We sensed a rousing reaction in the room as Keating has Todd create some extemporaneous poetry in front of the class. Just for kicks, watch this again and think about -- but don't answer -- the questions below:
Great teaching? We would only ask you to put yourself in Todd's place. Would you and your classmates consider this appropriate behavior from a teacher? Has a teacher ever grabbed your head, covered your eyes and spun you around for an assignment?
Dead Poets Society (1985)
Directed by Peter Weir
Written by Tom Shulman
John Keating: Robin Williams
Neil Perry: Sean Leonard
Todd Anderson: Ethan Hawke
Knox Overstreet: Josh Charles
Charlie Dalton: Gale Hansen
Robert Cameron: Dylan Kussman
Steven Meeks: Allelon Ruggiero
Gerard Pitts: James Waterson
Mr. Nolan: Norman Lloyd
Mr. Perry: Kurtwood Smith
Chris Nowell:Alexandra Powers
Budget: $16,4000.000
Box Office: $140,000,000
Answer these questions, though:
1. Superficial differences between Welton Academy and Paideia are obvious -- uniforms, banners with important words on them, academic gowns, dorms -- but is anything familiar (note that we haven't said "relatable") about the world of Welton for you? What about Welton is similar to Paideia?
2. What motivates the group of boys we follow in the film? What seems to be their purpose at Welton? Are the initiates into The Dead Poet's Society rebels with a cause?
3. What about Keating? What is his goal? Is he a rebel? Remember that he has chosen to return to Welton?
1) The fact that Welton would hire a teacher like Mr. Keating is very similar to Paideia. Although other teachers may judge the style of Mr. Keating, they hired him for a reason. The administration seems to accept, like at Paideia, that one teaching style is not always the best and that sometimes it is beneficial to work in new and exciting ways.
ReplyDelete2) I believe that two things motivate the boys at Welton. The first thing that motivates them is their parent’s wishes. Each of the boys seen in the film have parents with huge expectations of them. Neil, for example, is held captive by his father’s wishes for him to become a doctor and most of his decisions revolve around what his father wants for him. Neil mentions at one point in the film when one of his friends make fun of him for following his dad’s strict orders that they are all in the same boat. Each one of them is there because they are instructed by their parents to become a lawyer, doctor, or some other high paid prestigious person. I think on a deeper level, another thing that motivates them is the drive to do their own thing. They are so guided by their parents wishes that they must rebel in some places of their lives. The audience sees this very clearly when Neil signs up for the play. He knows that his father will be unhappy with his decision and yet he also knows that he must do it. Neil wants to be in the play and this motivates him to go beyond his parents wishes and rebel in the small ways that he can. I believe that the initiates of the Dead Poet’s Society are rebels with a cause. Their cause is that they have overbearing strict parents and monstrous expectations for them in the future. They use the Dead Poet’s Society as a way to rebel while they can against the future that they did not pick for themselves.
3) In my opinion, Keating himself is not a rebel anymore but he is a catalyst for rebellious behavior. Keating is allowed to do all the things that he does in class. The administration of the school hired him for a reason. Although his teaching styles are strange, they are not rebelling against anything because he was brought for these techniques. The activities he does in class are forcing the kids to think outside the box though and this can be seen as a way to invoke rebellion within the kids. He may not be executing the rebellion but he is definitely lighting the flame within the boys.
1) I think that both students in Welton and students at Paideia feel a pressure to do well in school so that they can please their parents. There is an underlying dread that everyone feels towards the school. They don’t call the place “hell-ton” for nothing. I think that a lot of Paideia students also feel that way about school. But this dread comes from a combination of having to deal hard classes, wanting to please your parents and not being able to do what you truly want to do.
ReplyDelete2) I feel like the biggest motivation of all of the boys is to not be a disappointment to their parents. There is a very telling scene in the beginning of the movie where Neil’s father tells him that he is doing too many extracurriculars and that until he is done with medical school, he cannot make his own decisions. Neil’s friends then come outside the dorm to taunt him and he tells them that they shouldn’t tell him how to talk to his father and calls them “Mr. Future Lawyer and Mr. Future Banker”. You can also see this in Todd because he has the pressure to live up to his brother, who was valedictorian at the school. I do not think that they are rebels with a cause just yet. If anyone is a true rebel at this point, then it is Neil for restarting the dead poet’s society and trying out for the play. I am conflicted on that because it seemed as if he decided to restart the club because he saw the old yearbook with “dead poet’s society” under Keating’s name and thought “whoa, that’s cool maybe I should do that”. I think as the movie goes farther along and the boys actually start to get a real appreciation for what Keating is trying to tell them, they can become rebels with a cause.
3) I do think he is a rebel. I think the film so far is implying that the original dead poet’s society got shut down by the school and Keating disagrees with the school trying to censor the students’ independent thoughts. He made a conscious effort to return to the school to teach because he wants to spread the idea that it is important for people to be able to think for themselves and form their own opinions and ideas. His rebellion is in the form of having the students rip out the introduction of their poetry books and stand on the desk to get a different perspective and punt kick footballs after reading poetry. It is also clear that Mr. Nolan doesn’t exactly agree with his teaching style. This does not stop Keating though.
The boys at Welton are similar to Paideia kids in their rowdy behavior. They become more like Paideia boys though once they are in class with Mr. Keating. Mr. Keating forces them to think past the strict guidelines of their parents and the administrators at Welton and bring out their true identities. Mr. Keating feels familiar to me in the strange ways in which he forces the boys to think outside of the box. Although his methods may be more radical than many teachers at our school, he believes like many educators at Paideia that a student must be able to think for themselves in order to truly get the most from an education.
ReplyDeleteThe new English teacher seems to motivate the boys in this film. They seek change in their ordinary lives at prep school because of Mr. Keating’s motivational speech about seizing the day in the beginning of the film. They are rebelling against tradition and the school’s strict confinements. It seems that at Welton these kids are expected to get into the best college they can get accepted into and then follow a specific path into a small selection of lucrative careers.
I think that Keating’s goal is to inspire the kids to break the mold their prep school confines them to. Keating knows the exclusive way in which the school functions, and he plans on teaching his kids that there are more ways to go about life than the school’s administrators suggest. I don’t think he is a rebel; however, he tends to inspire kids to go against the norm in a rebellious manner.
1)One of the main similarities I notice between the two schools is the academic rigor and the pressure that comes along with that. At Paideia, a lot of students focus a large amount of their time and energy on studying to do well in school. I also think many parents at Paideia do have more highly regarded jobs in society, such as a doctor or lawyer, and the pressure of living up to their standards are placed on their kids shoulder. This parallels the boys at Welton since most of their parents want them to become something along the lines of a lawyer or banker. Therefore, kids tend to sacrifice things they truly love doing, both at Welton and Paideia, in order to succeed in school and life in their parents eyes.
ReplyDelete2) I think this kids are motivated by the phrase “Carpe Diem.” This simple two word phrase that Mr. Keating introduced to the class really had a impact on the mindset of these boys. The majority of them seem to be slowly realizing that as a student at Welton, the life is slowly being squeezed out of them while being replaced by textbooks and guidelines and strict ways of thinking inside the box. When Keating tells them to seize the day, the boys begin to try things for themselves and have passions and interests beyond the material in their textbooks. Their motivation stems from their realization that although good grades may get them a better job, it is more important to be happy and live rather than regret not doing things when they die. They seem to have two purposes at Welton. Their parents think their purpose is to get a top notch education for future success. Their opinion on their purpose is to bring life back into the student body. I think they are rebelling to have their own say in their lives. For years, the parents and teachers have chosen every life step for the boys, and they begin to see that that will not be the road to happiness. Also, although they slightly are rebelling by going out at night and breaking some rules, I don’t think they are purposefully trying to go against the faculty for fun. In my opinion, they boys are rebelling more for their own sanity rather than to spite adults.
3) In my opinion, Keating is more of a rebellious character than the boys. While the kids are clearly breaking rules, Mr. Keating is slowly working his way through the educational system at Welton. He clearly uses a different teaching style that is more passionate and experimental than the other teachers at the prep school, which disturbs the headmaster. I think his ultimate goal is to truly rework and redesign the way kids are taught at such a strict school. He sees the potential in all the boys, especially Todd which he shows when he keeps pushing him to create a poem on the spot in front of the whole class. Since he went to the school, he has had first-hand experience of the pressure and uptight environment at Welton, and I’m sure he remembers being a teenager and aching to pursue what he was truly interested in. He knows the boys are still going through the same system that crushes their imagination and passion, so he is trying to dig it back out.
1. I feel that there is a lot of academic pressure in both Welton and Paideia. A lot students feel that they need to be constantly studying and getting ready for their futures in both settings. You can see the students in Welton constantly setting up study groups all in the goal to get the perfect grades. Most of the work that they do isn’t even for themselves, it’s to make their parents proud. I feel that a lot of people, particularly at Paideia have to work very hard to please their parents and to make sure their grades are all perfects A’s.
ReplyDelete2. In the beginning of the movie all of the boys seemed very focused on their future and studying. Even from the first day of school they’re studying for Latin. All of them have futures already set by their parents so they work on them. Mr. Keating opens the door of something else to them, it’s an idea of freedom of doing whatever they want with their lives. Carpe diem. They start taking risks, like trying out for plays or going after a girl they like.
3. I believe that Keaton is very much a rebel. Deciding to go back to your old high school is a bold decision. I think that he went back to make sure the new students don’t get sucked into the system of going through the motions to please their parents. By going back to the school reinspires the Dead Poet’s Society.
1. Welton and Paideia are similar in that they both have the same type of “stress culture.” Like at Welton, students at Paideia (including myself) often have a very narrow minded view of success, which is making perfect grades, going to the perfect school, then getting the perfect job.
ReplyDelete2. The boys in this film are tired of being told that they have to be perfect and that they have to live a life that can be put into a neat, little box. They are tired of constantly being told what to do and how to think and want to gain freedom and independence. They are starting to realize that there is more to life than blindly following the perfect path they have been told to follow. At Welton, their job is to be perfect, obedient students who can grow up to have “respectable” jobs that will make a lot of money, but they are realizing that there is more to life than that. In a way, this sense of “something more to life” is an unobtainable illusion, but it is too painful to accept that the only way to live is to conform to what everyone else is doing. They are rebelling, but they are rebelling within certain boundaries. The school still shapes the structure of their life. They want to escape all the societal expectations that are imposed upon them, but I’m not sure if that’s actually possible. This makes me think of the Beat generation writers (I took a short term class on the Beat generation writers with John Capute last year) who tried to live outside of the “perfect” 1950s society that they were surrounded by. Their life was basically like if you took what the Dead Poet Society members do in the cave, add in a lot of sex and drugs, and then turn it into an entire way of living 100% of the time. The Beat writers had tons of fun and had wild adventures, but there is also a lot of messiness that comes with living as an outsider/rebel. They were all incredibly selfish lived a very unsustainable lifestyle. In dead poets society, it seemed like the boys aren't completely rebelling because they still lived within the rules of the school for the most part. It felt like they were part time rebels, part time perfect Welton students. It seems unlikely that these boys will completely rebel against the entire society they live in and live like Beatniks. While they probably won’t entirely forget what Keating has taught them, it seems most likely that they will grow up to be the perfect doctors and lawyers that their parents want them to be. This makes me wonder if there is any way they can continue to rebel yet still live within certain boundaries, and does it even count as true rebellion if they’re living within these societal boundaries?
(this is moving onto the next part of question two) Like in Rebel Without a Cause, the kids in Dead Poets society sort of have a cause and sort of don’t. They have a cause in that they are rebelling against all the pressure they face from their parents and society in general, but they don’t have a cause in the sense that they don’t exactly know what their goal is. They don’t know what they want out of life but they want “something more” than the perfect life they are expected to live, even if they don’t know what that is. However, if you have a cause, you have to be organized, and I think if these students really had a cause and were organized, they would lose the spirit of rebellion and just become the new “structure.”
3. In a sense he is a rebel in that he is actually teaching his students to think for themselves rather than just saying “this is right, and this is wrong. Memorize it, or you’re not good enough,” like all the other teachers. Nonetheless, like the students, he is still rebelling within the structure of the school. He is not completely escaping society, but unlike the students, he does have a cause. He wants to teach the students that they are allowed to rebel and don’t have to follow the perfect path they have been taught to follow. Even though, he is still teaching within the boundaries of the school, he wouldn't be able to teach these kids these lessons without the structure that the school provides. However, this is not necessarily a criticism, but because he is teaching within the boundaries of the school, he is not entirely a “rebel.”
ReplyDelete1. The biggest similarity between Welton and Paideia is that both schools expect a lot from their students academically. Teachers at Paideia won't drop your grade a point for every missing homework, but Paideia does expect a lot out of students in terms of time, energy, and thought.
ReplyDelete2. The boys in the film are motivated by a fear of wasting their lives. They want to "gather their rosebuds" by asking girls out, being in plays, and generally breaking the rules. At first, most of the boys seem to be trying to get through their days at Welton with minimum studying and maximum fun (breaking the rules) without getting caught or letting their grades drop. After meeting Keating I think the boys' motivations stay the same, but the way they choose to have fun changes. The boys still like pin-up girls and radio, but now they also appreciate poetry. The boys feel empowered to try things like theater for their own enjoyment. They have a nobler cause. The Dead Poets' Society initiates are rebelling for a chance to live life to the fullest.
3. Keating's goal is to inspire a love of literature and life in his students. Keating is a rebel because he has chosen to teach a philosophy that is completely contrary to Welton's. I think that Keating returned to Welton because he thought he could make a difference in the school culture. Keating is genuinely be trying to change these boys' lives and he seems to have enjoyed his time at Welton, so he is probably trying to give Welton students the great experience that he had. Welton was more liberal when Keating was there because the Dead Poets's Society was official enough to make it into the yearbook. Keating might be trying to bring back the less restrictive side of Welton.
I believe that a similar atmosphere about the future is shared between Welton and Paideia. Everyone is going to college, and most likely a good one. There is a certain amount of pressure that Welton and Paideia give to the student. This is created from grades, parents, and teachers. The competition-like atmosphere that is formed can create a very successful, stressful school.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the boys have boughten into the idea of breaking free from conformity. Keating showed them how freedom of thought feels, and they enjoy it immensely. Most of the kids are at Welton because their parents made them come so they can go to medical or business school afterwards. These kids are not being put in a situation like Paideia, where free thought is encouraged. These kids are being lectured information that will help them on standardised tests. Keating has allowed them to taste what it is like to be able to say what you think and open your mind. These kids are not necessarily rebelling against their school; but rather, the idea that following the path less traveled is a bad thing to do.
Keating is rebelling against conformity. He attended Welton, and experienced the monotony of sitting through seven different lectures each day. He is making these kids think for themselves, instead of simply reciting their notes. I do not believe that he is rebelling against Welton, because he was the one who decided to come back and teach. I thought the scene where the kids are ripping out the introduction page was very interesting, because when the other teacher walked in and yelled at the kids, Keating had all the power in that situation. The other teacher seemed to fear Keating, and excused himself.
1. I noticed a lot of similarities between Welton and Paideia, especially the emotional environment. For example, the scene where Neil got told off by his dad in front of his friends was very Paideia to me. I don’t want to talk about anyone in particular, but I know a lot of kids at Paideia who have that same relationship with their parents. A large number of Paideia parents are incredibly involved in their kids’ academic lives and will do things like telling the administrators that their kids need to drop certain extracurriculars to focus on schoolwork instead of just talking to the kid about it first. The part that was even more strikingly similar to me was when Neil reminded his friends that they have the same relationships with their own parents. I think it’s pretty common at Paideia to be a bit hypocritical about parental relationships and to encourage others to stand up to their parents when you don’t stand up to your own.
ReplyDelete2. All of the boys experience very conflicting motivations. On the one hand, they want to please their parents and teachers. Most of the adults in the film believe that the boys’ purpose at Walton is to use their prep school education to go to a “good college” and earn a degree and become some kind of doctor, or lawyer, or businessman, but on the other hand, the boys also just want to have fun. They want to just “be teenagers” and run wild and experiment with the boundaries that have been set. I agree that the boys in the film are rebels with a cause, but that their rebellion is very much like that of the boys in Zero for Tolerance. Their rebellion is almost instinctual and not very thought out. They just want the thrill of breaking a few school rules and having to avoid getting caught. There’s nothing wrong with the boys reading poetry, but it is wrong when they’re sneaking out of their dorms and into the woods after hours, while smoking cigarettes and showing each other porn.
3. Keating is very much one of the boys, and I think he wants to rebel against the system as much as the other boys do. Since the rules for teachers are different, Keating rebels by teaching the boys to rebel as well. In doing so, I think Keating might be trying to embody the teacher he wishes he had as a student at Welton. He mentions early on that he struggled in school (and thereby didn’t fit into the system at Welton) and was bullied for it. Maybe Keating’s coming back as a teacher is his way of protecting other people like him.
1 ) Both Welton Academy and Paideia share similarities in teachers. There are teachers at Paideia who are more similar to Keating and there are also stricter teachers who are more similar to Mr. Nolan. The teachers who are less strict and more similar to Keating are generally more well liked by students. There are definitely stricter teachers at Paideia also. You can tell that the students at Welton Academy do not like their teachers who are more strict as much as Keating. It is definitely true at Paideia that kids prefer teachers like Keating.
ReplyDelete2 ) The boys in the film are motivated by rebellion. They want to rebel against their teachers and parents. Neil wants to create a new Dead Poets Society because he is angry at his father for making him quit one of his extracurricular activities. He auditions for the play for the same reason. Neil and the rest of the members of the society are rebelling against their school and there parents the only adult they seem to truly respect it Keating. Their respect for Keating is another reason why they decide to restart the Dead Poets society.
3 ) I think that Keating is a rebel but I also think that he really cares about teaching and inspiring his students. He is rebelling against how the other teachers at the school teach. He returned to Welton because he remembers how uninspiring his teachers were when he was a student and he thinks that he could do better. He cares about his students actually enjoying and understanding poetry rather than just analyzing it.
1. Everything superficial about the schools is different, but the fact that hey hired a teacher like Mr. Keating, and the way the boys respond to him reminds me of Paideia. He wants them to be free thinkers. He shows them that the arts are what adds spark to their lives even if they had all the money in the world like a doctor. This happens at Paideia. The teachers are excited for us to learn and they want us to speak up. The boys also are like Paideia students. They are rowdy in classroom because they knew they were going to push themselves to succeed no matter what. They are driven academically just like paideia students and they do respect certain teachers like Mr. Keating which isn’t always the case at some of the prep schools we see these days.
ReplyDelete2. These boys are motivated by whatever their parents aren’t when it comes to personality, but academically is seems like fear. They are scared to go back home and get in trouble if they don’t do well, but one of the reasons they act out and go to the cave is because their parents don’t want them to. Mr Keating inspires them in a sense, but I think if they were encouraged by their parents to let lose it would have the same fun element.
3. I think part of this may because I’ve seen the movie before, but I think Mr. Keating knows that the school doesn't have the same free spirited mind spirit that he and his friends had. I think his motive is to spread the fun that he had when he was rebelling. He probably thinks he has something that Welton doesn’t
1: Welton Academy and Paideia are similar in many ways. One of the more obvious ways is how they both are prepy, rich kids schools where they make academics the absolute number one priority. Although Welton gives off a harsher vibe, offering conventional forms of punishment for misbehavior, Paideia can relate to the more academic priority side of things. Also, both Paideia and Welton are majority white, and majority welthy. Along with the teachers, which in Welton's case are old, grumpy, and not very good at teaching. This is other than Keating, who is welcoming and humorous, much like the Paideia way of teaching.
ReplyDelete2: Originally, these boys want nothing more than to please their parents. Get good grades in school, don't get in too much trouble, and end up with a good job, such as a doctor or lawyer, that pays a lot of money; this is their plan. But with exciting new things, such as an amazing teacher, Keating, and a love for exploration and excitement, these boys find them selves enjoying their midnight ventures to a cave to read century old poetry. Their eyes are opened by Keating, who explains to them that they should persue what ever they want. He shows them how to think freely, and that poetry is not just a step leading to becoming a doctor, it can be more than that. AS they the boys realize this, their original vision of pleasing their parents becomes less and less appealing. These boys are definitely rebels with a cause. They are at the peak of their hormonal state, cooped up in a castle with some old dudes. They want girls, the outdoors, and music, none of which seems available to them. And their parents are down their neck about grades and good behavior. To me, they definitely have a cause to rebel. Their life is pretty miserable.
3: I think Keaton loves poetry, and he also loves sharing it. He graduated, or as he states "survived" Welton, and he understands exactly what these boys are going through. His return must be due to passion. He has a drive to educate young men, the very young men he was so similar to years ago, and the very young men that are the future to society. Keating wants to open these boys' eyes to creativity and other possibilities beside the ones their parents set for them. He wants them to understand the process of learning as a fun one, with a multiple of interesting experiences.
1. One similarity that I found was the expectations from the parents of Welton and Paideia. Since the parents are investing so much in their children's education, they want their kids to become something that makes lots of money such as lawyers and doctors (not actors or poets).
ReplyDelete2. The main motivation for the boys in the film seems to be Mr. Keating. Before they took his class, they were terrified of stepping out of line and facing the judgement of the school and more importantly, their parents. Once they take Mr. Keating's class, they find someone that they can find cool. Someone outside who is different and acknowledges their ability to have independent thoughts and desires. Once he tells them 'Carpe Diem' / Seize the day, their life opens up to a world of freedom. He teaches them that their time left on Earth is limited and they shouldn't live their life doing something miserable just because they are expected to.
3. I think that Mr. Keating is trying to break the monotony of how Welton normally is. Sit down, receive lecture, take notes, and repeat. He wants to not just educate them about poetry, but also educate them about life and how to be happy. He doesn't want them to turn into lawyers and doctors that just regurgitate what they know; he wants them to learn how to be creative and how to enjoy the life that they are given.