Autor: Ispas Livia, clasa a VII-a A
Sursă imagine:https://ro.pinterest.com/pin/802133383665034287/
“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race, and the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.”–Dead Poets Society Dead Poets Society (1989), directed by Peter Weir and written by Tom Schulman, is a beautiful coming of age film that takes place at an elite old-fashion boarding school in New England. Starring Robin Williams, in the role of John Keating, an English literature teacher with rather nontraditional ways of teaching, it explores numerous themes such as life, death, „Carpe Diem”, the importance of the arts and the conflict between societal and academic pressure to follow a rigid path in life rather than pursuing a career of personal desires and interests.
Keating inspires the group of boys to follow their dreams and passions, to not fear the unknown and live life to its fullest. He was their inspiration, he made their lives extraordinary and helped each and one of them achieve their full potential.
The story follows Todd Anderson, a shy teenage boy who recently transferred to Welton Academy and carries the burden of continuing his older brother’s legacy. Seen as less by both his family and other people, Todd is closed off and silent, never speaking up about his needs or wants in fear of being rejected or judged. As the story progresses, Mr. Keating and his roommate Neil Perry, along with their classmates help Todd fit in and speak up more.
One day as Neil, Todd and their classmates discover the old annual book from when Mr. Keating was a student they discovered something called „The Dead Poets Society”. Upon learning that Keating had been a member of the unofficial Dead Poets Society during his time as a student, Neil restarts the club. He and his friends sneak off campus to a cave to read poetry. Keating’s lessons and the conversations in the club encourage them to live on their own terms. Neil Perry, a young man passionate about acting, is forced to drop the extracurricular activities he often engaged in by his father, Tom Perry, who insisted that his son must focus on finishing his studies, so he can go on and pursue the career of a doctor. Despite his father’s wishes and hyped up by Keating to pursue his dreams, Neil goes behind his father’s back and joins a production of „A Midsummer Night’s Dream” made by a local high school. Unfortunate for the young boy, his father eventually finds out and demands that Neil shall leave the play immediately as to not face further consequences, but Neil’s passion for acting exceeded his father’s demands, and he remains in the play, as it would have been staged while Mr. Perry was on a work trip. As the play comes to an end, Neil is informed that his father is present, which shatters the boy’s dreams. He is dragged home by his father and gets an ultimate announcement that he will be taken out of Welton and enrolled in a military school, so his father is sure he won’t disobey demands ever again. Upon hearing this, Neil’s dreams were shattered completely right in front of him. Driven to a final point, the young boy puts an end to his life.
Dead Poets Society isn’t just about poetry.It’s about the quiet, dangerous courage it takes to become who you are meant to be. Within the rigid walls of tradition, a group of boys are taught to think for themselves, to feel deeply and to believe that their lives can be more than what’s already been set for them. And in that awakening, Neil Perry becomes its most fragile, most haunting reflection.
Neil isn’t just chasing a dream, he’s fighting for the right to have one. In a world where expectations speak louder than desire, his love for acting becomes both his escape and his doom. For a moment, on that stage he isn’t confined by authority or fear of consequences—he’s free. Completely, beautifully free. But Dead Poets Society never lets you forget the cost of that freedom, Because not every voice is allowed to be heard, and not every dream is given the space to exist.
