Dead Poets society

Dead poets Society

The film was released in 1989 and portrays a society experienced in mid 50s in which education was the focal point of that society. Whit brilliance, the director Peter Weir and the great script by Tom Schulman, Dead poets society tell us about the conflict between tradition and innovation.]

The story is set in the school of Welton academy, conducted by four piers, tradition, discipline, honor and excellence. The school had a shock in the form of conservative education caused by the innovative spirit of the teacher John Keating, who seemed as a crazy revolutionary man. but, in the end he showed and proved to be a direction based on the interpretation and respect the particular point of view of the students, causing them flourish their talents and can learn by doing.

At first, the movie seems just another one which will argue, discuss, and in fact criticize the behavior of society and methods used in schools specially the called tradional. To me the movie also brings a background thread disturbing and wonderful, how to make and analyze a poem.

In the initial scenes, professor Keating asks students to open their books, in initial chapters some PHD starts explaining how to analyze a poem or understand poetry. The teachers goes to the table and play the type described in the book, which says that if we analyze a poem in the vertical we must note the importance and the horizontal the perfection, before this method the researcher asked  the students to tear the page and surprised they did not do until the teacher convinced them. From there we can say that the revolution began in the traditional school of Welton.

Each classroom teacher shows the students how to analyze a poem, how to understand the poetry, since it is made of emotions, as would be possible to analyze a poem , to understand a poem based on a formula? Poetry it is necessary be felt, after all it is made of feelings, each one will be a reaction, an interpretation of that poem, poetry does not have and absolute truth, it is a fact that will fit others.

The vision of professor Keating is not a romantic view of poetry as some may think. He actually seeks to simulate the thinking capacity of students, engaging them with art and poetry is a kind of art he uses as instrument for his activity. It makes you think about the choice, as citizens and critical thinkers.

And what is poetry but the act of thinking, the poetry is a form of expression since these students lived based in rules, poetry will be not their anarchy, but rather their way of expressing what they want to be. If we consider the discussion from the title of the movie “Dead poets society”, we can think about, why dead poets?  The title is used in an ironic way to react to the model of time employed by the school, which determined the fate of students, “died” because they were out of sight, without anyone knowing, but rather that ewe could think they were alive, their work has perpetuated and influenced the others, the poetry won once again, served as communication vehicle , connecting two generations.The movie is brilliant and brings with multiple tabs for discussion, but without a shadow of doubt that is poetry the most beautiful and brilliant of the whole movie.
Mariluce Lemos