Dead Poets Society has been my favorite movie for about a year now. The hidden messages, and cryptic meaning behind the both the script and the visuals are captivating. The movie follows a group of boys as they grow and learn at an all boys boarding school in the late 1980's. Though the movie follows the group of boys as a whole, it closely analyzes and follows the lives of Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard) and Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke). The discovery that the two boys share an array of things in common is a beautiful aspect of the movie.
When a new, edgy teacher intrudes the English department at the prep school, the boys are shocked and left questioning his teaching practices. One student, Neil Perry, grows very fond of Mr. Keating (Robin Williams). Neil is a very well respected student at the school, and convinces his friends to accept and practice Mr. Keating's teaching practices. "Oh Captain, My Captain." The students call out to Keating during the first class. This was a phrase that would catch on, soon solidifying a nick-name for Mr. Keating.
The viewer of Dead Poets Society is crazy if they do not form some sort of personal connection to Neil and Todd. Two boys, with controlling fathers with unbreakable goals for their future.When Neil finally has had enough with his father and the overbearing parenting coming from him, he decides to take his own life, in his home with his parents upstairs. This news bring great sadness and disbelief over the school community. Also causing a disturbance and an array of questions as to why he did what he did. The root to the problem, the school board believed, was Mr. Keating. Keating was soon let go from teaching and held accountable for the way he made students think about questioning the authority and power of others.
​
In the final scene, it is clear that the boys are still mourning the loss of their close friend. Especially Todd, who the camera catches in tears as the new English teacher forces them to read a passage that Keating had told them to rip out of the text book. Morbid music plays in the background as Keating walks in with a long winter coat and loud footsteps to collect his things. Mid winter, the classroom aesthetic is dark, and the visuals are depressing. While Keating walking slowly across the room, his footsteps creaking against the old wooden floor, Todd breaks. He exclaims how it is not Keating's fault that Neil is dead, while the camera shoots in for a close up of the tears covering Todds face. Getting up on the desk, Todd yells "Oh Captain, My Captain!" while one by one, the emotional scene of all the boys following Todds lead plays. Leaving you with a feeling of unity, and love, Dead Poets Society is a powerful movie with beautiful cinema-tics and deep messages.
​
