Allen Mooneyhan

Socio-Culture Foundations of Education

Movie Critique

Dead Poet's Society

Dr. Mitch Holifield

Arkansas State University

March 21, 2001

Dead Poet's Society:  Movie Critique

Dead Poet's Society was a movie about several students who were guided by their English teacher Mr. John Keeting in a quest to break out of the world of conformity In which they existed so that they could begin thinking on their own.  Mr. John Keeting was played by Robin Williams who was a teacher more interested in guiding students into breaking out of their world of conformity than in simply giving them the ability to regurgitate facts about poetry.  His objective seemed to be that of teaching the students the poetry of life through the use of literary poetry in the classroom.  His teaching methods constantly came under fire from the administration and other teachers who advocated the teaching of facts that could be measured rather than the teaching of life skills and the ability to think critically.  The overall theme of this movie was that of the students being guided through a process by which they began to use their own minds to think about poetry, life, and the conformity that was expected of them by the institution they attended. 

            Several of these students eventually broke out of their shell of conformity through the guidance of Mr. Keeting, and those who chose to appease the administration by conforming to what was expected also gained an understanding of the importance of thinking on their own. 

            The movie begins with a ceremony in which the boys formally walk into an auditorium at a preparatory school for boys.  During the ceremony, the director sets the stage for the new English teacher (Mr. Keeting) when he announces that the previous teacher had retired and that Mr. Keeting would be taking his place.  The classrooms the boys attend are rigid and formal with the emphasis on recitation and the memorization of facts.  Mr. Keeting's classroom is in contrast with this theme as shown in the scene where he first enters the classroom at ease and actually whistles as he walks in and goes to a door that leads outside the classroom.  He leaves the classroom for a few seconds and then returns and indicates that the students should follow him outside.  The students do not know what to do as they are prepared for the traditional methods of instruction for the class.  Mr. Keeting prompts them to follow him outside into a foyer where he introduces himself and begins teaching them outside the traditional classroom.  Mr. Keeting instructs the students to call him Mr. Keeting or (if they are really daring) "Captain, Oh Captain".  His aim is to motivate the students to think for themselves rather than to simply listen to what is said unquestionably.  It is in this setting that the basic theme for the movie is established.  He tells the students to look at pictures in the foyer of past students of the school.  He then explains that all these students are no longer alive with his comment that they are now "pushing up daises".  He indicates that what they are all saying is "Carpe Diem"  which means "seize the day" and that they should grasp at what they have and what they want in a critical way so that they are guiding their own lives rather than accepting things as they currently are.  This is completely alien to the students as reflected by the comments "That was weird", and "I wonder if we will be tested on this".  Mr. Keeting was setting the stage for his students to think in terms that were outside what had always been expected in their education. 

            Each of the main characters progressed through a process of becoming one who thinks critically of what decisions he made rather than accepting what was dictated for them to do and become.  For example, Neil was confronted by his father at the beginning of the movie when his father said that he believed that Neil was taking on too many extra-curricular activities and that he was to quit his work with the yearbook.  When Neil said that it was not fair and that he wanted to continue that work, his father told him that he was to do what he was told and not question him until he had graduated and was on his own.  When his friends confronted him about what had happened, Neil reminded them that each one of them was in the same predicament with regard to how they were treated by their parents.  Neil then indicated that it did not matter because he did not really care if he worked with the yearbook or not but it was evident that he had lost something that he really cared about and wanted to do.

            Mr. Keeting was confronted by another teacher about his unorthodox methods of teaching who believed that students should be taught factual information and the ability to conform to the system.  Mr. Keeting stressed that he believed the students should be taught to think on their own and continued to facilitate this through his teaching practices.  For example, he had one student read the preface to their poetry book in which the author supplies a system by which to quantifiably access the quality of a poem.  He then tells them to rip out the preface from their book.  The students are hesitant but, after encouragement from Mr. Keeting, begin ripping out the preface.  He then guides them to rip out the entire introduction from the book and indicates that they will be not only reading poetry but will also be writing their own.  This would prompt them to think independently about what they were to study.  Another example of Mr. Keeting's unorthodox teaching methods was when he had his students stand on his desk and look at the classroom.  He indicated that this allowed them to get a different view of the classroom and symbolized the necessity for them to look at the world around them differently.  Mr. Keeting also took his class out onto the soccer field and had them recite portions of the poetry they were studying while kicking a ball.  This was to symbolize that things could be done differently than tradition mandated.  In one scene, he had a student who could not come up with a poem of his own and get in front of the class and take the "Yawping stance".  In this exercise, he had the student yelp loudly which led to him telling about some of his feelings and ended in the class applauding his efforts.  The student had broken out of his shell and was happy with what he had created.

            The students acquired an old copy of a yearbook, which had Mr. Keeting's picture in it.  With the picture was the inscription "Dead Poet's Society".  The students confronted Mr. Keeting asking him what Dead Poet's Society meant.  He told them that it had been a club in which students would sneak off to a cave and recite poetry.  The students decided to sneak out themselves to do this and started their own Dead Poet's Society.  They would meet periodically at the cave and recite established poems as well as their own works. 

            Each of the students in the Dead Poet's Society "seized the day" in a different way.  Charlie, was the leader in terms of convincing everyone to sneak out and begin the new Dead Poet's Society.  He also met a girl who he fell in love with.  This girl had a boyfriend and was considered by all his friends to be out of his reach.  He finally called her and eventually took a poem to her.  When his friends asked what she said about it he indicated that she said nothing.  He then indicated that the point was, for him, not that he had received a response but that he had taken the initiative and confronted her.  He was beginning to think for himself in a way that would make Mr. Keeting proud.  Charlie also submitted a poem of his own in the name of a deal poet to the school newspaper.  When he was caught, he was paddled for it.  When he was confronted by his friends regarding the incident, he told them that his new name was Nuwanda.  This symbolized the free spirit that had been birthed within him. 

            Neil's way of "seizing the moment" was to audition for a part in the play.  Upon receiving the part, he wrote a letter of permission from his father because he knew his father would not allow him to participate.  He was caught by his father and told that he would quit the play.  Instead, he participated in the play, and his father came and took him home.  His father told him that he was planning to withdraw him from the school and enroll him in military school.

            The climax of the story came when Neil chose to take his own life rather than be told how to live by his father.  An investigation was launched by the school administration at the request of Neil's father which focused on Mr. Keeting and his encouragement of the students to take the initiative in their own lives rather than listening to those in authority.  Each student was eventually forced to sign a statement against Mr. Keeting which lead to his termination.  Through all this Mr. Keeting also had an effect on the faculty at the preparatory school.  When Mr. Keeting was about to be fired, he looked out his window and saw the teacher who had originally confronted him about his unorthodox methods of teaching.  This teacher was taking his students out of the classroom and was teaching them in a nontraditional manner indicating that Mr. Keeting's methods were having an effect on how that particular teacher viewed teaching.

            In the final scene, the director of the school, who had previously scolded Mr. Keeting for his unorthodox methods, had taken over Mr. Keeting's English class.  He began the class by asking one of the students to read the preface.  The student indicated that the preface had been ripped out of his and the other students' texts.  The director retrieved a new book and had the student read it.  During this reading, Mr. Keeting came to collect his things as the class progressed.  When Mr. Keeting left, another student, Todd, stood up and told Mr. Keeting that he was sorry and that he had been forced to sign the statement that was used to terminate him.  Mr. Keeting said that he understood and that it was alright.  When the director told Mr. Keeting to leave the room, Todd stood on his desk and said "Captain, Oh Captain".  In this act he was also seizing the day by breaking out of his shell of conformity.  He also lead the class as they one-by-one stood on their desks and said "Captain, Oh Captain".  While the director was screaming for the students to sit down and for Mr. Keeting to get out, Mr. Keeting realized the significance of what was happening.  The students were laying down their lives for him in a sense in that they were jeopardizing their futures in appreciation for the value they had received in the poetry of life from Mr. Keeting.

            The reaction to this movie by educators would be somewhat different from that of the general public.  The educator will, quite possibly, recognize the importance and merit of guiding students into beginning the process of becoming critical thinkers.  This allows the student to think on his own and develop himself in a way that will be rewarding to him.  The educator may also realize the risk that Mr. Keeting took in order to foster this independence in his students.  The willingness to take this risk speaks to his passion and belief in the process and also indicates his ultimate concern is for his students' success.  The general public would probably see this movie as an emotional struggle of students to become independent.  Some will, likely, see this teaching of independence as unnecessary and dangerous in terms of gaining an education.  However, this attitude neglects to consider the benefits of teaching students to think on their own in favor of providing them with the ability to retain facts.  Dead Poet's Society is an entertaining movie and will cause both educators and those in the general public to think about important issues such as conformity, tradition, and the development of critical thinking.

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