Dead Poets Society: Why So Notable?

The title of this 1989, critically acclaimed release, is Dead Poets Society. The setting for this film is at Welton Academy, a private boarding school located in Vermont, in the year 1959. This extraordinary film was directed by Peter Weir, and the main characters included: John Keating (Robin Williams), Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke), Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard), Charlie Dalton (Gale Hansen), and Knox Overstreet (Josh Charles).

Two main characters had an immense effect on the outcome of the film: Neal Perry and Todd Anderson. Neal Perry was sent to Welton because his father wanted him to become a doctor. Neal was merely following his father’s wishes when he agreed to attend Welton, playing the part of the model son in order to make his father proud. However, Neal had no desire to become a doctor; but rather, he wanted to participate in the arts, acting. Naturally, Neal’s father objected to this proposition, which later had a detrimental effect on Neal’s life. His roommate, Todd Anderson, has been sent to Welton to follow in his brother’s footsteps. Todd’s brother had just graduated from the school the previous year, as Valedictorian of his class. Todd knew he had big shoes to fill, but a motivation from his English teacher, Mr. Keating, led him elsewhere. Mr. Keating was not only Todd and Neal’s English teacher, but the entire casts’ English teacher. Keating acted less like a teacher, and more like a guide and mentor toward the boys, motivating them with random activities, and stories of his pastimes: “Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.” One of these stories that the boys manage to obtain from him, is that when Keating attended Welton, he acted as part of a group that called themselves the Dead Poets Society. The boys of his English class were both stimulated and inspired by this concept of meeting secretly, and reading aloud poetry for the sheer enjoyment of it. This led to the recreation of the Dead Poets Society at Welton, led by none other than Neal Perry himself. The boys, and teachers for that matter, are expected to conform to the rules and lifestyle of Welton, although Mr. Keating is a nonconformist, who attempts to teach his students to be the same way. His methods of teaching lead a series of events to occur, from which nothing good emerges.

This film was an Oscar winner for Best Original Screenplay (Tom Schulman), and was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (Robin Williams). The film also won Best Foreign Film for Cesar awards, Best Picture for British Academy Awards, and Best Original Music Score for British Academy Awards (Maurice Jarre). This touching, epic motion picture will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last scene, where the culmination of previous events occurs. I would be making a mistake if I were to confer this film a rating of any less than 4 stars.