HOW ‘DEAD POETS SOCIETY’ TAUGHT ME THE TRUE MEANING OF LIFE
“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”. – John Keating
I saw Dead Poets Society in 2019 and probably didn’t understand the true message behind the same until I watched it again after four years. This movie will change your life is myriad ways if you are genuinely looking forward to make a difference in your life and subsequently of those around you. This is not a movie review, only a means to pinpointing the imageries showcased in the brilliant screenplay that will teach you more than any modern day philosophy ever will.
John Keating, the character itself is inspired by the English Romantic poet, John Keats. Keating’s charisma and personality as a teacher in Welton Academy is much beyond the visually pleasant appeal of Robin Williams, the actor who was superb in the role. Early on the movie we see candles being passed on which is the signal for the “light of wisdom”. The other teachers in the Academy swore by traditional forms of teaching which is to say, textbook knowledge and discipline in the classes with little to no interaction between the teachers and the students. The classrooms are devoid of light and as soon as Keating enters the scene, his class is now lit with 6 lights majorly (6 ‘beacons of light’ indicating the 6 boys whose lives would change eventually in the course of the movie) and he takes an interesting routine to educate the boys. Keating as a teacher is not only an educator with the agenda of ‘teaching’ but he gives them a different perspective on life that is filled with romance, love, beauty and poetry. He makes sure to impart ‘real knowledge’ and this is where it makes the entire motive of the film beautiful and exemplary to the highest superlatives.
What Keating essentially emphasises is the idea that if one doesn’t appreciate beauty, poetry, romance and love they do not have anything to look forward to in life and life as a result becomes meaningless. Which is to say, it is a terrific answer to everyone who asks why one should study the Humanities. The movie goes on to explore the lives of the 6 boys entwined with this teacher, who have now undertaken the task of altering their ideologies until a tragedy occurs as Neil Perry, one of the favourite boys, takes his own life when his father prevents him to pursue his true calling. Light, as usual, takes the front seat here as his father lights up the hallway leading to the corpse of his son. Keating is then asked to leave the school because all the boys are asked to offer a testimony stating that it was he who was responsible for Neil’s death.
However, at the fag end of the film, we see the boys standing up on the tables, a re-enactment of something Keating has done in one of his lessons thereby proving the notion that the beacon of light has finally passed on and the boys were ready to live their life with true wisdom and not just within the parameters of textbooks or rigidity in school classrooms.
Whenever I am in a writer’s block situation, I go back to watching this film because, a. It is one of the finest screenplays I have seen that has been turned into a book owing to its popularity in all demographics; b. It is far from being preachy or idealistic; c. It is REAL and honest in its approach and not once you feel any of the characters being pretentious; d. The innocence retained in the characters is never once tarnished by unrealistic romantic tropes; and e. No powerful story is devoid of tragedy and when the most heartbreaking scene pops up there is something that moves inside you and makes you acknowledge the fact that your purpose in life is always going to be how to love and cherish it as long as it lasts because life itself will allow you to experience romance, love, poetry and beauty. The complexities of love is simplified in the movie by virtue of stage acts, artwork, poetries written by the pupils to denote their heartfelt sentiments.
Thus, it highlights some major values on perspectives. The phrase ‘Carpe Diem’ gathers momentum as the movie proceeds to undo all the conditioning the school system has made every single one of the students to swallow. Keating taught us that when you look at life unconventionally, you allow romance and love to flow and it doesn’t have to be the lover kind, genuinely romancing life is unlike any other. When you are caged up, you become boring, which means when you are limiting yourself within boundaries, you’ll soon be a dead corpse. When you have a sincere love for life, you will wake up with enthusiasm everyday and there is no way you can feel hopeless. The beauty of life is how you go through it, much beyond what we know to get into careers and how to survive life. Keating pushes the idea that if you want to live a life worth living, look for things that make life extraordinary. Extraordinariness cannot reside in mechanical order of things, it demands imagination and feelings that trigger creativity.
“No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world”.
P. S. I’ve cried and cried when Perry died and I’m sure everyone did who has an artist inside of them.
