead Poets Society continues to meet, reading poems and confessing secrets, and Mr. Keating continues to teach against the dangers of conformity, the boys slowly begin to find their own voices. They grow brave in their pursuit of what they want: Neil discovers his passion for acting, auditioning for and landing the role of Puck in the local production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream , and Knox grows more courageous in his attempts to woo Chris. Todd, who the whole time has feared public speaking more than anything, is pulled in front of Mr. Keating’s class to create a poem on the spot, and his words leave his classmates speechless. The friendship between the boys grows, and they discover they have dreams, ideas, and words to share with the world beyond what they’ve been conditioned to contribute by their fathers and the professors at Welton.

Eventually, Mr. Perry discovers that Neil is in the play and that he faked a permission slip from himself and Headmaster Nolan to participate. He tells his son that he must drop the show immediately. Neil visits Mr. Keating to tell him of his problem. He confides in his teacher that he feels trapped by his father’s expectations and isn’t sure how to move forward. Mr. Keating encourages Neil to tell Mr. Perry what he just told Mr. Keating: that his passion for acting is more than a hobby and he wants to pursue it. Neil agrees to think on it. When Mr. Keating asks him later if he followed up with his father, Neil lies and says that Mr. Perry was angry but agreed to let him remain in the production.

Meanwhile, Knox rides his bike to Chris’s school and delivers a love poem to her in front of her entire class. She shows up the night of Neil’s play at Welton to warn Knox that her boyfriend is furious and that he needs to stay away from her for his own safety. As it happens, Chris is on her way to the play as well, alone, and Knox convinces her to come with him. He promises one night to spend time together, and if she still doesn’t want to see him again, he will leave her alone for good. She agrees, and the two of them sit together in the auditorium.

Neil performs beautifully, and all of his friends are in the audience to cheer for him. An unexpected audience member arrives toward the end of the show: Mr. Perry. Neil sees him in the crowd but continues his final speech. Afterward, Mr. Perry takes Neil home, leaving the boys and Mr. Keating confused and worried for Neil.

At home, Mr. Perry informs Neil that he will be withdrawn from Welton and shipped off to military school for the remainder of his high school years. From there he will go to pre-med and medical school, a total of 10 years of his life that will be spent studying something Neil doesn’t want to do. Mr. Perry reminds Neil that he has no say in the matter and that he and his mother are counting on Neil to be successful and wealthy. Without another word, the family goes to bed.

That night, feeling like there is no way out of his situation, Neil sneaks down the stairs into his father’s study, where a pistol is locked in the desk drawer. He puts on the crown he wore as Puck, points the gun at himself, and fires. His parents awaken to the noise and rush down the stairs to find their son, dead on the floor of the study.

Back at Welton, the boys wake Todd up from his sleep to deliver the news. Todd wretches from grief, and the boys cling to each other as they mourn their friend. Todd blames Mr. Perry, saying Neil would never have done it if Mr. Perry hadn’t pressured him as much. Neil’s death launches a school-wide investigation, with the blame ultimately falling on Mr. Keating and the Dead Poets Society. Schools close because of situations like this, and Headmaster Nolan needs a scapegoat. The easiest target is the teacher who has been giving the boys the courage to find their own voice .

Cameron, a rule-follower at heart, is the first to confess. Charlie, disgusted and angered by Cameron’s betrayal, punches him square in the face. Cameron looks around at his friends and tells them that if they don’t confess, they risk expulsion. Mr. Keating will be fired either way, but they can still save themselves. One by one, the Dead Poets are called in to talk about their experience in Mr. Keating’s class and what happened in the cave. Only Charlie refuses to speak, and is expelled immediately. Finally, Todd is called into Mr. Nolan’s office. There, his parents are waiting for him, and there is a contract detailing what happened that has been signed by the Dead Poets (with the exception of Charlie). Todd begs his parents not to make him sign, but eventually he is forced to comply.

The next day, Headmaster Nolan takes over for Mr. Keating in poetry class. He decides that it would be best to start over, so he tells the boys to read aloud from the introduction. They tell him that the pages have all been ripped out. Frustrated, Headmaster Nolan plops his own copy of the book before one of the students and forces him to read. At that time, Mr. Keating appears to gather his belongings. Headmaster Nolan tells him to go ahead. The room is morose as they watch their beloved teacher pack up his materials.

As Mr. Keating is walking out of the room, Todd stands up and shouts for him to wait. He tells him that they were all forced to sign the papers and they know it wasn’t his fault that Neil died. Headmaster Nolan commands Todd to sit back down. However, in a moment of final defiance, Todd instead stands on his desk and faces Mr. Keating. Knox joins, and Pitts, and Meeks. Eventually, nearly half of the class (even those who weren’t in the Dead Poets Society) all stand on their desks as a salute to Mr. Keating: an alliance with the man who changed their lives. Mr. Keating smiles back at them and thanks them. Though they may never cross paths again, none of them will forget the man who allowed them to, for once in their life, think for themselves.

Don't Miss Out!

Access Study Guide Now

Featured Collections

View Collection

Books & Literature

Mortality & Death

Valentine's Day Reads: The Theme of Love

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

We're Hiring!
Help Center

Essay on the Film “Dead Poets Society”

Related Papers

Larrah Mae Vicente

PER-FORMING THE SOCIAL. EDUCATION, CARE AND SOCIAL INCLUSION THROUGH THEATRE

Roberta Carpani

Granthaalayah Publications and Printers

It is to be sensed and realized in the field of Education, on the importance of productivity in learning. To inculcate and impart the process of productivity in learning literature as an art of study has become the need of the hour. It is essential to bring the students close to get a better grip over literature as well as language. Generally speaking, literature has been considered as a subject which either the professors or students read and appreciate the works of it through different genres like poetry. Drama, fiction, etc. for the aesthetic pleasure that too mostly from the perspective of the established critics or interpreters point view of the text. It will not be an exaggeration if we present the reality of approach, as of borrowed opinion without the enterprise of the individual experiences or opinion moreover, it cannot be denied in the circle of learned fraternity that this approach of learning literature would enhance the learners' skills and helps them in generating their thought process relevant to the topic. It is possible only by means of Learner-Centric method. The activities with which they are engaged will result in their achievement. It will rather help them to fix their career goal clearly. If this process of performing through dramas, folks, etc. has been encouraged in live classroom, then their learning outcome will also soar high to reach the zenith of experiencing literature there by to attain their goal. Thus involving the students as the performers of eminence work of art has not been encouraged rather failed to seek role in the class room activity, doubts apart, it will result in more mundane and monotonous learning of literature Instead if learning of literature entertains in bringing out the perception of students performing literary work on the stage, based on their ability in it, it will definitely help us to identify the real literary programmer among the students authentically.

CenRaPS Journal of Social Sciences

Didar Muhammad

Theatre is known for entertainment but that is not the end. Theatre gives messages; it teaches the young and old through its interactive and communicative action method, easily called learning by doing. Children should not be out of this avail of pedagogy because Child Education is the potential area for entertainment education. Co-curricular Activities are the fundamental elements of teaching. These activities would be more effective if we retouch and modify by Theatrical Method. As the children love to learn by doing, thus they love the text. This paper shows how the teaching method children deserve, how this strategy of education through theatre helps them to love the textbook.

Research on humanities and social sciences

Anitha Devi V

Learning a language must be an involuntary activity for learners and to make the process more effective and affective it must be participatory in nature. If the students bring in their emotional involvement in the learning process then they can comprehend concepts from the kernel level and sustain that information in their psyche forever. It is in this context that the relevance of theatre in education has gained importance through significant studies worldwide. A brief overview of Theatre in Education (TIE) examines the theoretical basis for TIE in general and a few studies on the significance of TIE recorded in articles have been reviewed in this paper. Theatre enlightens the children of their role in a society and also their relation to it. It is essential for a person to enjoy the work he/she does in order to produce the best result out of it. In this regard, theatre is employed by teachers, educationists and researchers as the most appropriate medium for the children to develop...

Leah Wilson

The place of drama in the education system.

Shiao-Yuh Chou

Kalliopi Sotireli

The current dissertation is based on an action research and case study scheme performed in two Greek schools of Secondary Education, namely the 7th Gymnasium and 5th Lyceum of Kavala, with the purpose of investigating how students’ motivation to learn English may be enhanced and linguistic skills practiced through Theater and Drama practices. In this context, the Greek educational context is presented and motivational parameters influencing Foreign Language Learning of adolescents are explained. Special focus is given to motivation through Applied Drama projects in schools and, thus, the practices of Drama in Education (DIE) and Theater in Education (TIE) are theoretically portrayed. The entire study involves the process of upstaging a musical in the English language, namely the preparatory stage, the rehearsals and the performances, along with an innovative teaching-via-theater scheme, exercised by the stakeholders involved. Hence, a combination of process and product-oriented practices are utilized to achieve maximum results concerning motivation and practice of linguistic skills of the participating students. The research conducted is grounded on three research questions which examine: i) the emotions instilled in EFL students during the process, ii) the extent to which the project may influence students’ motivation and language practice and iii) the potential benefits gained. This study is an outcome of methodological triangulation, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative research methods. As such, the educator’s personal log, interviews, videos throughout the process and recorded conversations in social media platforms enabled qualitative extraction of findings, whereas observations from colleagues, and answers to questionnaires provided to the students/actors and the audience of all TIE-DIE phases enriched quantitative analysis of the provided data. As will be exhibited in the dissertation, language skills concerning learning English have been practiced, students’ motivational stance has been enhanced owing to a plethora of positive emotions experienced in the process and a positive attitude towards Drama practices in an educational context has been developed. However, owing to the fact that this study is only a limited investigation of this crucial topic of research, the researcher fervently suggests that similar inquiries should take place in Greek schools, with the aim of recording further results and potentially incorporating such practices in the school curricula.

Nathalie Fratini

Perception of Teacher Candidates with Regard to Use of Theatre and Drama Applications in Education

Fulya Topçuoğlu Ünal

The goal of this study is to identify the perception of mother tongue teachers with regard to the use of theatre and drama in education. In light of this goal, 35 teacher candidates trained in Kutahya D umlupinar University in the academic year of 2012-2013 were selected as samples. Phenomenology pattern was used in the study as one of the qualitative research patterns, where a survey of 20 open ended questions was used as data collection technique, and the data was analyzed with content analysis. According to the findings of the research, use of theatre or drama in education is shown as the most important reasons for building self-esteem in students and a permanent education for the same. Apart from these, it is also declared that they provide cooperation between students, develop lingual skills and especially speaking skills, they teach how to establish empathy, increase courage, socialize the individual, and strengthen communication. It is also stated as an entertaining and powerful visual art on its own. For these reasons, Theatre and Drama Applications or courses with similar applications should be frequently used in all fields of education.

Dead Poets Society Is a Terrible Defense of the Humanities

The beloved film's portrayal of studying literature is both misleading and deeply seductive.

In a scene from "Dead Poets Society," students stand on a desk in a classroom.

I’ve never hated a film quite the way I hate Dead Poets Society . I expect that them’s fighting words, at least in some quarters; at least I hope they are. Because I’m trying to pick a fight here.

I was in the last year of my English literature Ph.D. program in the summer of 1989, when Dead Poets Society was released. My younger brother Scott, who really didn’t have the money to spare, slipped my wife, Robyn, and me a 10-dollar bill (these were simpler times) and told us he’d watch our kids so we could go out to see it. No one in my family quite understood what I wanted to do for a living or, having finished my bachelor’s degree, why I’d spend seven more years in school to do it; but having seen Dead Poets Society , Scott believed he finally had an idea of what I wanted to do with my life, and more important, why.

We went to the movie and watched, often swept up in the autumnal New England beauty of Welton Academy (the real-life St. Andrew’s School, in Middletown, Delaware). But I walked out horrified that anyone would think that what happens in Mr. Keating’s classroom—or outside of it, because so many of his poetry-derived “life lessons” are taught outside the classroom, after all—had anything to do with literary study, or why I was pursuing a graduate degree in English. I think I hate Dead Poets Society for the same reason that Robyn, a physician assistant, hates House : because its portrayal of my profession is both misleading and deeply seductive. For what Keating (Robin Williams) models for his students isn’t literary criticism, or analysis, or even study. In fact, it’s not even good, careful reading. Rather, it’s the literary equivalent of fandom. Worse, it’s anti-intellectual. It takes Emily Dickinson’s playful remark to her mentor Thomas Higginson, “If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry,” and turns it into a critical principle. It’s not.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m all for passion in the literature classroom. Harvard poetry professor Helen Vendler uses two lines from Wordsworth’s The Prelude as the title for an essay about teaching: “What we have loved, / Others will love …” That second line concludes, “and we will teach them how.” That’s how I teach, or hope to teach: with my heart on my sleeve, perhaps, but with my brain always fully engaged. I’m fortunate to do what I love for a living, and I know it. That’s how I was taught, in high school especially. I’m an English professor today because I had Mr. Hansen in ninth grade, and Mr. Jackson in eleventh.

But passion alone, divorced from the thrilling intellectual work of real analysis, is empty, even dangerous. When we simply “feel” a poem, carried away by the sound of words, rather than actually reading it, we’re rather likely to get it wrong. We see Mr. Keating, in fact, making just this kind of mistake during one of his stirring orations to the boys of Welton. In a hackneyed speech about resisting conformity that he seems to have delivered many times before, Keating invokes that oft-invoked but rarely understood chestnut, “The Road Not Taken”: “Robert Frost said, ‘Two roads diverged in a wood and I / I took the one less traveled by / And that has made all the difference.’”

Wha—? Has Keating actually read the poem from which he so blithely samples? For Robert Frost said no such thing: a character in his poem says it. And we’re meant to learn, over the course of that poem, that he’s wrong—that he’s both congratulating and kidding himself. He chooses his road ostensibly because “it was grassy and wanted wear”; but this description is contradicted in the very next lines—“Though as for that, the passing there / Had worn them really about the same,” and—more incredibly still—“both that morning equally lay / In leaves no step had trodden black.” He wants to claim to have taken the exceptional road, if not the spiritual high road; but he knows on some level that it’s a hollow boast.

Keating hasn’t actually read “The Road Not Taken” in any meaningful sense; rather, he’s adopted it, adapted it, made it his own—made it say what he wants it to say. His use of those closing lines, wrenched from their context, isn’t just wrong—it’s completely wrong, and Keating uses them to point a moral entirely different from that of Frost’s poem. (In a like manner, how often has Frost’s “The Mending Wall” been quoted out of context in debates about immigration reform? “Good fences make good neighbors,” indeed.)

The film’s anti-intellectualism is both quite visceral and quite violent. When his students first sit down with their new poetry anthology, Keating tricks a student into reading aloud a few sentences from the banal introduction written by Dr. J. Evans Pritchard, Ph.D.—a cartoonish version of academic criticism that opens with a split infinitive!—before instructing them to tear those pages out of their books. (Though generic-sounding, the essay’s title, “Understanding Poetry,” mischievously nods to the most influential poetry text of the 20th century, Cleanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren’s Understanding Poetry [1938].) Although he employs mock-heroic terms, Keating makes it clear that they’re fighting for their spiritual lives:

This is a battle. A war. And the casualties could be your hearts and souls. Armies of academics going forward measuring poetry. No! We’ll not have that here: no more Mr. J. Evans Pritchard. [Notice how he’s just been stripped of his professional credential.] Now in my class you will learn to think for yourselves again. You will learn to savor words and language. No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.

Their textbook now purged of any taint of critical thought, the students are freed to enjoy an unmediated encounter with poetry in the raw.

This style of working with poetry—what’s sometimes termed poetry “appreciation,” as distinct from poetry criticism—is the m.o. of the Dead Poets Society, Welton’s bookish version of Yale’s Skull and Bones. Mr. Keating explains the purpose of the group to his inner circle of students in a conspiratorial whisper:

The Dead Poets were dedicated to sucking the marrow out of life. That’s a phrase from Thoreau we would invoke at the beginning of every meeting. A few would gather at the old Indian cave and read from Thoreau, Whitman, Shelley, the biggies—even some of our own verse—and in the enchantment of the moment we’d let poetry work its magic … We were Romantics. We didn’t just read poetry, we let it drip from our tongues like honey.

(“We would invoke ”? “Our own verse ”? Who’s writing this stuff?)

If the Welton School officials and parents suspect that Mr. Keating is leading his students astray, Pied Piper-like, there is at least something to that charge. Or rather, he’s sending them astray, without ever really leading them. The first meeting of the reconvened society ends with one of the students reciting Vachel Lindsay’s notorious 1919 poem “The Congo,” a text whose racial politics are ambiguous at best; about it, W.E.B. DuBois wrote, “Mr. Lindsay knows little of the Negro, and that little is dangerous.” Whatever the poem’s real or intended politics, the spectacle of an all-white clique of prep-school boys capering out of a cave into the night while chanting the poem’s refrain (“THEN I SAW THE CONGO, CREEPING THROUGH THE BLACK, / CUTTING THROUGH THE JUNGLE WITH A GOLDEN TRACK”)—well, shudder . Shades of “What Makes the Red Man Red?” from Disney’s Peter Pan . The setting, after all, is the “old Indian cave.”

For all his talk about students “finding their own voice,” however, Keating actually allows his students very little opportunity for original thought. It’s a freedom that’s often preached but never realized. A graphic example is presented in one of the film’s iconic moments, when that zany Mr. Keating with his “unorthodox” teaching methods suddenly leaps up onto his desk. Why? “I stand on my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way,” he helpfully declaims. How bold: He’s standing perhaps two and a half feet off the ground. Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his essay “Nature,” had made the same point rather more radically, suggesting that one “Turn the eyes upside down, by looking at the landscape through your legs.”

How to Want Less

A black-and-white photo of two women holding hands while standing in the ocean is overlaid with colorful graphic shapes.

What If Friendship, Not Marriage, Was at the Center of Life?

A woman sunbathes next to the Seine river in Paris, France.

Frigid Offices Might Be Killing Women’s Productivity

Keating then has the boys march up to the front, of course, and one by one and two by two they mount his desk and they, too, “look at things in a different way”—exactly the different way that he has. After each has experienced this “small alteration in [his] local position” (Emerson), he steps or leaps off the desk, as if a lemming off a cliff: Keating’s warning, “Don’t just walk off the edge like lemmings!” unfortunately serves only to underscore the horrible irony of this unintended dramatic metaphor. Even when the students reprise this desktop posture at the film’s close, in a gesture of schoolboy disobedience (or perhaps obedience to Keating), we realize that while the boys are marching to the beat of a different drum, it’s Keating’s drum. Or they’re dancing to his pipes.

One of the strangest things about watching the film again, 25 years on—for while I’ve long loathed it, until now I’d never actually revisited it—is that I now find myself sympathizing not primarily with the plucky and irreverent John Keating, but to a surprising degree with his “old fart” colleagues whom I’m clearly supposed to find benighted. (It’s also a revelation to watch a young Ethan Hawke, before he could really act—and a young Robert Sean Leonard [Dr. Wilson on House ], before he couldn’t.) Smarmy to the end, Keating, when interrogated about his teaching antics by the school’s headmaster, quips, “I always thought the idea of education was to learn to think for yourself.” The film gives us no evidence that he’s done this for Neil, Todd, Knox, and Charlie. And while too cynical by half, the headmaster’s response is one with which I sympathize a good deal more now than I did back then: “At these boys’ age? Not on your life. Tradition, John. Discipline. Prepare them for college and the rest will take care of itself.” On some level, Keating is a Lost Boy who refuses to grow up. It’s hard to forget, in this connection, that Williams went on to play Peter Banning/Peter Pan two years later in Steven Spielberg’s parental guilt-fueled remake of that story, Hook .

Why does all of this matter? In part, because Dead Poets Society might well be the most enduring and beloved picture ever made about teaching the humanities. While many English professors dislike and distrust the film, there’s another large contingent, even among those who teach literature in high school and college, that loves it. And I’m not deaf to its charms. Compared to his colleagues, Mr. Keating is a thrilling teacher, a breath of fresh air, and rightly beloved. The rote repetition and memorization taking place in adjoining classrooms makes his teaching seem quite vibrant.

But while avoiding the pitfalls of dull pedagogy, Keating doesn’t finally give his students anything in its place besides a kind of vague enthusiasm. Next door, Mr. McAllister’s students are declining Latin— Agricolam, Agricola, Agricolae, Agricolarum, Agricolis, Agricolas, Agrilcolis ; out in the hallway, in front of the trophy case and faded photographs of old Weltonians, Keating preaches it. “Carpe diem,” he entreats, during their first class period together.

With its 25th anniversary nearly upon us, the enduring popularity of Dead Poets Society —voted the greatest “school film” ever made, and often named by viewers as one of the most inspirational films of all time, according to a 2011 piece in The Guardian —has a great deal, I believe, to tell us about the current conversation concerning the “crisis in the humanities.”

Certainly it has been an interesting few years for humanists. Since the economic downturn of 2008, enrollments in humanities courses across the country have declined; at the same time—the flip-side of the coin—colleges and universities are seeing a sharp increase in students majoring in those disciplines which, rightly or wrongly, are thought to ensure better employment prospects at the conclusion of one’s studies. This titanic (if cartoonish) battle, often characterized as STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) versus humanities—Big Science, little man—has been splashed across the higher-education and broader popular press, and has clearly captured the public imagination. The headlines in the Chronicle of Higher Education suggest the contours of the “crisis”: “ The Humanities’ Value ” (“Why should society support the humanities when so many people are suffering from the effects of the economic crisis?”); “ In the Humanities, How Should We Define ‘Decline’? ” (“Colleagues nationwide were stunned to learn a few weeks ago that a French department and four other humanities departments at SUNY-Albany were being sacrificed for their ‘underperformance’”); and even “ It’s Time to Stop Mourning the Humanities ” (“As we are forced to sell out to corporate models of higher education, let’s at least be sure to sell high”).

In the conversation about the fate of the humanities, these disciplines are often caricatured to the point of being unrecognizable to those of us in the component fields. The most alarming version—one, I’m arguing, that has been propagated by Dead Poets Society —is what I’ve taken to calling “sentimental humanities”: humanities content stripped of all humanities methodology and rigor. This is a feel-good humanities—the humanities of uplift. The film is of no help as we try to find our way out of our current standoff—and to the degree that it unconsciously stands in for humanities pedagogy and scholarship, it does real damage. I believe, in particular, that there are two fundamental problems with allowing this Dead Poets Society, sentimentalized version of the humanities to serve as our model for what it means to be deeply and passionately engaged in the study of music, art, language and literature, history, philosophy, religion—of human culture. Call them resistance and acceptance.

Though few will say so publicly, there are those with a stake in the debate who resist granting a greater role in contemporary higher-ed curricula to the humanities. When they resist, it’s often the sentimental humanities that they’re resisting: the conception that the humanities, as a group of disciplines, is more about feeling than thinking. That the humanities is easy, a soft option; that the humanities doesn’t train thinkers. Or more often, and more explicitly, that the humanities don’t train employees. North Carolina governor Pat McCrory made headlines last year by telling the state’s high-school seniors, “If you want to take gender studies that’s fine. Go to a private school, and take it. But I don’t want to subsidize that if that’s not going to get someone a job.” Even our president, with a social science degree (political science) and two years at a liberal arts college (Occidental), has repeatedly trumpeted the importance of technical education and vocational training. Though he’s since apologized , humanists across the country groaned when Obama quipped, at a General Electric plant in Wisconsin on January 30, that “folks can make a lot more, potentially, with skilled manufacturing or the trades than they might with an art-history degree.”

Oh: and that it’s the refuge of narcissists. No matter the text that he’s ostensibly engaged with, Mr. Keating, like Hamlet in Stéphane Mallarmé’s wonderful description, is forever “reading in the book of himself.” This is what Keating’s namesake John Keats (referencing Wordsworth) called the “egotistical sublime.” Recently, some pioneering work in neuroscience has begun to suggest what English teachers have long known: that the power of literature is the power of alterity, creating the possibility of encountering the other in a form not easily recuperable, not easily assimilable to the self. “Imaginative sympathy,” we used to call it. To read literature well is to be challenged, and to emerge changed.

But for Keating, it’s the text (like Frost’s poem) that is changed, not the reader. He does the same thing to the Whitman poem “O Me! O Life!” that he recites to his students. Used as the voiceover for a recent iPad ad , Mr. Keating’s pep talk quotes the opening and closing lines of the poem, silently eliding the middle: “Oh me! Oh life! / of the questions of these recurring, / Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish, /… / What good amid these, O me, O life? // Answer. // That you are here—that life exists and identity, / That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” He’s quoting from Whitman, he says, but the first line he omits is telling: “Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?).” Go back and add that line to the quotation and see how it alters the whole. For Keating—and one fears, examining the scant evidence the film provides, for his students—every poem is a Song of Myself. This, then, is what’s at stake in Keating’s misreadings—I’m not interested simply in catching a fictional teacher out in an error. But he misreads both Frost and Whitman in such a way that he avoids precisely that encounter with the other, finding in poetry only an echo of what he already knows—what he’s oft thought, but ne’er so well expressed.

And when advocates for the STEM fields do make room at the table for the humanities, it’s too frequently this toothless, much-diminished variety they have in mind. Keating says, “We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute.” But I fear that too often, when we do find a place for the humanities in the curriculum, we do so precisely because they are. Cute. Because they make us feel all warm and fuzzy.

The last time our country experienced a “crisis in the humanities,” it coincided precisely with the rise of (largely Continental) literary theory in U.S. English and comparative literature departments in the 1970s and early ’80s. David Richter cleverly calls his classroom anthology of these theoretical readings Falling into Theory , for there’s a fully developed narrative of Edenic purity and postlapsarian cynicism that lies just beneath the surface of the public backlash against the ascendancy of literary theory.

So if, by one logic, the humanities is dismissed as too lightweight, in another they’re banished unless they bear themselves modestly, “come / on little cat feet.” The humanities fell from grace, then, as an unfortunate consequence of its politicization and turn to theory. In this narrative, the “crisis” in the humanities is wholly of its own making: It’s our own damn fault.

In the humanities, unlike the other branches of higher learning, any amount of analysis is liable to be dismissed as “paralysis by analysis” (in the way Keating dismisses Dr. J. Evans Pritchard’s critical method as “measuring poetry”). Those making such a charge might invoke these lines from Wordsworth’s “The Tables Turned”: “Our meddling intellect / Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:— / We murder to dissect.” These lines (especially the last) are much more familiar than the poem from which they’re taken. But I’ve pulled a Keating on you: I’ve taken them out of context, for the first line of the quatrain is, “Sweet is the lore which Nature brings.” Wordsworth suggests that we murder not literature, but nature, with our “meddling intellects” (in order, paradoxically, to create literature in the first place). If Wordsworth and the Romantics sometimes argue for an anti-intellectual (or merely non-intellectual) relationship to nature, they never offer this as a theory of reading, as Keating consistently does.

But many people like misreading “The Tables Turned,” and like their poetry, as the Car Talk guys would say, “unencumbered by the thought process.” There’s a reason there’s no Dead Novelists Society: for poetry, in the public imaginary, is the realm of feeling rather than thinking, and the very epitome of humanistic study. To understand how preposterous and offensive this stipulation is, turn it around. Imagine what would happen if we suddenly insisted that physics professors were ruining the beauty and mystery and wonder of the natural world by forcing students memorize equations. Or if we demanded that the politics department stop teaching courses in political theory.

The resistance to the humanities: In one of its guises, that of Dead Poets Society, it finally comes down to a preference for fans over critics, amateurs over professionals. Everyone engaged in the debates swirling around the humanities, it seems, is willing to let humanists pursue their interests as amateurs, letting “poetry work its magic … in the enchantment of the moment.” Some of those who wish us well—so long as it doesn’t cost them anything, in terms of faculty lines, or course enrollments, or research funding—enjoy a fan’s relationship to the humanities themselves, and at best hope for the same for their students.

Scholars and teachers of the humanities, however: We will insist on being welcomed to the table as professionals.

Entertainment
Environment
Information Science and Technology
Social Issues

Home Essay Samples Entertainment Dead Poets Society

Analysis of Teaching Strategies in the Film "Dead Poets Society"

*minimum deadline

Cite this Essay

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below

A Civil Action
V For Vendetta
Film Editing
Schindler's List

Related Essays

Need writing help?

You can always rely on us no matter what type of paper you need

*No hidden charges

100% Unique Essays

Absolutely Confidential

Money Back Guarantee

By clicking “Send Essay”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement. We will occasionally send you account related emails

You can also get a UNIQUE essay on this or any other topic

Thank you! We’ll contact you as soon as possible.

Individuality In Dead Poets Society

Individualism is a fundamental value in American society. It is the belief that each person should be self-reliant and independent. This value is expressed in many ways, including the desire for privacy and freedom of expression. Individualism is also a key element of the American Dream, which is the belief that anyone can achieve success through hard work and determination.

The film Dead Poets Society explores the importance of individualism in a number of ways. The main character, Todd Anderson, learns to embrace his individuality and express himself freely. He also learns that it is important to follow his own heart, even if it means going against the wishes of his family and society. Other characters in the film also learn the importance of self-expression and independence.

Ultimately, the film Dead Poets Society celebrates the power of individualism. It shows that it is possible for individuals to achieve great things when they embrace their uniqueness and express themselves freely.

Dead Poets Society explores the themes of rebellion and finding one’s sense of self-worth. The conflicts the characters face effectively demonstrates the fundamental ideas of individuality and liberty. Neil Perry’s inability to subjugate his father’s authority resulted in his suicide, which was the only way he saw to take charge of his life. Todd Anderson’s inability to speak in front of others was overcome towards the end of the film with some experiments done by their English teacher, Mr Keating.

Knox Overstreet who was ridiculed by his classmates for being homosexual, found the courage to stand up against them and embrace himself for who he was. Keating helped all the boys find themselves and be proud of it. Individualism is about making your own decisions without being influenced by society or others. This film emphasises that idea and how important it is to be true to yourself.

It teaches us that there is more than one way to achieve success and that there isn’t a single path we must all take in life. The Dead Poets Society encourages people to think for themselves and not just blindly follow what everyone else is doing. It also highlights the importance of self-expression which can be very liberating. Overall, this film is a great example of how individualism can help people find their true selves and live a more fulfilling life.

Knox Overstreet has a special moment when he first stood on a table to pay his respects to Mr Keating and was the only person who understood what Mr Keating meant by a man’s life ruled by passion. Knox Overstreet gets obsessed with Chris after just seeing her once, and he risks his relationship with his family in order to courts her affection. The characters in all of these stories acquire separate authority as a result of their decisions; they begin to overcome their problems.

The film showcases the power of individualism and how it can help people to find their true passions in life. It also shows that standing up for what you believe in, even if it means going against authority, can be incredibly rewarding. The characters in Dead Poets Society are all incredibly unique and they each bring something special to the table. This is what makes the film so powerful; it’s a celebration of individuality and self-expression.

When his father finds out about how Neil misled him, Mr Perry is enraged. Mr Perry maintains power over Neil’s life and keeps an eye on his actions, even when he praises his son’s magnificent performance in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Although, what Mr. Perry aims to achieve is not feasible because Neil has already tasted freedom. Neil fights his fear and tries to talk with his father, but he is unable to express himself due to his inability to communicate properly.

Individualism is a main theme in Dead Poets Society as the boys are trying to find themselves and figure out who they want to be. For Neil, it’s about standing up to his father and being his own person, even if that means going against what Mr Perry wants for him. The film Dead Poets Society explores the idea of conformity and how individuals can stand up for their beliefs, even if it means breaking away from the norm.

Individualism is about being unique and not following the herd, something that is seen throughout the film as the boys try to find their own way in life. Dead Poets Society is a great example of how individualism can be both positive and negative, as it allows people to be themselves but can also lead to conflict and division.

After this, Simon persuaded him to take action. Simon said that there was no other option for Neil but to kill himself if he wanted any kind of control in his life. Simon then made a very dramatic decision and believes that suicide is the only way to regain power in one’s life.

Despite the fact that Neil lost everything as a result of this, suicide was the only way for him to confront his father and live life to the fullest. This supports the boys’ motto, “Carpe Diem.” By taking his own life, Neil regained control over his own destiny by accepting the consequences of his decisions.“

Individualism is expressed in the film when Neil takes his own life to defy his father’s expectations and live a life true to himself. The individualist perspective is also shown when Neil breaks away from the group and starts to write poetry on his own. He expresses himself in a way that is personal to him, without compromise.

This can be seen as an act of rebellion against conformity and the pressure to fit in. Individualism allows for people to express themselves in their own unique way, which is ultimately more fulfilling than following the herd. In Dead Poets Society, the characters are able to find themselves by exploring their individualism. This leads to a more authentic life, which is ultimately more satisfying.

Although they’re not as well-known, many show business figures have likewise been accused of child abuse. An example is Wayne Gale, who was convicted on five counts of felony sexual battery. Wayne “Gale” Bryant is a former child actor best known for his leading role in the snappy Disney cartoon series You Can Count On Me (1990). He currently works as an entrepreneur from his home in California and produces comedic material through social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.

He is also uncomfortable with his own physicality. Todd is not able to find his voice until he breaks away from the pack and becomes an individual. After Neil’s death, Todd gives a moving eulogy in which he talks about Neil’s journey to becoming an individual. He says, “Neil discovered that when you strip away all the layers of polite society, all the expectations and assumptions, what you’re left with is yourself. And once you’ve accepted that, you’re free to do anything.” This speaks to the idea of Individualism – that it is only once you accept who you are that you can be truly free.

More Essays

Individualism In Dead Poets Society
Dead Poets Society Analysis Essay
Essay about Dead Poets Society: Film Analysis
Evil Dead 2 Comparison Essay
Left 4 Dead 2 Analysis
Dead White Males
Essay about Personal Narrative: My Family Is Dead
Individuality In Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis Essay
Walking Dead Traditions
The Constitution Alive or Dead

Dead Poets Society Review

Updated 22 July 2022

Subject Movies

Downloads 33

Category Entertainment

Topic Dead Poets Society , Movie Review , Movie Summary

Tom Schulman's screenplay

Thomas H. Schulman is an American screenwriter, best known for the film Dead Poets Society. The story of this film is based on Schulman's time at the college-preparatory day school Montgomery Bell Academy. He spent his teenage years as an aspiring writer, but was soon turned down. However, this experience would be the catalyst for his success, and the screenplay was produced.

The story of Dead Poets Society

Follows a group of young men as they stand up to a bully and stand up for a teacher. The film received a lot of praise after its release in 2016, but it was a tough time for Schulman, who wrote the screenplay more than twenty years ago. In the era of blockbusters and over-the-top villains, Dead Poets Society was a rare success.

Originally a philosopher, Schulman

Earned a B.A. in philosophy from Vanderbilt University. He then attended the USC Film School but dropped out after just two semesters. After studying philosophy and theatre, Schulman worked in various theaters and educational films. In 1989, he sold his screenplay to Dead Poets Society for $1.5 million. The film became one of the biggest hits of that decade.

Peter Weir's direction

In this Dead Poets Society review, we'll take a closer look at Weir's vision for this film, which is reminiscent of his previous anti-war epic, "Gallipoli." Weir's directorial style is distinctly Australian, with its echoed hallways, grand chapels, and tiny, fusty classrooms. Weir's rage against injustice is almost palpable, and his cinematography reflects this.

Director Peter Weir

Was the perfect choice for this script. He and screenwriter Chuck Schulman worked together to reimagine the setting, including a boarding school. And the director had a unique relationship with the actors, which was far from typical Hollywood. For instance, he had the actors live in a dorm so as to simulate the experience of boarding school. To get them into the right mindset, Weir had them get to know 1950s music, as if they were the characters in a reimagined 1950s world. Moreover, Weir received an Academy Award nomination for this film in 1990.

The film is a coming-of-age drama

Which will captivate you from the very start. You'll want to stay awake until the end to absorb all that Weir has to offer. Although the movie was shot in Middletown, Delaware, the story itself takes place in Vermont. The film is a great example of Weir's mastery of storytelling. So, if you're looking for an inspiring film, Dead Poets Society is the one for you.

The film's characters

While many English professors may not like Dead Poets Society, literature teachers will absolutely love it. This film shows the importance of teaching the humanities, and the charismatic teacher, Mr. Keating, is a breath of fresh air. While he may be a bit cliched, his approach to teaching is refreshing. Even his student's reactions to him are worth the read. Read on to discover why this movie is so popular with English teachers.

The film's main character, Todd Anderson

Undergoes a significant change in his character during the course of the story. He had to live up to the reputation of his older brother, Neil, and was intimidated to read aloud. To overcome this, Todd studied harder and became a member of the Dead Poets Society. Neil Perry, a member of the society, is the reason Todd was inspired to join. Todd sat next to Neil at meetings and shared cigars with his friends. In the night before the play, Todd reads a personal poem in his bedroom.

A Dead Poets Society review is incomplete without addressing the themes of the film. The themes of the film range from romantic and traditional mentality to carpe diem. It is one of the best films of the decade, and features Robin Williams and Robert Sean Leonard as two of its most talented actors. While this film does have some predictable themes, it is definitely worth checking out if you are looking for a fun and entertaining movie.

The film has won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay

And it was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director. Moreover, it was nominated for Best Actor, so its themes are universal. The film demonstrates how important it is to question the status quo, especially when it comes to society. Progress never comes without questioning and seeking knowledge. The movie also deals with the complex relationship between teachers and their students, and how this affects that relationship.

Deadline is approaching?

Wait no more. Let us write you an essay from scratch

Related Essays

A Standoff Between Robin Williams and Disney Almost Ruined ‘Dead Poets Society’

“They cancelled the production and burned the sets.”

The Big Picture

Dead Poets Society has become a cult classic thanks to its celebration of the arts and the performances of its all-star cast, led by Robin Williams.
Disney insisted on casting Williams, but he initially turned down the film, leaving Dead Poets Society 's fate in temporary limbo.
Robin Williams's uniquely empathetic performance drives Dead Poets Society 's lasting success; the role earned the comedian his second Academy Award nomination.

Released in 1989, the critically acclaimed Dead Poets Society ingrained itself into pop culture memory. Its success helped launch the careers of then-newcomers Ethan Hawke , Robert Sean Leonard , and Josh Charles , earned Robin Williams his second of four Academy Award nominations , and won writer Tom Schulman an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. The latter fact is especially appropriate since Society celebrates the power of the written word . If you've heard someone recite "o captain, my captain," chances are high they're quoting Society and not the Walt Whitman poem said phrase references. It's a movie indelible enough that Taylor Swift reunited Hawke and Charles for her "Fortnight" music video accompanying the debut single from her newest album, The Tortured Poets Department .

Williams’s lead performance as John Keating, an atypical English teacher at an all-boys boarding school, marked a turning point in his career as the comedian transitioned into roles with increased dramatic heft . However, a collision of wills between Williams and the Walt Disney Company — the first of several clashes — almost prevented Dead Poets Society from being made. Despite having greenlit the production, Disney burned the sets before the cameras ever truly rolled.

Dead Poets Society

Why Did Robin Williams Turn Down ‘Dead Poets Society’?

When Dead Poets Society was in pre-production, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Touchstone Pictures, a division of the Walt Disney Company marketed toward older audiences, wanted to cast Robin Williams . They were following the success of his Academy Award-nominated turn in Good Morning, Vietnam , a comedy with a piquant backbone. Jeff Kanew , the first director attached to Society and known for Revenge of the Nerds , preferred Liam Neeson . According to a 2013 interview with Tom Schulman held at the University of California, Williams "wouldn't say no, but he wouldn’t say yes to working with that director. In fact, we prepped the movie, built the sets [...] and Robin just didn’t show up for the first day. He never said he would, but Disney kept trying to pressure him by moving forward . After the first day he didn’t show up, they cancelled the production, burned the sets. We actually have dailies of the sets burning.”

At the time, this seemed like the story's end: Dead Poets Society was a lost cause. A year passed before the tides turned. As recounted by E! Online, when Touchstone signed director Peter Weir onto the project, Williams accepted the role. Disagreements aside, the House of Mouse was right: Robin Williams was the right choice , and perhaps the only choice. His contributions and Dead Poets Society 's lasting impact are inseparable.

What Inspired ‘Dead Poets Society’?

Dead Poets Society argues that the arts are as essential to life as breathing. To put a finer point on it, John Keating, Williams's character, describes "poetry, beauty, romance, love" as "what we stay alive for." The film has a poet's astute articulation and wears its bleeding heart on a tattered sleeve. Such philanthropy has realistic roots . Tom Schulman modeled Keating's philosophy and his radical teaching methods after one of his high school instructors, a man named Samuel F. Pickering Jr . During a Script Magazine retrospective with Peter Weir and Ethan Hawke, Schulman said:

"I had an antic sophomore English teacher, who was charming, and he loved his students, but he was an iconoclast. When we came back for our junior year, he wasn’t there anymore. Rumors spread that he had an affair with the headmaster’s daughter and the headmaster’s wife, but we were all too scared to ask what really happened. Had we done so, we would have learned that he simply got a better job. But because we never knew that, it left an opening in my imagination to write a whole other story around an eccentric teacher, and what happened to him. The idea of resistance to traditional thinking bubbled up, as part of that."

Robin Williams Gives ‘Dead Poets Society’s Empathy a Face

Hoping to broaden his filmography and armed with Schulman's barnburner of a script, Robin Williams's approach to the role evolved. Tom Schulman's interview with the University of California called Williams's initial take "too tight, he was too bound up in the script." Similarly, Peter Weir shared with Script Magazine that he and Williams brainstormed how to strike the ideal balance between Williams's established strengths and letting the actor stretch his thespian muscles . The answer wasn't somber gravitas, but a restraint appropriate to the material's needs. "I didn’t want to completely bury his gift, because that’s what the public loved about him," Weir explained, "so it was really a case of a scale — sort of like turning down a volume control. How low can you go, where people will see Robin inside the character?"

Seeing Robin Williams inside John Keating is the skeleton key behind the character's lingering appeal, and by that logic, Dead Poets Society 's cultural significance. Keating is the vessel through which Schulman's script delivers its message, which is a manifold one: the importance of words goes hand-in-hand with rejecting the kind of social conformity that limits creative expression. To make that point in earnest, Society needs the groundwork laid by Williams's performance . There's always a glimmer in Keating's eyes, a warmth that welcomes, envelops, and immerses. This is the Robin Williams gift redirected. Keating's playful wickedness lacks malice; he's sly and sprightly, his gentleness lowering his students' emotional barriers and disarming their assumptions. His winks, whether literal or metaphorically applied through his unconventional lessons, make everyone lean in to catch each word and cherish every hinted smirk.

This Now-Iconic Actor Has Robin Williams to Thank for His Career

Good comedy infuses people with joy. Hopefully, it also makes them think. Williams's comedic training suits Keating's underhanded gentleness . When he impersonates how John Wayne and Marlon Brando would recite William Shakespeare , the goofy mannerisms let his students connect with the Bard's ancient words for the first time. They view Shakespeare differently, which is the point; Keating advocates individualism and independent thought. The difference between Keating and the other teachers at Welton Academy, who restrict, drone, and chant dull slogans, is stark. Rather than march his students to a single beat, Keating sets these young men free . He's the reason their eyes light up, and why their souls want to seize life with white-knuckled fists. His intimate vivacity makes them courageous. Any dramatically trained performer could deliver an excellent and fully realized Keating. Williams's singular distinctness taps into something deeper, a thrumming vein of honesty inspired by a real individual.

How Did Peter Weir Influence ‘Dead Poets Society’?

When Robin Williams officially joined Dead Poets Society after his standoff with Disney, Tom Schulman thought he was an excellent fit for Keating's droll side but questioned whether Williams's somber scenes would come off as "very precious and dark." Schulman immediately dismissed that past concern to the University of California crowd by saying, "but that didn't happen." Conversely, Peter Weir, whose naturalistic touch ensures the movie's soulful empathy, knew Williams was capable because Weir “had met that quieter, more thoughtful and funny" side of Williams.

The director's instincts rang true on several fronts . He politely refused to direct Society unless Schulman removed a plotline where Keating passed away from cancer, believing that diminished the man's idealism and the story's thesis. While filming, Weir shot Dead Poets Society 's scenes chronologically, and the Shakespeare sequence was a filmed improv exercise that made the final cut. The moment helped Williams shape his performance; he realized that teaching children was, like stand-up comedy, a dialogue. Weir also told Williams not to cry during the climactic final scene:

"The audience will be crying — but not you. You [as Keating] don’t cry until after you leave, and you’re alone in your car. Right now, you want those boys to take care of themselves, so you keep it together, for them. Just say ‘Thank you’ and get out!' And Robin was like, 'F***, you’re right!'"

There Is No ‘Dead Poets Society’ Without Robin Williams

Years after Dead Poets Society hit theaters, Williams cited the experience as a career highlight . Explaining why, he singled out Peter Weir's skill behind the camera and the public's passionate reactions . A man once told Williams that the film inspired him to quit his corporate job and join the art world — to which Williams replied, "I have to buy a lot of art from you now!"

John Keating tells a classroom full of impressionable boys hungry for guidance and fulfillment that "we must constantly look at the world in a different way.” Art frames our perspectives. Through his art, whether it's Dead Poets Society or beyond, Robin Williams helps us view the world differently . His affinities and insights, honed through comedy, give Society 's plea for understanding a compassionate face. Keating's students apply his wisdom to their lives, be it by seizing the day (" carpe diem ") or broadening their horizons by defiantly standing on a desk. May we do the same.

Dead Poets Society is available to rent or buy on Prime Video in the U.S.

Rent on Prime Video

Taylor Swift Pays Tribute to ‘Dead Poets Society’ With ‘Tortured Poets Department’ ‘Fortnight’ Music Video Stars

“Fortnight” features Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles from the beloved 1989 film, as well as Post Malone

Taylor Swift debuted her “Fortnight” music video on YouTube Friday evening, along with lyric videos for both that song and the rest of her new surprise double-album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” The video features “Dead Poets Society” actors Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles in cameos, whom she joked about in social media posts where she shared the creative inspiration behind the striking, largely black-and-white clip.

“I’m still laughing from getting to work with the coolest guys on earth, Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles,” Swift wrote — perhaps also chuckling at her own self-referential cameos. She then added an explicit nod to the clear inspiration for her new album’s title: “(tortured poets, meet your colleagues from down the hall, the dead poets).”

The music video has a complex narrative, ranging from Swift being experimented on by Charles and Hawke in a Frankenstein-esque laboratory to Swift sitting across from Post Malone and connecting over typewriters — with each of their machines emitting some of the video’s only color.

Talking about the video as a whole, Swift noted that it serves as a bit of a Rosetta Stone when it comes to references to the rest of the new album.

“When I was writing the ‘Fortnight’ music video, I wanted to show you the worlds I saw in my head that served as the backdrop for making this music,” Swift explained.

Going to the notably Easter-egg-loving singer’s reputation, she added, “Pretty much everything in it is a metaphor or a reference to one corner of the album or another. For me, this video turned out to be the perfect visual representation of this record and the stories I tell in it.”

Swift wrote that the track’s featured artist, Post Malone, “blew me away on set as our tortured tragic hero,” expressing her gratitude for the rapper/singer and “everything he put into this collaboration.”

The esteemed team included cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his work as director of photography on “Killers of the Flower Moon” and other Martin Scorsese films. He’s also been behind the camera on “Barbie,” “Brokeback Mountain” and numerous other acclaimed projects.

He also served as cinematographer on three of Swift’s 2020 music videos: “The Man,” “Cardigan” and “Willow.” Swift directed “Fortnight” herself, as well as those earlier videos.

“I still can’t believe I get to work with the unfathomably brilliant Rodrigo Prieto on cinematography,” Swift wrote, “and my team of dream collaborators: Ethan Tobman (production design), Chancler Haynes (editor), Anthony Dimino (1st AD), Jil Hardin (producer) and Dom Thomas (executive producer),” Swift wrote.

She also credited more of those who helped put together the video, including the visual effects team.

“Parliament aced the VFX as always. Joseph Cassell, Lorrie Turk and Jemma Muradian made these tortured looks come to life,” Swift wrote. “The entire crew made this a dream to shoot. Thank you to everyone involved and everyone who has watched it!!”

It’s worth noting Swift is writing and intends to direct a feature film for Searchlight Pictures.

You can watch the full “Fortnight” music video at the top of this story.

taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department-anthology-album-cover

3 responses to “Taylor Swift Pays Tribute to ‘Dead Poets Society’ With ‘Tortured Poets Department’ ‘Fortnight’ Music Video Stars”

Your storytelling is captivating, had me hooked till the end.

Brilliant work, your effort shines through every paragraph.

This post has been incredibly engaging from start to finish.

Search location by ZIP code

‘tortured poets’ meet ‘dead poets’ in taylor swift’s ‘fortnight’ video.

Copy Link Copy {copyShortcut} to copy Link copied!

GET ENTERTAINMENT NEWS UPDATES

The latest entertainment headlines, delivered straight to your email inbox.

Taylor Swift and Post Malone are trying to get through a seemingly painful black-and-white era.

The music video for "Fortnight," the lead single off Taylor Swift's 11th studio album " Tortured Poets Department ," debuted on Friday night. The duet features the two artists in various states of melancholy reflection and despair, set in a dystopian and mostly monochromatic world.

The video starts with Swift chained to a matressless iron bed frame in a white observation room. After begrudgingly swallowing a "forget him" capsule given to her by an orderly, Swift wipes her face with a towel, revealing Malone's facial tattoos on her face in the mirror.

"And for a fortnight there we were forever running to you/ Sometimes ask about the weather/ Now you're in my backyard, turned into good neighbors/ Your wife waters flowers. I wanna kill her," Swift sings darkly.

The two then sit at desks in an office – seemingly the titular "department" – surrounded by masked people in all black, typing while they sing. The video soon cuts to Swift and Malone standing face-to-face on a stormy road as papers swirl around them.

Swift is then shown strapped to a gurney with a mysterious electrical contraption attached to her head. Playing off her new album title, researchers portrayed by Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles – who appeared together in the 1989 film "Dead Poets Society" – examine Swift.

"I'm still laughing from getting to work with the coolest guys on earth, @ethanhawke and @mrjoshcharles (tortured poets, meet your colleagues from down the hall, the dead poets)," Swift wrote Friday on social media about their cameos.

Eventually, Swift breaks free. Papers burn, rain falls and the strange yet beautiful video ends with Swift and Malone reaching for each other's hands as she kneels on top of a phone booth.

Mother’s Day is almost here! Shop our gift guides for everyone on your list

TODAY Plaza
Share this —

Watch Full Episodes
Read With Jenna
Inspirational
Relationships
TODAY Table
Newsletters
Start TODAY
Shop TODAY Awards
Citi Concert Series
Listen All Day

Follow today

More Brands

On The Show

Post Malone says he’s ‘honored’ to be a part of Taylor Swift's ‘Fortnight’ song: ‘Once in a lifetime’

Post Malone is sharing his gratitude for being a part of Taylor Swift's release “ Fortnight ,” the song for which he also starred in the new music video.

The day after Swift released her 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” as well as the music video for the album’s opening song, Malone took to social media .

“It’s once in a lifetime that someone like @taylorswift13 comes into this world,” Malone shared April 20, along with a polaroid shot of the pair. “I am floored by your heart and your mind, and I am beyond honored to have been asked to help you with your journey. I love you so much. Thank you Tay.”

In the predominately black-and-white video, Swift and Malone seem to play lovers in some kind of experimental mental institution.

And in a meta-moment, the two "tortured poets" also encounter famous fictional "dead poets."

Actors Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles, both of whom starred in the 1989 film “Dead Poets Society,” make a special appearance in the Easter-egg filled "Fortnight" video.

On Instagram, Hawke shared photos of himself in the music video and in "Dead Poets Society." Hawke played protagonist Todd Anderson, and Charles brought the gregarious and romantic Knox Overstreet to life in the 1989 film.

“'Todd' & 'Knox' from DEAD POETS SOCIETY are now PhDs in THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. It’s quite an honor," Hawke captioned the post. "Thank you @taylorswift for the opportunity to be in the music video for your song FORTNIGHT feat. @postmalone."

Post Malone commented a clinking beers emoji.

Charles also posted a photo of himself in "Fortnight."

"I’ve admired Taylor for a long time, but meeting her in person took my fandom to a whole new level. Genuine, kind, approachable, and just an all around stellar human being — Not to mention a kick ass director to boot! #TSTTPD," he penned in the caption.

In a post thanking the team that helped her make the music video happen, Swift said the concept for the video was to “show you the worlds I saw in my head that served as the backdrop for making this music.”

“Pretty much everything in it is a metaphor or a reference to one corner of the album or another,” she said. “For me, this video turned out to be the perfect visual representation of this record and the stories I tell in it.”

What Easter eggs are in the 'Fortnight' music video?

Swift continued her tradition of including multiple Easter eggs in the video. We'll start by noting that Swift's aesthetic for both the album and the "Fortnight" video seems to vacillate between dark academia and an old-fashioned asylum.

“I was supposed to be sent away/ But they forgot to come and get me,” she sings. “I was a functioning alcoholic/ ‘Til nobody noticed my new aesthetic.”

'Dead Poet’s Society'

"The Tortured Poets Department" has been compared online to the iconic 1989 film, "Dead Poets Society," starring Robin Williams. It was fitting then, that Swift cast Hawke and Charles in the video.

The two men wore white lab coats with the last names of their characters from "Dead Poets Society." Hawke's says "Anderson" while Charles' reads "Overstreet."

The white dress

In the opening scene, Swift dons a similar sculpted white gown that she wore to the Grammys on Feb. 4 , when she surprised fans with news of her upcoming album.

Eagle-eyed fans noticed this in the trailer for the music video released on April 18.

As revealed on April 19 when the full video dropped, when Swift exits to stage right from the scene, her white dress quickly becomes what appears to be an all-black Victorian mourning gown. According to The Metropolitan Museum of Art , Queen Victoria wore such gowns for decades after her husband, Prince Albert, died in 1861 until she died in 1901.

Another song on the album is titled "Clara Bow," after the original Hollywood "It Girl" who rose to prominence in the 1920s during the silent film era.

Bow often wore her eyebrows in thin lines and Swift's look seems to echo that influence.

Swift with her hair in pincurls, thin eyebrows, dark lipstick is chained to a bed.

The typewriter

In one scene, Swift's typewriter is missing the No. 1, possibly an ode to her song "The 1" from her album "Folklore."

“The One” is about a former love, and the narrator reminisces that if the relationship had worked out, then they would have been the proverbial "one."

We should probably mention that the first song of the album, also titled "The Tortured Poets Department," also mocks an unnamed ex for using a typewriter.

Fans have speculated that she's referring to Matty Healy , the lead singer of The 1975, as he has gone on the record in 2018 saying he "can't live" without his typewriter.

Book of "US"

In one of the scenes of the video, Swift and Malone are resting on the ground on top of white papers arranged in a giant silhouette of Swift’s head. He’s looking at her while she reads from a book labeled “US.”

It appears to be the same book from the Spotify pop-up library event earlier this week in Los Angeles. It’s not entirely clear what the “US” book is referencing but it could be an homage to her song “The Story of Us,” originally from her 2010 album, “Speak Now.”

Large silhouette of Swift's head

Speaking of that scene, the giant silhouette of Swift's head made out of papers seems to reference the music video for her song "Style" off the "1989" album. That music video opens with a similar silhouette of Swift and then reveals a man looking out at an ocean, as noted by @tswifterastour on X.

'The Black Dog'

One of the songs on Swift's new album is titled "The Black Dog," presumably after a bar in London. However, there's a literal black dog visible in the foreground when Swift's character is electrocuted.

At the beginning of "Fortnight," Swift is wearing a white, nearly bridal gown and chained to a bed in a medical setting.

As @mimistayedthere pointed out on X, the handcuffs could be a reference to "imgonnagetyouback," another song on the album.

"Even if it's handcuffed, I'm leaving here with you," Swift sings in the track.

'Forget him' pills

Also in the beginning of the video, Swift is only allowed to be unchained from the bed if she takes a pill from an orderly. Zooming in on the label of the pills, you can see they're labeled "FORGET HIM," and have both her birthday and the album release date as the prescription number.

Swift is a huge fan of cats, both hers and as pets in general. The opening card seems to pay tribute to that, with four cats and a ball of yarn hidden in the border.

Phone booth

At one point, Malone calls someone in the rain from an old telephone booth. It's unclear where he is meant to be located, but, as @GGBpBlink pointed out, the telephone booth could be another reference to London's iconic red ones.

How did Swift announce the 'Fortnight' video?

The pop icon, who kept most of the details about the LP a secret leading up to its release, announced the music video premiere on social media on April 16.

She uploaded a video that began with a clock on a wall and panned out to show her most recent album, “Midnights.” Crumbled pieces of paper and records were strewn across the floor in the room, as well.

Then, the camera entered another room with a “The Tortured Poets Department” placard on the door. Inside the second space, there was a typewriter sitting on a white desk and a bulletin board hanging on a wall. The board included an itinerary that revealed the music video would arrive at 8 p.m. ET.

A day before the release, she shared more information with Swifties.

She uploaded a photo of the black-and-white cover art for “Fortnight,” which showed Swift and Post Malone sitting together side-by-side and staring at the camera, to Instagram .

“The first single from The Tortured Poets Department is…………. Fortnight featuring @postmalone,” she wrote in the caption.

She complimented Post Malone and recalled creating the song together.

“I’ve been such a huge fan of Post because of the writer he is, his musical experimentation and those melodies he creates that just stick in your head forever. I got to witness that magic come to life firsthand when we worked together on Fortnight,” she said.

Swift added, “Honestly can’t wait for you guys to hear this song at Midnight TONIGHT and see the video at 8pm ET TOMORROW.”

“Fortnight” is one of 16 tracks on the standard version of Swift’s new album. At 2 a.m. on April 19, she announced "Tortured Poets" is a "double album" and released 15 more sings, bringing the song total to 31.

Ariana Brockington is a trending news reporter at TODAY digital. She is based in Los Angeles.

Sam Kubota is a senior digital editor and journalist for TODAY Digital based in Los Angeles. She joined NBC News in 2019.

Home — Essay Samples — Psychology — Obedience to Authority — Obedience In The Movie Dead Poets Society

Obedience in The Movie Dead Poets Society

Categories: Dead Poets Society Movie Review Obedience to Authority

About this sample

Words: 1327 |

Published: May 31, 2021

Words: 1327 | Pages: 3 | 7 min read

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Verified writer

Expert in: Entertainment Psychology

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

1 pages / 1411 words

1 pages / 769 words

2 pages / 829 words

2 pages / 924 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Obedience to Authority

Primo Levi, an Italian Jewish chemist, writer, and Holocaust survivor, once said that "Monsters exist, but they are far too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to [...]

Strindberg recurrently uses symbolism drawn from nature to great effect throughout his play Miss Julie, accentuating the impact of the act of sexual intercourse on the shifting class divisions between Julie and Jean. The [...]

Much of the critical debate surrounding Daniel Defoe's novel Moll Flanders centers around whether the author makes good on the promise he makes in the preface that the story will be morally instructive. For instance, Ira [...]

“Who is to say who is the villain and who is the hero? Probably the dictionary.” - Joss Whedon Although the line between what makes a hero can become blurred, the basic traits of a hero remain the same for the most [...]

Aphra Behn, as the first woman to earn her living by being a writer in English, known for her daring and controversial treatment of the subjects of sexuality and desire in her works, plays an important female narrative voice in [...]

Anton Chekhov’s play “The Cherry Orchard” is labeled a comedy, however, it has a handful of meaningful lessons that can be learned from the characters featured in the play. These character’s debacles and actions act almost as a [...]

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

Instructions Followed To The Letter
Deadlines Met At Every Stage
Unique And Plagiarism Free

Taylor Swift and Post Malone Nab Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles for 'Dead Poets Society' Reunion in Music Video

Taylor swift's 'tortured poets department': easter eggs decoded, mark consuelos confesses to wife kelly ripa he had a 'passionate' kiss with another woman in public, normani on hating 'motivation' and why fifth harmony felt like a prison sentence, 'it ends with us' first look see blake lively as lily bloom, jay leno and wife mavis give update amid her battle with dementia (exclusive), ryan gosling's message to ryan reynolds after 'deadpool & wolverine' shirt appearance (exclusive), kelly clarkson mistakes her own song for a christina aguilera hit, '1000-lb. sisters' star tammy slaton responds to haley michelle relationship speculation, ryan gosling pays subtle tribute to eva mendes on ‘the fall guy’ press tour, diddy's daughter chance goes to prom with chloe and halle bailey's brother, ‘bridgerton’: go behind the scenes with season 3 cast (exclusive), katy perry reacts to fans' ‘crazy’ comments about new haircut, why chris hemsworth felt ‘replaceable’ while playing thor in the mcu, 'sister wives' star meri brown reveals what she doesn't want in her next relationship, joel edgerton on his on-screen chemistry with jennifer connelly, gabrielle union teases potential new 'bring it on' project, john mulaney makes rare comments about parenting with olivia munn, king charles makes first public appearance since cancer reveal, king charles wants to reconcile with prince harry following cancer diagnosis (royal expert), why chris hemsworth 'felt like a fool' doing australian 'dancing with the stars', taylor swift not attending met gala 2024: here’s why, ethan hawke and josh charles made cameos in the music video for 'fortnight.'.

Taylor Swift is all about bringing people together.

Just hours after her 11th studio album debuted to praise from her millions of fans worldwide, the "Bad Blood" singer, 34, dropped an accompanying music video for "Fortnight" featuring Post Malone from The Tortured Poets Department .

While fans expected to see the "Sunflower" singer in the video, they certainly didn't predict that Swift would host a Dead Poets Society reunion for the project.

Nevertheless, Swift, who wrote and directed the music video, welcomed Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles into her world. She cast the men, who starred in the 1989 flick (catch that Easter Egg, Swifties?), as scientists examining her after a love affair goes wrong.

Throughout the video, the relationship between Swift and Post is shown from its face tattoo-free inception all the way until it leads to the psychiatric ward.

After the music video's release, Swift took to Instagram to share details about the idea for the video.

"When I was writing the 'Fortnight' music video, I wanted to show you the worlds I saw in my head that served as the backdrop for making this music," she wrote. "Pretty much everything in it is a metaphor or a reference to one corner of the album or another. For me, this video turned out to be the perfect visual representation of this record and the stories I tell in it."

"@postmalone blew me away on set as our tortured tragic hero and I'm so grateful to him for everything he put into this collaboration," she added. "I'm still laughing from getting to work with the coolest guys on earth, @ethanhawke and @mrjoshcharles (tortured poets, meet your colleagues from down the hall, the dead poets)."

Charles also posted about the music video, writing on Instagram, "I've admired Taylor for a long time, but meeting her in person took my fandom to a whole new level. Genuine, kind, approachable, and just an all around stellar human being - Not to mention a kick ass director to boot! #TSTTPD"

In Hawke's Instagram post about the project he wrote, "'Todd' & 'Knox' from DEAD POETS SOCIETY are now PhDs in THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. It's quite an honor. Thank you @taylorswift for the opportunity to be in the music video for your song FORTNIGHT feat. @postmalone. carpe diem!"

On Thursday, the music icon announced that not only would "Fortnight" be the first song off the album to receive a music video, it would officially be the lead single off the album , hitting the charts at the same time as the album's release.

"I got to witness that magic come to life firsthand when we worked together on Fortnight. Honestly can't wait for you guys to hear this song at Midnight TONIGHT and see the video at 8pm ET TOMORROW," Swift wrote in an Instagram post.

She also attached the cover art for the single, which sees the "Wow" rapper seated casually next to her as they stare down the camera in a black and white photo.

Within a few hours of exciting fans with the news of her single and music video's release, Swift was right back at it on social media doing what she does best -- teasing something for the fans.

In a six-second video posted to her accounts, she gifted fans a first look at the music video for "Fortnight," which previewed the epic video to come.

In the quick supercut, Swift and Malone could be seen at dueling typewriters in a black-and-white office space while colorful energy streams fly out from their machines. The pair also embrace on a street in a desert area in another moment.

"At this hearing, I stand before my fellow members of The Tortured Poets Department with a summary of my findings," Swift wrote in the tweet with the short video.

Another shot in the blink-and-you'll-miss-it teaser showed Swift strapped down to a vertical medical examination table and screaming out.

The 14-time GRAMMY winner first teased the release of a music video days out from the album's debut when she posted a timetable video to her Instagram page on Tuesday. In that teaser, the camera first focused on a clock on the wall with its hands pointed at 2:00 before zooming out of the room devoted to her 2022 album Midnights and traveling down a long hallway before entering an office.

The camera then entered the room through the keyhole of a door marked "The Tortured Poets Department" before showing a typewriter on a desk and then quickly zooming in on a bulletin board. The calendar hung up on the wall then shared the news of then-unidentiefed music video's impending drop.

"The Tortured Poets Department release day" the note on April 19 read, just above another scribble that stated, "8pm ET. Music video release!!"

At the bottom of the calendar date for the album's release were 14 tally marks which were not explained in the video at the time.

The same day T-Swift teased the music video, a Time interview with Patrick Mahomes -- Travis Kelce 's Kansas City Chiefs teammate -- dropped online and caused many fans to spiral as he hinted that the singer may have something up her sleeve.

"She's never not working," the 28-year-old football star shared. "Even when she’s taking her downtime, she's working on something. Shooting a music video or singing a song or writing a song."

Swift has come a long way in the two months since she announced The Tortured Poets Department at the GRAMMYs after claiming her 13th career trophy. That same night, she won her fourth Album of the Year GRAMMY and set a new record in the category by beating out Paul Simon , Stevie Wonder and Frank Sinatra, who each have three wins.

"OK, this is my 13th GRAMMY, which is my lucky number. I don't know if I’ve ever told you that," Swift quipped on stage at the ceremony. "So I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I have been keeping from you for the last two years, which is that my brand-new album comes out April 19. It's called The Tortured Poets Department ."

ET NEWSLETTER

Taylor Swift Explains the Meaning of Several 'Tortured Poets' Songs

How Travis Kelce Is Supporting Taylor Swift Amid Her Album Release

Why Fans Think Taylor Swift’s 'thanK you aIMee' is a Diss Track About Kim Kardashian

Taylor Swift's Boyfriends: The 'Lover' Look Back

Taylor Swift
THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT
Post Malone

Taylor Swift Paid Homage to a Classic 1989 Film in Her New "Fortnight" Music Video

It was time for the tortured poets to meet their friends down the hall.

Taylor Swift 's first official music video from her eleventh studio album The Tortured Poets Department is here, and it pays homage to a classic 1989 film. On Friday evening, Swift released the music video for her song "Fortnight," featuring Post Malone. The video is filmed completely in black-and-white, and features a cameo from two familiar faces for anyone who is a fan of the unparalleled film Dead Poets Society . That's right: Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles cameo in the video—an undeniable ode to the 1989 classic starring the late, great Robin Williams. In the movie, Hawke and Charles play two students attending an all-boys preparatory school who, with the help of Williams' unconventional teaching methods, learn how to buck outdated traditions, unrealistic expectations and—as the famous movie's iconic line says—seize the day.

"'Todd' & 'Knox' from DEAD POETS SOCIETY are now PhDs in THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT," Hawke wrote on Instagram along with snapshots of the new music video and throwback photos of the actors starring in Dead Poets Society .

"It’s quite an honor.Thank you @taylorswift for the opportunity to be in the music video for your song FORTNIGHT feat. @postmalone ," the caption continued.

A post shared by Ethan Hawke A photo posted by ethanhawke on

Charles also shared his appreciation for Swift including him in her new music video, posting another black-and-white photo of the actors sharing the music video screen with Swift. "I’ve admired Taylor for a long time, but meeting her in person took my fandom to a whole new level," the actor posted on X , formerly known as Twitter. "Genuine, kind, approachable, and just an all around stellar human being—not to mention a kick ass director to boot!"

In an Instagram post featuring a series of photos from the music video, Swift gave some behind-the-scenes information regarding her vision for her latest music video, including a shoutout to the Dead Poets Society actors (and an introduction to anyone who hasn't seen the film... which should be remedied immediately.)

"When I was writing the 'Fortnight' music video, I wanted to show you the worlds I saw in my head that served as the backdrop for making this music," she explained in the caption. "Pretty much everything in it is a metaphor or a reference to one corner of the album or another. For me, this video turned out to be the perfect visual representation of this record and the stories I tell in it.

"I'm still laughing from getting to work with the coolest guys on earth, @ethanhawke and @mrjoshcharles . (tortured poets, meet your colleagues from down the hall, the dead poets)," she continued.

Stay In The Know

Marie Claire email subscribers get intel on fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more. Sign up here.

A post shared by Taylor Swift A photo posted by taylorswift on

Perhaps Swift enlisting Dead Poets Society alumni is not entirely out of left field—in 2022, during an interview with The Line of Best Fit , Maya Hawke revealed that her father is a proud Swiftie himself. "It took me a long while to be able to show him (some music that) he didn't already know about," the Stranger Things actress said at the time. "'Ours' was the first Taylor Swift song that I played for him on guitar. He was like, 'Who wrote that?', and I was like, 'Taylor Swift!'"

Maya Hawke went on to say that her father "thought it was a really good song" and, as a result, she felt "so confident" because she was able to introduce her dad to new music.

In fact, Maya got her dad so hooked that she says he excitedly texted her when Swift announced her 2022 album Midnights .

“He was like, 'Oh my God, Taylor Swift already has a new record coming out? I'm so excited! She re-released Red , and now there's Midnights ? How does she do it?'" she said. No but seriously, how does she do it?!

Danielle Campoamor is an award-winning freelance writer covering mental health, reproductive justice, abortion access, maternal mental health, politics, and feminist issues. She has been published in The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, NBC, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, InStyle, Playboy, Teen Vogue, Glamour, The Daily Beast, and more.

a collage of Orebella assets in front of a plain backdrop

Orebella's shake-to-activate scents were made to be TikToked.

By Halie LeSavage Published 30 April 24

She shut down a red carpet in a cutout Versace corset dress.

By Julia Gray Published 30 April 24

Sarah Michelle Gellar attends The Daily Front Row's 8th Annual Fashion Los Angeles Awards on April 28, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California.

Oh my goodness.

By Iris Goldsztajn Published 30 April 24

Contact Future's experts
Advertise Online
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy

Marie Claire is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site . © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

IMAGES

Dead Poets Society
Dead Poets Society (1989) Movie Review Essay Example
Analysis of the Film "Dead Poets Society" by Peter Weir
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Dead Poet's Society on Behance
Dead Poets Society Summary

VIDEO

Dead Poets Society in 60 Seconds
"Exploring the Depths of Inspiration: Dead Poets Society Film Analysis" #movie #1989movie #film
黃鶯鶯 Imagine 電影：Dead Poets Society 春風化雨 Robin Williams Ethan Hawke
Dead Poets Society LD-DVD-BLU Comparison
Ep.150
Unforgettable ✨ Dead Poets Society (1989) ✨

COMMENTS

Dead Poets Society: Film Review and Analysis
Dead Poets Society, a masterpiece directed by Peter Weir, is a must-watch movie for teenagers. This film features three main characters: Robin Williams as John Keating, Robert Sean Leonard as Neil Perry, and Ethan Hawke as Todd Anderson. Although it was released around the 1990s, Dead Poets Society remains one of the most influential movies of ...
Essay about Dead Poets Society: Film Analysis Essay
In the film, Dead Poets Society, a new English teacher, John Keating, uses atypical methods of teaching to reach out to his students at an all-boys preparatory academy. Through his lessons, his students learned to overcome the pressures from their families and school and tried to pursue their dreams. In "Part 3" of Cal Newport's, How to ...
Dead Poets Society movie review (1989)
A teenage romance between one of the Welton students and a local girl is given so little screen time, so arbitrarily, that it seems like a distraction. And I squirmed through the meetings of the "Dead Poets Society," a self-consciously bohemian group of students who hold secret meetings in the dead of night in a cave near the campus.
Dead Poets Society Summary
Gale Nolan, the headmaster, begins an investigation into the suicide at the request of the Perry family. Attempting to escape punishment for his own membership in the Dead Poet's Society, Richard Cameron tells Nolan that Neil's death is entirely Keating's fault. He names Overstreet, Meeks, Pitts, Anderson, Dalton and Perry as his fellow members.
The Main Messages in The Film Dead Poets Society
The movie 'Dead Poets Society', is one of the best inspiring and most compelling movie of a twentieth century directed by Peter Weir, which explores the concept of individualism.In the movie, we can see a small group of boys who have been sent to the Welton academy where education is understood to be a rigorous academic learning program combined with the shaping of the students' characters ...
Neil Perry Dead Poets Society: [Essay Example], 709 words
Dead Poets Society, directed by Peter Weir in 1989, is a critically acclaimed film that explores themes of conformity, self-expression, and the transformative power of education. One of the central characters in the film is Neil Perry, a talented and intelligent student who grapples with the expectations of his overbearing father and the desire ...
Dead Poets Society Essay Questions
A realist is more pragmatic and more attuned to the current situation of society. An artist is relatively more idealistic, independent and unfettered. 4. Discuss how the themes of discipline and rebellion interact in Dead Poets Society. Welton prides itself on adherence to strict tradition and rules, and those who fail to adhere to them ...
Dead Poets Society
Dead Poets Society is a 1989 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Peter Weir and written by Tom Schulman.The film, starring Robin Williams, is set in 1959 at the fictional elite boarding school, Welton Academy, and tells the story of an English teacher who inspires his students through his teaching of poetry.. Dead Poets Society was released in the United States June 2, 1989.
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Dead Poets Society: Directed by Peter Weir. With Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, Josh Charles. Maverick teacher John Keating returns in 1959 to the prestigious New England boys' boarding school where he was once a star student, using poetry to embolden his pupils to new heights of self-expression.
Film Study: Dead Poets Society & The Importance Of Individuality
Dead Poets Society stands out and succeeds largely because it achieves exactly the opposite of all that. Dead Poets Society (1989) There are an understated innocence and sense of nostalgia about this film that's hard to put into words. It's something you feel in your heart rather than think about with your mind.
'Dead Poets Society' Review
Dead Poets Society. 8 10. Pros. Robin Williams is always a joy to watch and the actor makes Keating endearing and hilarious. The film sends a timeless message about the importance of independent ...
Dead Poets Society Study Guide
Key Facts about Dead Poets Society. Full Title: Dead Poets Society. When Written: 1988-89. Where Written: Los Angeles, California. When Published: Fall 1989. Literary Period: It's especially hard to classify the novel as belonging to any literary period, since it's a novelization of a film.
Dead Poets Society Summary and Study Guide
Introduction. N. H. Kleinbaum's Dead Poets Society is a 1989 novel based on the motion picture written by Tom Schulman. The novel was released as a companion piece to the wildly popular film—also titled Dead Poets Society and released in 1989— which starred famous actors such as Robin Williams as Mr. Keating, and Ethan Hawke as Todd Anderson.
Essay on the Film "Dead Poets Society"
Bilkent University TE 502: Development and Learning Essay on the Film "Dead Poets Society" Student Name: Murat Günay Instructor: Robin Martin May, 2011 Student-Teacher Relationship in Learning and Dead Poets Society In learning, teacher has so much importance as learner. Teacher gives knowledge, student takes it.
Dead Poets Society Is a Terrible Defense of the Humanities
February 19, 2014. I've never hated a film quite the way I hate Dead Poets Society. I expect that them's fighting words, at least in some quarters; at least I hope they are. Because I'm ...
Analysis of the Film "Dead Poets Society" by Peter Weir
Download. The Dead Poets Society is a film that incorporates each persona behaviours. It is a beautiful movie that would allow an individual who is watching to critique the different characters in the movie. Dead Poets Society is a 1989 American drama film directed by Peter Weir, written by Tom Schulman, and starring Robin Williams.
Analysis of Teaching Strategies in the Film "Dead Poets Society"
In 1989, the film Dead Poets Society was released in the United States starring Robin Williams; this cinematographic production's intention was to make people reflect upon the different ways of teaching particular subjects. ... The essay delves into the film "Dead Poets Society" and its implications for education, highlighting the importance ...
The Dead Poets Society: Film Review and Its Impact
The small group of boys in the Dead Poets Society used their group to their advantage. The boys' use of drugs and alcohol while meeting in their usual spot should show how they didn't use the group wisely for smart decisions. But the idea of, "carpe diem" was used effectively. The boys didn't need anyone else's acceptance for their decisions.
Why Dead Poets Society Is A Masterpiece
"Dead Poets Society" is such an incredible film, In this video I talk about how this film uses imagery to get its message across to the audience. What do you...
Transcendentalism in Dead Poets Society
In conclusion, "Dead Poets Society" effectively portrays the principles of transcendentalism through Keating's unconventional teaching methods, the students' rebellion against societal norms, and their subsequent personal growth and self-discovery. By challenging conventional wisdom and encouraging individuals to embrace their true selves, the film underscores the enduring relevance of ...
Essays on Dead Poets Society
2 pages / 709 words. Introduction Dead Poets Society, directed by Peter Weir in 1989, is a critically acclaimed film that explores themes of conformity, self-expression, and the transformative power of education. One of the central characters in the film is Neil Perry, a talented and intelligent student who grapples... Dead Poets Society.
Individuality In Dead Poets Society Essay
The film Dead Poets Society explores the importance of individualism in a number of ways. The main character, Todd Anderson, learns to embrace his individuality and express himself freely. He also learns that it is important to follow his own heart, even if it means going against the wishes of his family and society.
Dead Poets Society Review
In this Dead Poets Society review, we'll take a closer look at Weir's vision for this film, which is reminiscent of his previous anti-war epic, "Gallipoli." Weir's directorial style is distinctly Australian, with its echoed hallways, grand chapels, and tiny, fusty classrooms. Weir's rage against injustice is almost palpable, and his ...
A Robin Williams and Disney Standoff Almost Ruined 'Dead Poets Society'
Released in 1989, the critically acclaimed Dead Poets Society ingrained itself into pop culture memory. Its success helped launch the careers of then-newcomers Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard ...
Taylor Swift Pays Tribute to 'Dead Poets Society' in 'Fortnight' Video
April 19, 2024 @ 8:32 PM. Taylor Swift debuted her "Fortnight" music video on YouTube Friday evening, along with lyric videos for both that song and the rest of her new surprise double-album ...
'Tortured Poets' meet 'Dead Poets' in Taylor Swift's 'Fortnight' video
Playing off her new album title, Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles, who appeared together in the 1989 film "Dead Poets Society," appear in Taylor Swift's "Fortnight" music video.
Taylor Swift's Easter Eggs From 'Fortnight' Music Video ...
"The Tortured Poets Department" has been compared online to the iconic 1989 film, "Dead Poets Society," starring Robin Williams. It was fitting then, that Swift cast Hawke and Charles in the video.
Obedience in The Movie Dead Poets Society
Published: May 31, 2021. Within the movie Dead Poets Society, obedience is one of the major ideas being presented. Specifically involving Neil Perry, a popular and idealistic student at Welton Academy. The research of Stanley Milgram and Erich Fromm depicts how human individuality is frequently blocked by the obedience of individuals and how ...
Taylor Swift, Post Malone Nab 'Dead Poets Society' Stars for New Video
Taylor Swift's 'Tortured Poets Department': Easter Eggs Decoded 'Blink Twice' Trailer No. 1 Katy Perry Reacts to Orlando Bloom's Death-Defying Stunts on New Docuseries (Exclusive)
Taylor Swift Paid Homage to a Classic 1989 Film in Her New "Fortnight
published 20 April 2024. Taylor Swift 's first official music video from her eleventh studio album The Tortured Poets Department is here, and it pays homage to a classic 1989 film. On Friday ...

Movie Reviews

Roger Ebert

Now playing

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Clint Worthington

Brian Tallerico

Riddle of Fire

Sasquatch Sunset

Dead Poets Society (1989)

Directed by

Photography by

Latest blog posts

Facets to Honor Academy Museum President Jacqueline Stewart at the 2024 Screen Gems Benefit

How The Phantom Menace Predicted Hollywood’s Prequel Future

No Easy Answers: On the Power of The Teachers' Lounge

No Therapy: The Primordial Commitment of The Northman

Dead Poets Society

Dead Poets Society Questions and Answers

Study Guide for Dead Poets Society

Essays for Dead Poets Society

Wikipedia Entries for Dead Poets Society

Dead Poets Society

More like this

Did you know

User reviews 824

Technical specs

Related news

More to explore

Recently viewed

Dead Poets Society

Dead Poets Society: Introduction

Historical Context of Dead Poets Society

Extra Credit for Dead Poets Society

Dead Poets Society

Summary and Study Guide

Featured Collections

Essay on the Film “Dead Poets Society”

Related Papers

RELATED PAPERS

Dead Poets Society Is a Terrible Defense of the Humanities

Recommended Reading

How to Want Less

What If Friendship, Not Marriage, Was at the Center of Life?

Frigid Offices Might Be Killing Women’s Productivity

Analysis of Teaching Strategies in the Film "Dead Poets Society"

Cite this Essay

Related Essays

Individuality In Dead Poets Society

More Essays

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Dead Poets Society Review

Tom Schulman's screenplay

The story of Dead Poets Society

Originally a philosopher, Schulman

Peter Weir's direction

Director Peter Weir

The film is a coming-of-age drama

The film's characters

The film's main character, Todd Anderson

The film has won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay

Related Essays

A Standoff Between Robin Williams and Disney Almost Ruined ‘Dead Poets Society’

The Big Picture

Dead Poets Society

Why Did Robin Williams Turn Down ‘Dead Poets Society’?

What Inspired ‘Dead Poets Society’?

Robin Williams Gives ‘Dead Poets Society’s Empathy a Face

This Now-Iconic Actor Has Robin Williams to Thank for His Career

How Did Peter Weir Influence ‘Dead Poets Society’?

There Is No ‘Dead Poets Society’ Without Robin Williams

Taylor Swift Pays Tribute to ‘Dead Poets Society’ With ‘Tortured Poets Department’ ‘Fortnight’ Music Video Stars

3 responses to “Taylor Swift Pays Tribute to ‘Dead Poets Society’ With ‘Tortured Poets Department’ ‘Fortnight’ Music Video Stars”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Search location by ZIP code

GET ENTERTAINMENT NEWS UPDATES

Post Malone says he’s ‘honored’ to be a part of Taylor Swift's ‘Fortnight’ song: ‘Once in a lifetime’

What Easter eggs are in the 'Fortnight' music video?

'Dead Poet’s Society'

The white dress