Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Dead Poets Society

I would rate The Dead Poets Society a solid diez [10].

I mean, what else would you like in a movie? You've got Robin Williams, a whole school of over privileged boys, chaos and turmoil, and an underused ideal. This movie, unlike many that have graced us on the big screen, has not only a point but forces us to look at the world "atop a desk". It preaches not only a rarely used state of mind, but an ideal to live by. The idea of "carpe diem" is so simple, live for today and sieze the moment. This film did not need drugs, affairs, or inapropriate language to hold our attention, the ideas it presented were just enough. To say the least, I did not expect what I saw. And I do not expect the movie to influence or inspire others exactly as me, if at all. But I must say that this movie is one for the books. It did not have a traditional hollywood ending. I guess, in a way it did. I mean the events culminate in a defiance against traditionalism and wrongdoing but it was not as grand or as dramatic as some Hollywood endings. I believe the subtle act of standing on a desk instead of all the boys yelling "screw administration" gave it a much better and more respectable ending.

This movie greatly relates to poetry and I believe it was a great way to introduce it to our class. We are all raised with this pre-established notion that poetry is simply a bunch of old queer idealists and untouchable great thinkers who sat down and wrote some lines down. I believed that to study it we merely had to read a sonnet and take it apart. But Robin Williams made me realize that it is much more than that. It is a part of life, a way of life. This movie got me to think outside of the normal assumption, and i believe that it would have been impossible for me to realize this by simply a teacher telling me so.

The Dead Poets Society should be allowed if not advised to be shown in an AP class. We are not some general class to be fed sonnet after sonnet. We must look deeper, not only into poetry already written, but the idea behind poetry. And this movie perfectly demonstrates that.

2 comments:

Rory said...

roni-

quite possibly one of your best pieces of writing all year. your ideas have always been original and profound, but now you're expressing them in a way that is clear and powerful. keep it up and go rent "good will hunting" this weekend.

roni said...

mhm. iv already seen GWH. GREAT movie. another one of Robin Williams' finest && one of sexiest man of the year's Matt Damon's earlier films.