"You must strive to find your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all." A wise and inspirational quote by Mr. Keating in the the Dead Poet's Society directed by Peter Weir. This astonishing movie is about a very prestigious all boys school and the events that progress after they get a new English teacher. Mr. Keating, the new English teacher discusses important topics and encourages his students to think and act for themselves. Unfortunately, other teachers and parents disagree which leads to a student named Neil facing strict consequences from his Father after he joins an acting group. His Father disproves of this and causes his son Neil to commit suicide. He then blames Mr. Keating for his death because of him encouraging his students to be original. This brings up multiple themes in the movie that left whomever watched the film inspired and changed indifferently. The movie explained the power of authority, non-conformity and literature. These are points everyone has dealt with in their lives. Therefore, one finds themselves connected to the film.
One thing we have all experienced is the power of authority. In Dead Poet's Society we see a group of boys that call themselves, "The Dead Poet's Society" being forced to sign a document that blames their teacher, Mr. Keating for the suicide of their friend Neil Perry. The head principle makes it clear they must sign the document and so the boys are left no choice but to comply. It is clear to whomever watches the film that Mr. Keating is innocent and had only tried to encourage Neil to follow his dream of acting. Neil's Father on the other hand condemned his son for his choices and enrolled him into a military school so he could become a doctor. After, being told his life had already been planned for him and that he had no choice but to listen to his authoritative Father, Neil shots himself while wearing his acting costume. This horrific death explains how deadly the power of authority can be.
Non-conformity is also an issue that is brought up during this film. At one of Mr. Keating's English classes he takes his class out for a walk. He tells three boys to walk around the courtyard and all of them end up following each other in a march. The boys illustrated conformity and how it is hard to maintain your pace, beliefs and opinions. Mr. Keating explains how others might tell you, "That's Bad" but how it is important to have your own unique views. After that he tells all of the boys to walk around the courtyard how they wish. This is an extremely important topic that teaches people how wanting to be accepted is fine but also do not conform to fit in.
Another important topic brought up in this film is literature. In Mr. Keating's English class all of the boys take out the English textbook and look at the first page which explains how to understand and rate poetry. It states that you must rate the poem and use a graph to determine it's value. Mr. Keating explains you don't rate poetry, just because one person likes doesn't mean another won't. Each person thinks differently and therefore you cannot rate a poem. He tells the boys to rip out the entire introduction chapter in the textbook that speaks of this method. Mr. Keating truly shows the boys that poetry is more than something you just read in school but a way of communicating emotions and thoughts.
“No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.” The words of wisdom from Mr. Keating in this movie are ones to definitely live by. We should all stand up for what we believe in and not conform to other people's ideas. As well as we need to understand the power of authority and be willing to rise against it. Similarly, we need to understand literature and see it as the important thing it is. This incredible film shows us how we are all truly unique and how our thoughts can change the world.
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