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Not a Typical Movie Review

 We were assigned with the task of watching a movie and understand its educational implications. I had  chosen the movie 'Dead Poets Society (1989)' directed by Peter Weir starring the late Robin Williams. I'd seen this movie a while ago but this time, I decided to watch it to understand what makes John Keating different from other teachers.


This Academy award winning movie is set in a conservative boy's boarding school named Welton's Academy which is known for churning out disciplined and academically brilliant students. The story focuses on a group of seventeen year old boys and their English teacher John Keating (Robin Williams). John Keating is a nonconformist and lives by the phrase 'Carpe Diem' which means 'seize the day'. He encourages his students to get rid of their fears, find their voices and live their lives to the fullest through poetry. Their newfound interest in poetry led them to create a secret club named Dead Poets Society.

One of the most fascinating things about this movie is its apt depiction of a classroom. The creators have managed to focus on each student in the class and shows how Mr. Keating guides each one of them. The writer mainly draws our attention to the diametrically opposite characters Neil Perry and Todd Anderson. Neil Perry is one of the most promising students in the academy and is stuck between fulfilling his father's dream of him becoming a doctor and his ambition to become an actor. While Todd is an introvert and needs to come out of his shell. Each audience member will surely able to connect with at least one of the characters in the movie.     

But in my second watch I decided to concentrate on Mr. Keating. He doesn't confine his classes to the four walls of a classroom. The movie effectively brings out the contrast between the classes by John Keating and the other faculty members. Mr. Keating employs a number of methods to invoke the student's interest in his subject. He engages each and everyone in the class. He doesn't shoot down students with different ideas but encourages them. He emphasizes on the idea of  'sucking the marrow out of life' but at the same time warns them not to 'choke on the bone'. 

The movie is a reservoir of amazing quotes and I suggest this movie to anyone whose feeling a little low in life.


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